My first cheesemaking adventure: homemade whole milk ricotta

I thought, until about an hour ago, that I wasn't super into ricotta cheese--I like it fine in things, like lasagna or gnocchi, but the thought of it on its own or spread on a cracker sort of squicked me out.  I'm not normally one for texture issues, either, so I chalked it up to just a quirk of my palate.  My friends, I'm converted.  I made ricotta at home this afternoon, and not only do I now love it, I don't think I'm going back to store-bought.  The texture is different, more like paneer (maybe I should do curry tonight?!?!), and the flavor is very delicate and fresh.  (The texture difference is due to ricotta traditionally being made from the whey leftover from making hard cheeses instead of whole milk, but it's hard to find that sort of whey available to consumers.)  I love it!  It's perfect for porch-sitting and snacking on a spring afternoon, in my opinion. 

The only reason I started this whole thing was I had a half-gallon of milk about to go bad, and since I already have enough homemade yogurt to feed a small village, I decided to try something new.  I'd seen a few recipes for homemade ricotta on Pinterest, and they piqued my interest because they all only called for milk, lemon juice, and salt--no rennet or any of the other typical accoutrement of cheese making.  It seemed like an easy place to start, and like something I could do even in the midst of the pantry challenge.  I dug some frozen lemon juice out of the freezer and got to work.  

Milk is foaming, getting close to temperature

Recipe (makes 2-2 1/2 cups cheese): 

1/2 gallon whole milk, NOT ultra-pasteurized (I used Trader Joe's organic cream-top, yum!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons lemon juice

special equipment: cheesecloth, heat-safe bowl, fine mesh strainer

1. Heat the milk with the salt to 180-190º F in a large, non-reactive pot--I used enameled cast iron, but stainless steel is fine, too.  Since I don't have I thermometer, I estimate by the look and smell of the heating milk.  When it's getting close, it'll start to make little foamy-looking bubbles, and it will smell like steamed milk on a latte--not cooked, but a distinctly different smell from refrigerated milk.  When it's steaming and the foamy bubble layer is thick but the milk is not yet boiling, that's about the right temperature.

2. When the milk is at temperature, take the pot off the heat and add the lemon juice, stirring to combine thoroughly.  I saw curds begin to appear almost immediately, but I'd guess it'll vary depending on your milk. 

Thirty seconds after adding lemon juice, milk begins curdling

3. Let the milk sit for five minutes to sufficiently curdle--this is when the curds that become the cheese separate from the whey, a yellowish not-very-tasty-on-its-own liquid.  As a side note, I had thought that since I would have some whey, I could use it to start some lacto-fermented veggies (saw a lacto-fermented salsa awhile back that I've been dying to try).  However, a little digging revealed that acid whey (the whey from cheeses curdled with an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar) does not provide the necessary oomph to start lacto-fermentation.  Apparently plants like it, though, in a diluted form.  I've also heard you can substitute whey for some amount of dairy in baking or cooking--pancakes, cakes, muffins, bread.  So I'll still be using it up, just not in any salsa.  

It should look noticeably different at the end of the five minutes, like this:

4. Wet the cheesecloth and lay it over the mesh strainer, and set the strainer over a large, heat-proof bowl (I live in a bowl-deficient apartment, so I used the 5-quart bowl from my stand mixer).  Ladle the curds and whey into the strainer, and let the cheese drain for at least an hour.     

Congratulations, you have now made a delicious, healthy, homemade cheese!  Yay!  Go do a victory lap!  Or, you know, grab a spoon.

Pantry challenge, week 1: so far, so good

I started the pantry challenge one week ago tonight, and so far it's going well.  I didn't realize how much stuff I had!  Or, at least, the variety of different things I have.  It has made this week a pretty fun one, and so far this challenge doesn't feel very challenging, but I'm sure that will come soon.  

I've had to think a little more about meal planning, since I can't just run out and get whatever it is that I "need" to make some particular recipe.  I see a lot of recipes with beans in my future, but this week there were only two.  Here's what went down this week:

Beet gratin with goat cheese, yum!

