This easy-peasy homemade ricotta cheese recipe was a recipe that spawned from a lack, more than anything else.

1. The lack of ricotta cheese on Swazi supermarket shelves. The choices don’t go far beyond Gouda, Cheddar, and Feta.
2. The lack of a cheesecloth (I know we do have one, but I couldn’t for the life of me find it).

A lack of the aforementioned items is no good for a certain someone obsessed with making spinach and ricotta ravioli and cannelloni. So what did I do? I made a plan.

The tea towel is a humble kitchen essential that even my cousins have in their little university accommodation kitchen.

Making ricotta cheese might sound intimidating, but trust me, it could not be easier. And now you don’t even need a cheesecloth.

How to Make Ricotta Cheese from Scratch

First, prepare your draining mechanism. Line a colander with a tea towel and suspend it over a large bowl. You don’t need to fold the tea towel into many layers, as you would do with a cheesecloth, as the holes in the fabric are much smaller.

Now, heat the milk in a medium-sized pot over medium heat and stir in the salt using a wooden spoon. 

You will heat the milk for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until steaming and lazily bubbling. Once that’s happening, immediately turn the heat low. If you have a thermometer, this point will be about 95°C. You just want to make sure the milk doesn’t start bubbling its head off.

Add the lemon juice, give the milk a quick stir, then turn off the heat.

You will notice the curds instantly separate from the whey. Leave the hot pot standing for 10 minutes to fully complete this process, then pour the contents of the pot into your lined colander. The watery whey part will strain through into the bowl below, leaving you with your gorgeous ricotta cheese. 

If you want smooth, creamy ricotta cheese, leave it in the tea towel for 5-15 minutes. If you want drier, more crumbly cheese, leave it for a bit longer. Once you’re happy with the consistency, place the cheese in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.

The leftover salted whey can be transformed into various products, including bread and soup stock. The Spruce Eats has a helpful post on this. I just gave the whey to my brother, who has been trying to grow his muscles, and let him handle it!

Print Recipe

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

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Serves: 1 generous cup of ricotta cheese

Prep Time: - – Cooking Time: 25 minutes (stovetop) – Total Time: 40 minutes

This ricotta cheese is quick and very, very easy to make. You don't even need a cheesecloth to make it, only a tea towel. It's great for pastas, especially as a filling for spinach and ricotta ravioli and cannelloni.

Ingredients

• 4 cups full-fat milk (not UHT)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ T freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1

Line a colander with a tea towel and suspend it over a large bowl.

2

Heat the milk in a medium-sized pot over medium heat and stir in the salt using a wooden spoon. Heat the milk for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until steaming and lazily bubbling, then immediately turn the heat low. If you have a thermometer, this point will be about 95°C. Add the lemon juice, give the milk a quick stir, then turn off the heat.

3

You will notice the curds instantly separate from the whey. Leave the hot pot standing for 10 minutes to fully complete this process, then pour the contents of the pot into your lined colander. The watery whey part will strain through into the bowl below, leaving you with your gorgeous ricotta cheese. If you want smooth, creamy ricotta cheese, leave it in the tea towel for 5-15 minutes. If you want drier, more crumbly cheese, leave it for a bit longer. Once you’re happy with the consistency, place the cheese in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.