I scrolled through gorgeous photos, which actually showed a cheese looking much more like cream cheese than Ricotta. Intrigued, I read all about the inspiration for this cheese and then read the recipe to get all the gritty details of how it was made to get all that creaminess.

It explained everything.

This rich Ricotta is somewhat irreverent of the traditional Italian Ricotta in that it’s not a whey cheese product and further more the recipe, originally taking its cues from the Salvatore Ricotta recipe which instead involves full milk, has been further tweaked to include 1 cup of heavy cream!

The result?

Rather than producing the usual light fluffy Ricotta made with whey, this Ricotta is dense, creamy and more spreadable.

It is not the traditional whey Ricotta. You can get that recipe here.

Now while I love following the traditional methods for each cheese type, I also don’t mind having a wee play every now and then and the richness of this Ricotta appeals to me so, I’m going to give it a go this weekend and I thought I would share the recipe so you can too.

This cheese can be made without having to buy cultures, rennet, molds or presses so it might appeal to those of you who have yet to embark on the full cheese making mission. The only special piece of equipment you really need is a thermometer to get the heat point accurate.

So, without further a-do:

Rich Ricotta Cheese Recipe

Ricotta Cheese Ingredients

• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

How To Make Ricotta Cheese at Home

1. Pour the milk, cream and salt into a large pot.
2. Heat the milk to 190°F regularly stirring to prevent burning
3. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice
4. Stir once or twice, gently and slowly
5. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
6. Pour curds and whey into a colander double lined with cheesecloth.
7. If you wish, save the whey in a bowl and take a look at these ideas for using it up.
8. Leave to drain for between 1 to 2 hours.

This recipe makes 1 cup of Ricotta Cheese

How To Store Ricotta Cheese

Stores for 5-7 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

If you are interested in seeing how Salvatore Bklyn, the Brooklyn company who have created a frenzy over their modified Ricotta, make their version of this rich creamy cheese take a look at this video:

The King of Ricotta: Salvatore Bklyn from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

Photo credit: © 2010 grongar

Do you have any questions or comments about Rich Ricotta? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We would love to hear from you!

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