Ricotta Round 2

I've been itchy to make another round of ricotta so I can make some ricotta gnocchi, soft fluffy pillows of dumpling goodness.   Usually they are high carb things made with potatoes, but making them with ricotta brings them to a new level.  Also I've heard that freshly made ricotta is better than store bought for gnocchi because it's drier.  So round two of ricotta.  

Because we had used Rebecca's citric acid for round one, I decided to find a homemade ricotta recipe using lemon juice (since we have an unlimited supply of lemons from our tree).  I decided to do a modified version of this Martha Stewart recipe.  After reading all sorts of recipes I realized I could omit the cream and do just as well by increasing the lemon juice to to 6 tablespoons.

What makes this different from using the citric acid is that you need to get the milk to a VERY rigorous boil and THEN  add the lemon juice (as opposed to adding the citric acid at the beginning and letting the milk come to 185 degrees).  I did try and see if 185 was the right temperature for the lemon juice style of ricotta and the curds barely showed up.  Bringing it to the full boil gave the desired results.

I now have a canister of ricotta ready to turn into gnocchi.  Stay tuned.

Fromage Blanc Veggie Dip

A crudite platter is a great way to get your veggies in - julienne peppers, sugar snap peas, carrots.  But the key to a good crudite platter is a good dip.  Bellwether Farms fromage blanc is the perfect base for a fresh and yummy "ranch style" crudite dip.  It holds up well and you and even spread it on crostini.  Don't think of this as a recipe.  Think of it more as a guideline.

Fromage Blanc Veggie Dip
1 8 oz package of fromage blanc
1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs of any kind - dill, parsley, cilantro, etc. 
Juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic finely minced
2 tablespoons sour cream
a dash of milk until it reaches a dip consistency
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix everything in a bowl and add milk to thin as necessary

Homemade ricotta review

For anyone wondering, the homemade ricotta ROCKS! 

A day after making it, I decided to do a simple dip per Rebecca's suggestion.  I added a little salt and drizzled a very fruity early harvest olive oil on top.  And OH MY GOD was that tasty.

I will say that the ricotta does need salt. I think we added 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of milk.  But once the salt is added, the ricotta is an amazing vehicle for flavor.  The big thing is the texture.  This is even better than ricotta we've found at the store and I LOOOOOVE that stuff.  It's a light, airy, fluffy and creamy.  There's definitely an ethereal quality to it that you don't get in regular ricotta.

Served with crackers and crudite,  it's an awesome snack.

No Whey! Whey!

Ever since Rebecca said that she got a cheesemaking kit for Christmas, I’ve been dying to make cheese with her.  Earlier in the week, she said she wanted to hang out and I promptly asked if she wanted to make cheese this Saturday?  She said yes and away we all went.  We decided to do the most basic type of cheese – ricotta.   As we wanted to make great ricotta, we decided to go all pricey and get Strauss’ Organic Whole milk.  At close to $5 for a half a gallon, it’s an investment, but for the amount of ricotta we got, it was definitely a steal.

We were all totally surprised to learn how easy it was to make ricotta.  Anyone can do it.  And while we used citric acid from Rebecca’s cheesemaking kit, you could just as easily use lemon juice (there are plenty of ricotta recipes using lemon juice).

So here’s the deal.  To make ricotta, you will need:

A candy thermometer to track the temperature of the milk
A large pot (enough to hold a gallon of milk)
Cheesecloth and a strainer
Another large pot to strain the milk in
Citric acid (or lemon juice)
1 gallon of milk
Salt

In a large pot, add the salt and the citric acid to the milk.

Once mixed, warm the milk on medium until it reaches 195 degrees Fahrenheit.  You need to stir constantly so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.  At this temperature, the curds and the whey separate.

Let the mixture cook at that temperature for another few minutes and then let it cool.  This will take forever which is why we gorged ourselves on fondue and salad with blue cheese dressing while we waited.

Once the mixture cools to room temperature, pour the whole shebang in a colander lined with cheesecloth and suspended on top of a pot.

Let the liquid separate from the curds for a half an hour and then you have ricotta.  It’s crazy easy.

