Homemade Goat Milk Ricotta

Ricotta cheese is a favorite cheese of mine and I always wondered how you make it. I often eat it by sneaking a spoonful here and there while I’m making lasagna or baked ziti. Let’s face it I’m addicted to ricotta and can eat a whole container if I had the time.

When I did my sleuthing on the internet, I came across a dozen different recipes. All of them consistently described that ricotta is as simple as milk, temperature, and acid: An hour later you have ricotta cheese. With this info, I’ve come up with a recipe of my own. The traditional way is to let the acid sit with the milk for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature, then heating it to near boil. This miraculously develops curds that can then be strained out.

Garcia's Goat Milk Ricotta

By Mark Published: January 1, 2013

Yield: 2 cups
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Ready In: 1 hr 35 mins

Simple recipe for making ricotta out of goat's milks

Ingredients

2 quarts Goat Milk
3 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tbsp Butter
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Sea Salt

Instructions

Take the goat milk and put it in a stainless steel pot and heat on medium to 195°. Make sure you keep stirring the milk to ensure it does not scorch on the bottom.
Once it reaches 195° turn off the heat and then slowly add the apple cider vinegar, stirring evenly.
You should start to see fine curds appearing. At this point let the milk settle and you will see some separation with the curds on top and whey on the bottom. In approximately 5 mins scoop the curds into the butter muslin.
After a couple of scoops I simply poured the whole pot of goat milk into the stainer. After that is done you will want to tie up the ends of the butter muslin.
Let the butter muslin hang from a spoon over a water pitcher for about an hour or so. This will let remaining whey drip out of the ricotta.
You then are ready to untie the butter muslin pouch. At this point you should pat yourself on the back and revel at the great creation nestled in the pouch.
Dump the ricotta into a mixing bowl and add the remaining butter, salt, and baking soda. I noticed online that folks were puzzled by the use of baking soda. I can only chalk up the use of this ingredient as a way to counter the acidity of the curds, but also as a stabilizer.
And at the end you'll have a tasty, rich, and creamy ricotta. Now what to do with all that whey? SAVE IT! Don't throw it down the drain.
There is a variety of uses for the whey. Since it is high in protein, it is an excellent adjunct to bread (substitute it for the water that is needed), smoothies, pizza dough, pasta... even add into soups that are creamed to give it a richer taste. I plan on making bread and pansotti dough later this week.