Homemade Ricotta

This homemade ricotta is creamy, milky, and shockingly good on crusty bread. Once you make it, the store-bought stuff is tough to love.

Fresh ricotta is a completely different animal from the store-bought stuff. The first time I made it, I couldn't believe how creamy it tasted. It’s luscious, milky, and smooth. Nothing like the grainy, rubbery texture you sometimes find at the store.

And while it’s certainly possible to make homemade ricotta that ends up just as disappointing, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to help you avoid that.

You probably don't know this about me, but before kids I was a winemaker who became completely obsessed with cheesemaking. My biochemistry degree finally found its calling and I spent a few years making everything I could get my hands on: waxed goudas, beer-washed cheddars, impossibly creamy feta. I even converted a small wine fridge into a cheese-aging cave and always had a few cheese projects in the works.

While those cheeses required careful attention to pH, cultures, humidity, and aging, ricotta is refreshingly simple. The challenge isn't making ricotta. It's making really good ricotta.

That's probably the cheese nerd in me talking. I still have strong opinions about things like acid choices. I prefer citric acid dissolved in water because it gives the cleanest flavor, though lemon juice works great (not everyone keeps citric acid casually sitting in their pantry. That's okay.

Over the years I've found that a few small details make all the difference: good milk, a light hand with the acid, gentle curd handling, and patience while draining. None of them are difficult, but together they turn ricotta from merely homemade into something truly special.

Most important of all, though, is eating it.

My favorite way is spread thickly on homemade country bread so you can really appreciate its fresh, milky flavor. It's also wonderful in ricotta toast with smoked salmon and peas, whipped ricotta dip with honey, ricotta meatballs, or sweet ricotta crepes.

I have a lot of ricotta recipes around here because, yes, I'm obsessed.

How to Make Homemade Ricotta

Recipe Tips

• Use the best milk you can find. Better milk makes better ricotta. Whole milk is essential, and minimally processed milk will give you the sweetest flavor and best texture.
• I enrich my ricotta with a splash of cream. It makes the finished cheese extra rich, silky, and indulgent.
• Use just enough acid. Too much can create a firmer, more rubbery texture and overwhelm the delicate flavor of the milk.
• Stir as little as possible. Once curds begin forming, resist the urge to fuss with them. Gentle handling creates larger, creamier curds.
• Let gravity do the work. Squeezing the cheesecloth compresses the curds and pushes out moisture that contributes to ricotta's light texture.
• Adjust the draining time to your preference. A shorter drain gives you a light, fresh ricotta. A longer drain creates a richer, denser cheese that's perfect for spreading.
• Homemade ricotta is best enjoyed fresh. The sweet milk flavor and creamy texture are at their peak during the first few days after making it.

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