 

We were so excited about our ricotta success, we made a date to make mozzarella so we could have some more!  Why?  Well, the word "ricotta" is Italian for “cooked twice.”  This is because ricotta is often made from the whey of mozzarella.  Two for the price of one!

Other homemade cheeses on the list are paneer, feta, and chevre. Check back for more!

And PSST…anyone have a good supplier for organic sheep’s milk?

In the Kitchen: Making Fondue and Fresh Ricotta

Welcome to Cheese Friends, a group blog exploring and enjoying cheese.  We're talking about cheeses we love, sharing recipes, and, every once in a while, making our own.  Our first post is from Jonathan, Rebecca, and TC, friends who met in DC now living in the Bay area.  We look forward to involving more of our cheese-loving friends as writers, tasters, and foragers.  Find us on Twitter @cheesefriends and let us know if you have a cheese that makes you swoon.

We decided to kick off the blog by getting together for a night of fondue and cheese making.  We wanted something to snack on while we made our first attempt at homemade ricotta so my husband TC and I thought it would be fun to surprise Rebecca by visiting Berkeley's Cheeseboard and gathering the ingredients for fondue.

The Cheeseboard Collective is our go-to place for cheese in the East Bay.  The people who work here also own the place (a co-op) and we have always had informed help from their team as we look for cheeses we describe as everything from "grassy and soft but lighter on the salt and leaning towards funky" to "a blue that is friendly for people who love blue and people that are skeptical of blue but willing to try."  We'll talk more about them later, but have a look at a few of their cases.

We came to The Cheeseboard knowing we wanted to make fondue and familiar with the basics: wine, Emmentaler, Gruyere, and touches of garlic and nutmeg.  We approached the counter and took a playing card from the stack. They called the "four of hearts" relatively quickly and we started the consultation.

The person helping us was familiar both with fondue recipes and proportions, verifying the approximate weights for a generous fondue for three with one of the other workers.  She helped us select a Le Gruyere Cave Aged and Emmentaler from Switzerland, with the unexpected suggestion to add some Appenzeller (silver label aged 2-4 months).  Fondue regulars would be less surprised, but this was new to us and a welcome addition with its sharpness and its fruity kick.

For the wine, we went with a Gewurztraminer.  This was not a standard choice.  Most fondues are made with a reliably dry wine and this California Gewurztraminer was not.  It was a bit too sweet, but fairly weak so the sharpness of the cheeses tamped the sugar down a bit. Our meyer lemon juice from our backyard lemon tree had a nice bite as well so it all worked out.

Cheese Friends Fondue

1 clove garlic

1 cup dry white wine (plus some to thin as needed)

2 T lemon juice

3/4 lb Cave-aged Gruyere, 1/4 Emmentaler,  6 oz Appenzeller

1 T cornstarch

Nutmeg to taste (2 pinches)

Pepper to taste (2 pinches)

Dippables: 

Warm brown bread (or other thick, stout bread), blanched cauliflower florets, blanched green beans, sliced apples, sliced pears, whatever you like!

Steps:

Peel garlic and rub inside of pot thoroughly. 

Squeeze lemons and put 2T of lemon juice in a medium-size pot

Add wine and turn burner to medium heat (do not allow to boil)

Grate the cheese and toss it in the cornstarch

Add cheese 1/2 a cup or so at a time to wine/lemon juice

Raise the heat to medium high, stirring slowly to melt and combine

Add a few pinches of pepper and nutmeg (optional, but delicious)

Stir thoroughly until melted
If it seems too thick, add a bit more wine and stir through
Transfer to fondue pot or bring the pot directly to the table for dipping

If it gets too thick or cools, just place it back on the heat

Enjoy!

We served the fondue with a salad of crisp romaine, cherry tomatoes and a Point Reyes Blue Cheese dressing.  Point Reyes Original Blue from Farmstead Cheese Company is a creamy blue with a big, flavorful, taste without much edge or sharpness.  It's simply delicious crumbled on a salad and in dressing,  Read an exhaustive article here.


Next Post: Making the Ricotta!