Cheese Recipe + Sicilian Homemade Ricotta Cheese

This is a recipe for my Sicilian grandmother's creamy homemade ricotta cheese. Great as a spread on fresh bread or add as a topping to fresh Pasta.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon whole milk
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 18-inch squares cheesecloth

Cooking Directions

1. Line a large colander or sieve with 4 layers of cheesecloth. Set aside.
2. Heat milk, buttermilk, heavy cream, and salt in a large, heavy, nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for the first 10 minutes. Continue heating, without stirring, until the temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour. The mixture will be separated into white curds and clear whey.
3. Using a slotted spoon, ladle approximately 1/4 of the curds into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gather up the corners of the top cheesecloth and secure closed with a zip tie. Repeat with the rest of the curds, cheesecloth, and zip ties. Use the last zip tie to thread all of the cheeses together. Suspend the cheeses over a large wooden spoon over a large bowl, and let drain for 2 hours.
4. Place the four cheeses, still in cloth, in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, cut zip ties, and transfer cheese to an airtight container.

Nutrition Facts

• calories218.8
• carbohydrateContent11.8 g
• cholesterolContent54.1 mg
• fatContent15.6 g
• proteinContent8.4 g
• saturatedFatContent9.4 g
• sodiumContent426.6 mg
• sugarContent11.2 g