Homemade Ricotta

Adapted from The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt (W. W. Norton, 2015)

Makes about 1½ cups

I use a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup for this.

To 3 cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream—or 2 cups whole milk and 2 cups heavy cream if you want it to be very rich—add 1/2 teaspoon salt (kosher, or Italian sea salt) and 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar.

Heat the milk and cream mixture in the microwave until it reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. In my small microwave, this takes about 8 minutes. You can certainly do this on top of the stove instead.

At this point, stir it gently for about 5 seconds. It should already be separating into curds and whey.

Transfer to a fine sieve lined with a white mesh vegetable bag or cheesecloth.

Cover the top with plastic wrap and let it reach the desired consistency. The more it drains, the "drier" it will be.

The texture I like is almost like ice cream. Since I am usually using this to make manicotti, it gets thinner with the addition of eggs (and a little heavy cream), so this is a perfect texture for me to start with.

Note: The best ricotta I ever purchased was made by Salvatore Brooklyn. The recipe I use is adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt’s in his seminal work, The Food Lab, but there are other good recipes to check out—FOOD52 and Smitten Kitchen, who also likes Salvatore. If you don’t have or use a microwave, Jennifer Perillo’s recipe on FOOD52 is the way to go. It was the first recipe I tried, so I know it works!

My Ricotta