I never thought we'd make our own butter. But once you take cream (especially the thick cream from a farm), half-fill a jar, tighten the lid and shake for a few minutes (enlisting your kids), and then press out any remaining liquid against a plate or cutting board, you are sold. It is super, super easy, fun to make, and tastes incredible.
Now, butter is one thing, but what I really thought I'd never make is cheese. I was sure (from Laura Ingalls Wilder, that font of homemade wisdom) that it required a funky ingredient, rennet; and in some cases, aging in a moldy cellar. So cheese-making seemed, for the foreseeable future, out of the question.
While visiting my parents, I noticed this recipe in the Seattle Times weekend magazine. It's for "homemade ricotta," calls for 4 ingredients (whole milk, buttermilk, cream, salt), a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, and is also "so easy." It's not a "true" ricotta--it's paneer, because ricotta is made from whey (the whitish liquid fresh mozzarella floats in)--but in most other respects it resembles ricotta. Except that, compared to what you'd buy in a store, it tastes fantastically fresh.
Yesterday afternoon, with the kids out of the house, I set about making some. You will have to do some continuous stirring, for about 20 minutes (which might be challenging with kids around) but next time, I plan to get the kids involved, and I expect they'll find it fun, too.
One key to making ricotta: the recipe works best when you use milk that isn't ultra-heat pasteurized ("UHP"). Pretty much all name-brand organic milk is UHP--that's what allows it to have that incredibly long fridge life. We get our milk delivered, and it turns out that milk isn't UHP, so we were all set.
I see yogurt and mascarpone on our horizon.
P.S. You may find other recipes for homemade ricotta, including this one which doesn't call for cream. One point made in this second recipe is that you may prefer to salt the ricotta *after* making it so that it can be used for both savory and sweet dishes.
P.P.S. You can make your own buttermilk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk. I've used this substitution, as you probably have as well, for buttermilk pancakes, etc. but haven't tried it for making ricotta.
P.P.P.S. If you're not sure how to use ricotta, except in lasagna, check out these ideas that I'm planning on giving a try.
