Ricotta: the recipe for cooking. How to make ricotta at home?

Ricotta! This Italian cheese, made from fresh sheep or cow's milk, is often confused with cottage cheese. Indeed, with a cursory glance, one can find its similarity to the more familiar dairy product, both in appearance and in texture. However, at least once you have tried ricotta, you will understand the uniqueness of its taste, and appreciate it with dignity. It belongs to the category of fresh cheeses, which have a soft and smooth consistency and slightly fresh, but very delicate taste. However, this largely depends on the variety of ricotta. Its most popular form is used for preparing a variety of desserts, salads, and also as fillings for pizza and pasta. Like cheese itself, most of the dishes with it are of Italian origin. And this country knows a lot about tasty food! Next, we will take a closer look at the features of the ricotta, the recipe for its preparation, and the uses.

Ricotta and cottage cheese: what's the difference?

The word "Ricotta" (Italian ri-cotta) is translated as "digested". Already from the moment of manufacture it is possible to trace its essential difference from usual cottage cheese. The latter is obtained by heating the milk, in which the rennet is added , as a result of which it coagulates, and casein is precipitated. This completes the cooking process. However, in order to obtain cheese, this precipitate is heated again and combines with the enzyme. The resultant top layer will be called ricotta.

Varieties

It should be noted that the cooking process depends on the type of cheese. Home ricotta is prepared in the manner described above and it turns out very tender both in consistency and taste. This is Ricotta fresca. It is the basis of numerous Italian desserts, salads and light fillings for other dishes. However, there are other varieties of it, for example, Ricotta salata, which has a salty taste and replaces in a number of recipes grated Parmesan. Or Ricotta affumicata - smoked mature cheese, which can be either an independent snack, or used as one of the components in grated form. And many others. All of them are good in their own way, however, we are interested in the classic version of the cheese "ricotta". The recipe for its preparation will be described in detail in this article.

We cook at home: what ingredients are needed?

Despite the high price of the mentioned cheese in domestic shops, the products for its preparation are more than available both at a price and by availability for sale. The main components are few, and the main one is milk. You can use both fat-free and whole. The latter is preferable (even better if you can get a village one), since the taste of the finished product will turn out to be creamy and very tender. What additional ingredients are needed for ricotta cheese? The recipe for four liters of milk will require:

• Small salt - a teaspoonful;
• Sugar - two large pinches;
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice - half a cup (can be replaced with white vinegar, but not worth it).

As already mentioned, a real ricotta from whey is being prepared. Therefore, as a result of the first stage, we will have a "side" product in the form of cottage cheese, which you will surely find use for. And already at the second stage we will prepare the planned dish. Often the cheese "ricotta" at home is nothing more than a cottage cheese. Most housewives stop at the initial result and the precipitate formed when heated is called Italian cheese. But we are not looking for easy ways and we will do everything according to the rules.

The first stage: the production of serum

Milk is poured into a saucepan with a thick bottom and heated to about 90 degrees on a very slow fire. Then add half the lemon juice and salt, sugar. Stir thoroughly. In a couple of seconds you should find out that the milk is curdled and flakes are formed on its surface. After this, remove the pan from the plate, cover with gauze and let the contents cool. Then filter the cottage cheese residue and wait until the whey completely drains. The resulting curd we put in the refrigerator - it can be used for some baking or eat with fruits and berries.

The second stage: cooking ricotta

The cooled whey is heated again - first to 38-40 degrees. At the same time, it should not be prevented. Then remove from heat and let it brew for an hour. Again, put on the stove and bring it to the temperature of 90-93 degrees, keeping track of that the liquid does not boil. Stirring, pour the second half of lemon juice. Continue to warm the mixture on a low heat for 5 minutes, and then remove and cool. After that, the pan should be cleaned in the refrigerator for a fairly long time - up to 10 hours. If you do this in the evening, then in the morning you can already get it and drain it using a colander and a triple layer of gauze. Leave for full decantation for several hours. That's ready home ricotta. This recipe is somewhat complicated, as it is necessary to do double work - to get serum and to cook cheese out of it. However, you can simplify the task by buying a ready basis, for example, in the market for traders in rural products. Often, in addition to homemade sour cream, milk, ryazhenka and others, they offer the customers the whey, left as a result of the production of cottage cheese. Here it is we need!

Ricotta in Cooking: use cases

The resulting cheese is slightly salted, put into a container and put into the refrigerator to strengthen the texture. Now you have almost real ricotta cheese. Recipes in which it can be used are numerous and varied. First of all, it's Italian desserts. As a rule, in them ricotta is mixed with other cream cheese or simply fatty cream and whipped to an airy creamy consistency. This base is ideally combined with berries, light biscuit or various fruit purees. In addition, ricotta cut into pieces can be added to fresh vegetable salads (replacing, for example, salted feta), in pasta sauces (creamy, mushroom, etc.) or used as fillings for a thin Italian pizza in combination with tomatoes and fresh juicy greens .

Cook with benefit!

If you needed ricotta to make some dishes, you can easily recipe the recipes by making it yourself. At the same time, you will win - save money on an expensive store product, get absolutely natural and fresh homemade cheese, and in addition - cottage cheese, which is formed in the first stage of manufacturing. Good luck in the culinary field!