Nothing, and I mean Nothing beats homemade ricotta.  The stuff you get in the store is shredded cardboard compared to this.  The aroma alone is enough to send you into a frenzy.  And you know what… it’s so incredibly easy to make you’ll never buy it again.  It’s great in lasagna, ravioli, on top of spaghetti, or as Jen says, just eating it straight.

Ingredients:

1 pint Whole milk
1 pint half and half
1 pint heavy cream
1 pint buttermilk
Fresh lemon juice from 1 large lemon
1.5 t. salt
1 t. white pepper

Method:

1. Put all liquids, except the buttermilk into a large pot and bring to a full rolling boil.  It has to be a large pot because dairy swells up when it boils and if your pot is too small it may boil over onto the stove.  So give yourself plenty of room.
2. Once it’s at a rolling boil, add the buttermilk and let it boil again.  It’s done when you can see a clear separation between the large curds and the whey.  It will look like big white pieces floating in cloudy liquid.
3. Remove from heat and strain it through either a cheese cloth or through a kitchen towel or a cloth napkin.  You’ll want to put it over a soup bain or large bowl.  See the video for what I mean.
4. Let the excess liquid drain out for 1-3hrs.  It really depends on how moist you want your ricotta to be.  Sometimes you’ll want it to be more liquid than others depending on what you’re planning to do with it.  This is the great part of making your own.  You can control every aspect of it.
5. Season with salt and white pepper and lemon juice.
6. Chill and let set again if you’re going to add it to ravioli, but you’re free to eat it now or put it onto spaghetti, or lasagna, etc.
7. Fall in love.