Food & Cooking Recipes Recipes by Region Italian Recipes Homemade Ricotta 4.1 (43) This four-ingredient recipe comes together in less than an hour. Prep Time: 30 mins Total Time: 45 mins Servings: 6 to 8 Yield: Makes 2 3/4 cups Jump to recipe Martha says you should try homemade ricotta. This soft cheese is easy to make in your kitchen. All you need are four ingredients—full-fat milk, heavy cream, salt, and lemon juice. Use the best quality milk and cream you can buy because you’ll taste the difference—and squeeze fresh lemon juice, this is not a time for bottled. It takes about 45 minutes to get a light and fluffy ricotta that’s so much more delicate and delicious than the grocery store versions. Drain the ricotta for another hour to get a firmer cheese to use as a ravioli filling or in baking. Whichever version you make, you’ll be delighted by this fresh curd cheese. 13 Recipes With Ricotta (Because It's Delicious in More Than Just Lasagna) Directions Heat milk, cream, and salt: Combine milk, cream, and salt in a 4- to 5-quart pot, and warm mixture over medium-high heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching, until mixture registers 195°F on a candy thermometer. It should take about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and let stand off heat: Add lemon juice, gently stirring until just combined. Remove pot from heat and let stand 5 minutes. The combination of the acid and the residual heat in the mixture will cause it to coagulate, or curdle—separating into a soft mass (curds) and a cloudy liquid (whey). Drain off whey: After lining a mesh colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and placing it inside a deeper, slightly larger bowl, gently pour curds and whey into colander. Let mixture stand, pouring off whey occasionally, until most of whey has drained from still-wet curds, 20 minutes. For a denser ricotta, which can be preferable for baking, hang it to drain for another hour. Transfer ricotta to bowl: Gather up ricotta in cheesecloth and turn it out into a bowl. Serve within a few hours, or refrigerate up to 4 days. Repurpose whey or discard it. How to Store Homemade Ricotta Fresh ricotta is best enjoyed the day it's made but can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to four days. How to Use Homemade Ricotta It's an uncomplicated cheese, but fresh ricotta is far from plain. Martha likes it topped with rhubarb. Here are a few other ways we use it: Serve a fluffy mound of it (instead of butter) with breadAdd it to a bowl of pastaCombined with honey and figs, homemade ricotta is an all-in-one fruit-and-cheese plate The Whey Don't waste the protein-rich whey that drains out of the ricotta curds. Freeze it in ice-cube trays and use in smoothies, or simply enjoy it as is, poured over ice. Other Food Projects to Try at Home Homemade Yogurt Sourdough Boules Egg Pasta Dough Basic Pierogi Homemade Fruit Jelly Martha made this recipe on Cooking School episode 412.