The fresher whey, the more fresh cheese! Whey is the by-product of making cheese and cheese makers often have so much they do not know what to do with it... I have experimented with norse lemonade (whey with concentrated fruit juice - actually not bad and rather thirst lessening), used it to make soap (appropriately titled 'Whey Cool') and have fed it to the chickens, goats and pigs. But this time was different, this time I was going to take the challenge and transform this often deemed waste product into even more cheese! I made my first batch of ricotta with whey from cheese of the day before, but now I know how easy the process is next time I will make it straight from the cheese pot.
The whey needs to be heated with agitation to 160° F. If available, 5-12% in volume of fresh milk can be added to improve yield and richness of the ricotta. As I had used all my milk to make hard cheese, I did not add anything extra.
Continue heating to 170° F. When it reaches temperature add 1/2 tsp. of salt per gallon of liquid and mix it in quickly. Continue to heat, without agitation, to 185° F and hold at this temp "until the ricotta rises." I am not sure what is meant with the latter part of the sentence. While a foamy scum did form on the surface of the whey, akin to butterfat, the actual cheese would sink to the bottom upon solidifying (like regular cheese curds). It is OK if the whey heats well into the 190° F, in the past people heated to just below boiling but this is not necessary.
When the whey has as at 185° F and a foamy scum has formed on top, mix in 1/2 tsp. of citric acid, dissolved in 1/2 cup water, per gallon of liquid. Add this quickly to the whey and stir briskly for 5-10 seconds. The acid will form small flaky curds which hopefully gradually form larger curd masses. If nothing much happens, add some more citric acid solution.
According to the recipe: "if too much acid is added, the curds will sink to the bottom and the cheese will not be sweet. The correct amount of acid will produce a clear separation of white curds and bright green whey. Use a perforated stainless steel ladle to gently move the curds from the sides to the center of the pot. These clumps of curd will begin to consolidate floating on top of the liquid. Let the curds rest for 10-15 min. This is very important because this is the point where the final Ricotta quality is assured. Ladle the curds gently into draining forms (No cheese cloth should be needed if you were patient in the previous step). Let the curds drain for 15 min up to several hours."
According to my experience, although the whey had not cleanly separated yet (much more yellow then green) and I used the exact amount of citric acid as indicated I never found my cheese curds wanting to float. The cheese curds were small and fluffy, like snowflakes, and the cheese tasted similar to chevre (fresh goats cheese). Now I know this technique I will experiment, it is likely there just was not that much solids left in the whey for the amount of citric acid, or goat whey behaves slightly different from cow whey.
I drained my ricotta with cheesecloth until it stopped dripping and ladled the curd into small cheese molds.
The molds are then placed in a cheese box (closed plastic container with bottom grid to keep the molds out of the shedded whey) in the refrigerator. The ricotta can also be drained for several ours for a denser and richer consistency. Consume the fresh cheese within 10 days.
The fresh cheese molds I use I make out of butter containers: they are made from a food safe plastic and come with a fitting lid. The holes are made by heating a finishing nail (held with pliers) in the flame of a gas stove (or butane lighter) until red hot, and then melting this hot nail from INSIDE out through the wall of the container. The holes have to be made from inside out as that way any burrs of melted bits of plastic are on the outside and do not hinder the cheese.
The full Ricotta instructions are found at:
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/217-Ricotta.html
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