Making l/f Ricotta cheese?
 

I see so many fabulous recipes using ricotta cheese. Living in rural India, I don't have the luxury of getting anything ready made. Anyone have a recipe for making ricotta? I don't have a cheese maker, so the more basic recipe the better.

Wish I could send you some!!! I have never made it myself, but I do love it.

I'm very curious about living in India - have you been there long? Are you there for work? Sounds very interesting, but I imagine your food choices are very different!

I've lived here 12 years this month. I love it. I live in a compound, my parents moved here 5 years ago. Yes, I am limited with my food choices, and I go without a substitute when it's not available... I eat more whole foods and less processed on SBD which helps.

indigal, I don't have a recipe for ricotta cheese, but you can substitute cottage cheese in any recipe that calls for ricotta. Just drain the cottage cheese in a sieve or in some cheesecloth, then whip it until it's smooth.

okay then... how do you make cottage cheese??? I live in rural India... I drive 6 hours round trip to get lowfat milk once every 2 months...

Can you buy paneer? I think it's the same.
Here's how to make cottage cheese if you decide to go that route.

Paneer is readily available... It's an extra extra firm tofu consistency. It's not lowfat... but once I'm off phase 1, I'll eat regular cheeses as my budget cannot afford low-fat prices here. Thanks Ruth, I'll give it a try.

oops! Ruth your link didn't open...

I was going to suggest paneer too. If you wanted it to be lower fat, you could mix tofu and paneer. :)

I am so interested about where you live! What kind of "compound"? I love Indian culture!

in case anyone else is wondering
 

I was given this information by a friend on another board. I plan on making it cause Ricotta is so expensive in the stores. So here goes.

Gallon Milk
1/2 c White vinigar
Tsp sea salt

Gallon milk (use whole or at least 2%, skim will give you very little cheese)
First rince your pot with warm water on the inside. This will help you from getting burnt parts on the bottom. It works, have no idea why, but it does! Something my grandmother always does and when I asked her why she said, b/c thats how we do it, lol.

Pour in your milk and turn on stove to medium high. Put in your thermometer. When it gets to 171 degrees add 1 tsp sea salt and turn off the heat. gently stir in 1/2 c or so white vinigar (I just eyeball it, so i'm guessing on amount). Cover your pot with a kitchen towel for 3 hrs or so (don't put it in the fridge, just leave it on the counter for this part). After 3 hrs put cheese cloth in a big strainer and pour the mixture through, with a large bowl under to catch the whey. After 3 hrs straining you will have riccotta. If you are not used to the freshness of it you may want to rinse the curds so they are not as vinigary to you. I personally like the tange in my dishes.

The whey the is in the bowl underneath is great for making smoothies and shakes with. That is pure whey protien, so very good for you. If you let the cheese strain for longer (like 6 hrs or so) you will get a denser, more cream cheese product. Great as a thrifty substitute on bagels. We love it with a little dab of honey in it on a fresh made whole wheat bagel. Yummy!

I make my own ricotta cheese, and it's amazingly easy. My recipe is very similar to the one above, except I use a gallon of 2% milk and 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice instead of vinegar. I like to strain mine through cheesecloth. The flavor is fantastic, and you can add garlic, basil, or whatever you like to it.

Each tablespoon has 25 calories, 2g protein, 1.5 grams fat, and 30 mg sodium.

I just made my own yesterday. Tonight I used it in a "fake" lasagna. It was so yummy!!! So easy, I couldn't believe it!! My husband thinks I'm crazy, but he wasn't here to taste it!! I think I'll convert him!

I also made my first batch the other day. The lemon juice did not work for me so I added the vinegar and it worked great. Since it was bedtime I let it drain overnight (through cheesecloth) which made it very dense. Next time I will drain it for a shorter period. It's been great for making the moc french toast.

Great idea Briggsy13 and RealtorRose! I'm going to try it tonight.

I'm going to try this. Sounds easy and Ricotta is a bit spendy:(