Good cheese is something that’s quite expensive in India. Which means we don’t buy a lot of it in the country, and rather wait to go abroad and then buy the cheeses we want. There are however some cheeses that can just be made at home. Ricotta is one of them. I was surprised to see how simple it is to make, and that it needs regular ingredients. Everything you need for this recipe is sitting in your kitchen.
The recipe I’ve used is an adaptation from one I saw on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
For the ricotta:
- 4 cups full-fat milk
- 1/2 cup fresh cream
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
It’s honestly a three-step process.
Heat the milk and cream with the salt in a saucepan. You want to get it up to a 180F if you have a thermometer. Otherwise, you want it just above warm, but not so hot that you cant touch it. If your knuckle touches the milk, it should be hot.
Take it off the heat, and add the vinegar and stir gently. The milk will almost immediately begin to curdle. Leave for 5-10 minutes.
Line a strainer or colander with a layer of muslin cloth, and using a spoon, gently pour the curds onto the muslin. You can pour it but do so really slowly so that the curds don’t break.
I left mine to drain for about 45 minutes. But it all depends on how wet you want the cheese to be.
After that, all you need to do is crumble it and store in an airtight container.
nayantara pandit 
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