March 14, 2024

The Joy of Fresh Ricotta

I abhor waste, especially when it comes to food. One of the joys of winter is that when we have a little of this and a little of that left in the refrigerator, I can usually find a way to combine it with a few fresh ingredients to make a soup or casserole to warm us.

Recently the culprit of waste has been milk. There are only two of us in the house so it’s not uncommon for our half-gallon of milk to go bad before we can use it all. Recently though, something new has happened. I open the milk carton, that is still half full and hasn’t yet reached the expiration date, and it’s already sour.

We commonly use sour milk in baked goods but I knew we would not be baking enough to use four cups of milk. That’s why I went in search of a recipe for homemade ricotta. Someone had told me it was a good use for sour milk.

She was right.

It was simple, took only 10 minutes or so and tasted creamy. Here’s the recipe I tried.

Homemade Ricotta

In a Pyrex cup or a jar, combine 2 cups sour milk, the juice of 1 lemon and ¼ tsp. salt.

Microwave for 4 – 6 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave.

Remove from microwave and stir until curds form. This shouldn’t take long.

Place paper towel over wire strainer. Pour in milk and curds. Shake gently to encourage the liquid to seep through. Allow the curds to continue to drain for another 5 minutes or so.

Enjoy the creamy deliciousness!

In my microwave, I tried the four minutes but had few curds so I put it back in for two more minutes. That gave me more than enough to put on a sandwich with provolone cheese. I toasted it and ate it with my homemade vegetable soup.

Now, I have no need to waste milk again.