     

Friday: 

I started this at dinnertime, but I hadn't been shopping in a while, so I'm pretty sure the other meals adhered to the challenge as well.

Dinner: beet gratin (home canned beets, shallots I had lying around, walnuts, homemade breadcrumbs from the freezer, fresh thyme from the porch, goat cheese)

Saturday:

Breakfast: poppy seed cake (use up some of that powdered milk!  This is the only recipe I really ever use it for, and I also had some poppy seeds and lots of flour around.  I like this because it's delicious and high-protein)

Lunch: leftover turnip, radish, and chicken vermicelli salad at B's place--I think this counts even though we made it before this started, since it was using stuff we just had lying around on a weeknight

Dinner: butternut squash and chickpea curry with brown rice

Sunday:

Breakfast: poppy seed cake and half a bagel (my freezer is STUFFED with bagels.)

Lunch: grilled cheese on sourdough

Snack (on a hike): dried apple slices, cocoa dusted almonds

Dinner: maple baked beans and baked potatoes

Monday:

I was bad and skipped breakfast.

Lunch: leftover beet gratin

Snack: homemade yogurt with home canned pears

Dinner: pasta puttanesca

Tuesday:

Breakfast: the rest of those canned pears

Lunch: rice bowl with the leftover puttanesca sauce and fresh basil from the porch

Snack: cheese and crackers

Dinner: date night out with B--taco Tuesday!

Wednesday:

Breakfast: the last of the poppy seed cake

Lunch: leftover beet gratin

Dinner: big bowl of air-popped red popcorn, since I wasn't super hungry

Thursday:

Breakfast: sourdough toast 

Lunch: maple baked beans and a baked potato

Dinner: yam and bacon soup (yams from the faux root cellar)

I tend to only plan dinners, since lunch is often leftovers in some form or another, and there are a lot of options for breakfast that I just don't need to plan since I'm the only one eating: oatmeal, yogurt, toast, bagels, fruit smoothies, biscuits (a weekend treat).  Also, since I missed the farmers' market on Friday, I didn't really have any fresh produce to speak of, so I focused pretty hard on produce I had home canned or frozen.  I did buy goat cheese and feta on Friday, and spent $6.48--couldn't find either organic, though.  (Side note: does anybody know where to find organic cheese?  I haven't seen any at the Laguna Hills Farmers' Market.)  So far, so good on the less than $15 per week budget.  

This week has been fun, thinking of new recipes and playing what my mom calls "the dust in the cupboards game."  I've also had to adjust some of my typical meal planning axioms, like pasta night--I don't have that much pasta, and I'm not buying more until this is over, so I'll need to change that habit.  However, swooping in to take its place is soup night, which is typically much more economical and, I think, just as tasty, especially if I can have some bread with it (I'm a big fan of the Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain stuff!).  

My plan for this upcoming week is a tomato lentil soup with frozen spinach and olives, squash and black bean tacos with homemade tortillas (guys, I'm drowning in winter squash here), bean chili, tofu and eggplant stir-fry over brown rice (made up on the spot this minute looking at the sauteed eggplant in my freezer), and butternut squash with quinoa, spinach, and walnuts based off of this.  It's only 5 meals, but sometimes B and I eat at his place, and sometimes I get last-minute inspiration.  We'll see what else this week holds.

I did my shopping today (not missing the farmers' market this week!), and bought one tomato (for guacamole with some frozen avocados, taco night), a 2 lb bag of onions because I was O.U.T. and use them in everything, 2 lbs granny smiths to snack on and generally have around, 4 jalapenos and 4 habaneros (a few for pickling some carrots B had that were getting pretty long in the tooth, most for chili later in the week), and a dozen eggs.  All of this except the peppers was organic, and I spent $11.46--yay price book!  (Post on that coming sometime this month.)  So far this $15 per week thing is doable, with some planning and willingness to substitute or ad lib when I don't have the exact right ingredient. On to week two!

Have you ever done a pantry challenge?  Would you ever consider doing one?