I love Ricotta Salata and had not have thought of making it until Amanda found a recipe and gave it a go. Now it is going to be a staple cheese around here. You can make this with pasteurised milk that you buy at the supermarket. So no excuses about not having a cow!.
I Heat 2 gallons (about 9 litres) of raw milk to the first bubble -about 185F ( 85C ).
Add 2/3rds of a cup of white vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt. Stir with a light hand until just mixed.
Set aside to curdle for about 2 hours.
No more stirring. Be good now.
After a couple of hours the curds will collect at the top of the pot. Carefully spoon the curds into a muslin lined colander .
Gather the muslin into a bag and hang to strain. I drain it for the afternoon.
In the evening pour the curds into a muslin lined mold and press for an hour, then unwrap, turn, rewrap and press again for 12 hours at about 10 pounds. (basically a cast iron skillet). On the bench.
In the morning you will have a little white cheese brick of ricotta.
Salt all over with non iodised salt.
Place in a container then into your fridge, wipe, re-salt the surfaces and turn every day for seven days. The salt is dragging out the moisture. I place a ring or small stand under the cheese after a few days so the whey will drain away from the cheese.
After the seven days, wrap in cheese paper and allow to age for a month to three months. I have seen people dust it with paprika at this stage and I look forward to trying that.
Ricotta salata is wonderful, mostly I like it sliced thin and tossed in hot oil until brown then thrown into a salad of tomatoes and olives and greens with a lemon dressing. Delicious.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
43 responses to “How to make Ricotta Salata”
Excellent – very clear instructions too 😉
Oh yum! What’s the texture like? Is it a hard crumb or more like haloumi? I love the idea of this with a salad of fresh tomato, olive oil and basil.
hard and crumbly like feta . c
Thank you 🙂
Sounds scrummy. Thank you for taking the trouble to explain it all so clearly.
How is Boo?
love,
ViV xox
Boo is the same, I will take him to the Vet this afternoon. c
Cheese making is one of the best ways to preserve the protein in milk. I’d like to see more kinds of cheese making if you are into that. Your pictures and instructions were very nicely done. Thanks. Di
Thank you Diann. After a day like yesterday i am reminded why i am not a food blog. But I do grow food and then am happy to show you what I turn the food into. I do a lot of yoghurt and yoghut cheeses like labneh. But I don’t bother with hard cheeses anymore.. they go moldy here – something in the air..c
Exactly that is it what I like of your blog. That it is n o t a food blog. That I can see all around the rural living with your lovely animal mates, all that what you are sharing with us. With your ever great photos / shots. And on top some great recipes from time to time… – I really love that. xoxoxo
What a great recipe. I am not sure mine would come together as easily as you make it sound. 🙂
It is actually that easy! c
Oh yum! I have never found a cheese I didn’t like!!!!!!!!! This morning – I had a cheddar bagel from the Jewish deli and I have to say it is now my favorite….. yum!
That sounds wonderful – and so American.. delightful.. c
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I’ve never made ricotta so must check – Where do you leave it to age? s it ok in a mostly dark pantry or does it need more air?
Thanks ❤
I age mine in the fridge, (which does make it too hard) but unless it is controlled my cheeses seem to go moldy. The cheese paper will help with air circulation and add a little humidity. c
Thanks Celi! ❤ I shall give it a try!
Sounds fabulous! Thank you so much for the recipe with great instructions and pictures! I will try it for sure! We have two goats milking, so have lots of wonderful fresh milk right now! xo
And Of course it SHOULD be made with goats milk – I look forward to hearing about yours.. c
So many questions from the Lounge today. 🙂 I will be among them—does the salt make the cheese salty? I am not a fan of overly salty cheese (feta) and wonder if this lovely looking cheese will end up tasting similar.
This cheese is in fact very like Feta. I think you may not like it in that case..
Thanks! It’s good to know.
Oh, wonderful, but I’m not sure I can wait that long. 😀 I wonder if this would work with parturised milk. I’ve made chevre before with pasturised goat’s milk and rennet (mushroom rennet). It’s not possible for me to get raw milk in Van, but maybe in E it is. I can go ask the dairy farmer down in the village. Oh, what’s up with Boo’s paw? Any news? Big hugs tired girl. 😀
I am assured that it works just fine with pasteurised milk – even just to make the ricotta for your lasagne.. c
Boo is the same = miserable.. c
Time to make Boo some yogurt for his tummy when he gets put on massive doses of antibiotics to fight his infection.
The ‘wet’ this spring/summer has not been kind to the health of many of your animals. I often wonder how animals and humans in rain forests survive.
I hope we will be able to get a report Boo after the vet visit this afternoon. He is so very special!
Yum, yum and yum! That’s all I have to say! 🙂
Don’t eat it all, I’m hoping to try it! Hope Boo is ok and the calves too.
You and I can make some when you come! Then we will make a ricotta cheesecake or lasagne – whichever you like!! The gardens are very much looking forward to you coming!!. I am is such a mudddle this week.. . c