Lemon Ricotta

This recipe is derived from The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie by Paula Haney's lemon ricotta recipe.

Ingredients:

½ gallon (1936g) Whole Milk

1 cup (232g) Heavy Cream

~3 Lemons, zested and juiced (¼ - ½ cup of juice, 48 - 96g)

To Taste:

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Lemon Juice

Hoosier Mama's Directions:

Slowly bring the milk and heavy cream to a boil in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan, whisking occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom Once the liquid reached a rolling boil, remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice Wait 2 minutes and stir in 2 tablespoons more lemon juice. Solids (curds) should begin to separate from the translucent whey. If you don't see thickened curds, gently stir in more lemon juice a tablespoon at a time pausing for 2 minutes after each addition. Pour the ricotta through a fine-mesh strainer that has cheesecloth draped over it. Let stand for at least 20 minutes to drain, up to 1 hour for a thicker ricotta. Fluff up the ricotta with a fork and season to taste with salt, black pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Final Notes:

This was very easy to make, but wow is there a lot of whey left over! I hate food waste, so try to have some recipes lined up for that. Cookbook recommended substituting it for the water in bread.

Loved this recipe, it's a great way to use up milk before it goes bad. I want to try making plain ricotta for some pasta dish sometime!

The Ricotta lost some of its lemon flavor over time and started to dry out because I didn't put it in an airtight container. Adding some more lemon juice fixed both issues.

Ricotta is great on toast with a drizzle of honey