I really enjoy making my own ricotta and mascarpone at home. You see, in Italy these ingredients are a staple and you find excellent quality products at the supermarket. Here in Australia things are different. As the local Italian community is quite big, these cheeses are indeed sold at the stores, but their quality varies. While you can find decent ricotta in some deli’s, the one that comes in tubs in the cheese section of the supermarkets is almost inedible – by Italian standards, at least. And the same thing can be said for mascarpone, which is always grainy. As making them at home is very easy, I usually do that. This time I thought of trying something new and I made ricotta using goat’s milk. I love goat’s cheese and this ricotta tastes like delicate fresh chèvre. It can be eaten plain on bread or used as the base for other dishes – I will be sharing one such recipe very soon. Besides, it can also be used to make the filling for Cannoli. Probably not everyone knows that the ricotta used to make Cannoli is made with sheep’s milk… that’s why a Cannolo eaten in Sicily always tastes better! Goat’s milk is much closer in taste to sheep’s milk that your regular cow’s milk, so this ricotta can easily be used to get a filling that is much closer to the original one. Try it out and you will thank me! Enjoy!
Goat's Milk Ricotta
How to make your own Goat's Milk Ricotta cheese - perfect for savoury and sweet dishes alike.
Ingredients
- 2 lt – 8 cups goat's milk
- 500 ml – 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ tbsp – 9 gms salt
- 75 ml – 5 tbsp white distilled vinegar
Instructions
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Combine the goat's milk, cream and salt in a large pot and stir over medium heat as you bring the temperature up to 85°C – 185°F. This will take about 15-20 minutes.
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Add the vinegar all at once and stir for 15 seconds, then stop.
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Keep heating the mixture for two more minutes before removing it from the heat.
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Then remove the floating curds with a slotted spoon and place them to drain in a ricotta mold (or in a colander lined with a cheesecloth).
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Place the mold/colander over a bowl in the fridge (make sure the mold does not touch the bottom of the bowl) and let it drain for a couple of hours.
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Remove the ricotta from the mold and serve it!
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NOTE: The longer you allow the ricotta to drain, the more firm it gets. I got the perfect consistency after just 2 hours, but if you like your ricotta firmer, let it drain a bit longer.
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To store it, place it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
I’ve never thought of making my own Ricotta, but this looks so perfect! I will definitely add this to my holiday menu!
Manu Last time I made goat ricotta, i winged it and did not follow a recipe. It did work , but i suspect the amount of ricotta my attempt yielded was sub-optimal. With your recipe, I know can follow the right proportions and get back in business.
Thanks for this great post !
Before I forget , Buon Natale !!!
micksterct
https://www.coolonsale.com
Hi Manu, any advice on how to replace cream in the recipe? Cannot have cow dairy, but am fine with goat and sheep dairy and tried to make my own ricotta and mozarella, but with no luck so far.Thanks!
Hi Teddy. I have not tried it yet, but how about substituting it with some more goat milk? Have you tried that already?
Hi Manu, yeah tried that already and also tried with adding more rennet but it just wasn’t near the ricotta consistency I wanted. I am still looking for a recipe that does not need a cream or similar, cause I really miss the good stuff from home and cannot get it here in Australia. Will keep on looking then and if I find one will let you know.Thank you anyway 🙂
I am allergic to cows milk and want to know what I can substitute for heavy cream. Also how many baskets are made out of this recipe? One?