Author Topic: Whole milk ricotta too grainy  (Read 3830 times)

o.m.watson@gmail.com

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Whole milk ricotta too grainy
« on: January 05, 2018, 06:43:13 AM »
I make ricotta from straight milk (yes, I know that's cheating) acidified with white vinegar. It always seems to come out slightly granular and when I use it in some recipes (eg Tuscan potato salad with oil & parmesan) it clumps together rather than coating the potatoes. When I use supermarket ricotta (which is very smooth) I don't get this problem. Should I just put the homemade ricotta in the blender with a bit of milk or should I use a different cheesemaking  technique? I use fine cheesecloth for sieving so I don't think I have much latitude there.

tashad

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Re: Whole milk ricotta too grainy
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2018, 04:40:19 PM »
I have no experience using storebought ricotta, I mostly only use ricotta when I've been making cheese and can make whey ricotta.  Clumping together rather than coating the potatoes sounds fairly normal to me. But I recall reading somewhere that the ricotta sold in the stores quite often has cream added to it, and that for some recipes the ricotta needs to be drained (mine doesn't).  So that makes me think that your whole milk ricotta is a lot more dry than the supermarket variety.  Maybe try mixing in some milk or cream after draining the cheese and see if that makes a difference.

SOSEATTLE

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Re: Whole milk ricotta too grainy
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2018, 07:30:04 PM »
I have tried some different recipes for whole milk ricotta and the easiest one I have found that gives consistently good results is this one: https://www.thespruce.com/homemade-ricotta-cheese-recipe-591554 . I have seen other similar recipes that also add heavy cream, but I have not done that. The results I have gotten have been a fairly smooth pudding-like consistency. It is important to treat the milk gently when stirring and heating.

Also, what kind of milk are you using? Is it whole milk or reduced fat? Is it ultrapasteurized? That can make a difference.

Susan

o.m.watson@gmail.com

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Re: Whole milk ricotta too grainy
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2018, 12:05:44 AM »
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm using full fat raw milk (about 5% cream)