Ricotta Cheese Making - Different Ingredients & Methods

[Cheese Head]

Just made my first batch of Ricotta, records here.

While researching how to make it, I found many recipes:

• Some use whey, some milk, some whey and milk, some milk and cream.
• Most use cow's milk, some sheep's milk.
• Some use citric acid, some rennet and CaCl2, some lemon or orange juice, some vinegar to coagulate.
• Some drain in cheesecloth lined colanders, some in Ricotta molds.
• Most don't, some do use salt.

As Ricotta is an Italy originated cheese I looked at the more thorough Italian version of Wikipedia: Ricotta than the English version, and it says:

• Made from cow, sheep, goat milk or buffalo milk or mixed milk types.
• Coagulation at 80-90C (176-194F).
• Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid for coagulation.
• Use salt for better coagulation.
• In old days the coagulated curds were placed in wicker or cane baskets, nowadays use perforated (translation?) baskets.
• Variations are salted and dry salted (translation?), and smoked.
• Other names for Ricotta are France: Sérac, Brocciu, Greece = Myzíthra, Anthótyros, Spain = Requeson, alpine regions of German = Ziger.
  

Interestingly the Italian version of Wikipedia translated via link above gives a Ricotta recipe, using rennet.

On store bought manufactured Ricotta's I've recently bought such as this Biazzo Brand Whole Milk Ricotta and this HEB Grocery Store Brand Part Skim Milk Ricotta and on all the ones available in my local HEB mega grocery store here in Houston, I never saw one with rennet or lemon juice or orange juice or one without salt. All had Vinegar and Salt, and some had several stabilizer or thickener additives.

[siegfriedw]

John - this is real interesting. All I have ever heard is that Ricotta is made from leftover whey.

Maybe there are some Italians on here who could confirm?

[FRANCOIS]

The coagulator depends on your whey or if you are using cream, powder or a mix with milk. 

[DeejayDebi]

There are several way to make riccotta. It does not have to be made from whey only, it is just that you always have whey from making cheese so making riccotta from the whey is very cost effective.

Another reason you probably see the riccotta made from whey is often times when we are cooking with riccotta we are also using mozzarella (like with lassagna, manicotti, stuffed shells etc.) so we often make the riccotta from the mozzarella whey.

Growing up people who didn't make "cheese" made mozzarella and riccottta for the family meal.

[Alex]

Although I am not Italian, I have some information about Ricotta.
Ricotta in Italian means - RECOOKED. So, When you "cook"/make cheese, is the first time and the second time you "cook" the same substance (almost the same) you get the Ricotta.

The original Ricotta is made from whey only. About 10% whole milk may be added to get a greater yield. By adding cream you raise especially the fat content.

Making this stuff from milk only, is definitively NOT Ricotta, with a quite similar texture, but slightly different taste.

Ricotta may be coagulated with vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt. As a thumb rule, so called "Ricotta", may be made from 1 liter of milk adding 1 cup yogurt or 1-1/2 Tbs vinegar or 3 Tbs lemon juice. Heat the milk to 88-92 deg C, turn off the heat and add the coagulant, stir well and let the curds form.

I make my Ricotta as follows (minimum 4 liters whey):

Heat whey to 72-75 deg C (at this temp the rennet used for the cheese making, is killed and won't coagulate the added milk)
Add 10% Whole milk (might be unpasteurized raw milk) and stir
Heat the mixture to 88-90 deg C, turn off heat, give the liquid a thorough stir and drizzle in about 1/2 cup of vinegar moving from the center out. Curds should form instantly.
Let set for 5-15 minutes and transfer to draining moulds.

As Ricotta may be used in cooking sweet or salted, don't salt it now if you are not sure.

Tip: try making Gnocchi using Ricotta instead of potatoes.

[cmharris6002]

Ricotta is traditionally made from Mozzarella whey because the acidity level from the Mozzarella is perfect, no vinegar necessary.

I make mozzarella almost every week and make ricotta from the whey. If make it by bringing the temp up to 195F without adding milk I get one small basket (12-15oz) from 4 gallons of whey. If I add milk I'll get more than twice that amount.

Christy

[Alex]

As I can not wait to make Ricotta only when I make Mozzarella, I use all the whey from all the cheeses I make. The yield of Ricotta made from whey only is 2-3%. As I said, by adding milk you increase the yield.

[Cheese Head]

seigfriedw

So far all the manufactured Ricotta's that I have found in stores here in Houston USA list milk as the first/largest ingredient. As Alex says, they are thus not true traditional Ricotta's, I guess no one has the copywrite/Appellation d’Origine Controlee on that word .

Here's a review of one, and another.

I did try once on a 1 US gallon batch of cheese to use the whey to make Ricotta, but almost no yield, thus sadly I just dump all my whey down drain, which is a good reason to start this post.

[fxcuisine]

In Switzerland we make ricotta by heating whey left after making some other cheese up to 90C+, the mix it with diluted vinegar or acetic acid. As for all cheeses, those made in the high pastures are much more fragrant. I shot a few pictures last year about Sérac/Ziger, our Swiss ricotta http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=235

[Sailor Con Queso]

VERY nice site with great pictures.

[DeejayDebi]

I normally only make riccotta from mozzarella whey. Probalby because I almost always need them both at the same time and I seem to get the best yield and flavor from it.

Riccotta with dill in canolli - not so good!