• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Mains
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Bread
  • Slow Cooker
  • Find A Recipe
  • About

Recipe Pocket

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Mains
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Bread
  • Slow Cooker
  • Find A Recipe
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Miscellaneous

    Feb 1, 2019 · Modified: Nov 30, 2022 by Harriet

    How to Make Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

    Jump to recipe card

    Lean how to make whole milk ricotta. There’s nothing better than a fresh batch of homemade ricotta cheese and you’ll be surprised at how quick and easy it is to make. If you have never had homemade ricotta before give this recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed. Home-made ricotta has a wonderful texture and unique milky flavour that tastes so much better than anything you could buy.

    Homemade ricotta cheese
    Jump to:
    • How Do You Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese?
    • What Milk Is Ricotta Made From?
    • How Much Ricotta Is In A Litre Of Milk?
    • How To Make The Whey?
    • Step by Step How to Make Ricotta Cheese
    • 📋 Recipe Card
    • 💬 Comments

    How Do You Make Homemade Ricotta Cheese?

    To make fresh ricotta cheese you just need a few basic ingredients and there is no special equipment is needed.

    What you need is a large saucepan, white vinegar and a little salt, as well as a muslin cloth (which you can buy from most dress fabric shops), a strainer, mixing spoon and a container to store the ricotta in.

    You make this fresh whole milk ricotta cheese by adding a pinch of salt to the milk, then heat the milk until just boiling, then add a few tablespoons of white vinegar, mix gently until the curds form. Allow the curds and whey to stand for about 5 minutes before straining into a muslin cloth, allow to hang for another 10 minutes, then store or use the ricotta as you wish.

    Fresh homemade ricotta cheese

    What Milk Is Ricotta Made From?

    Authentic ricotta cheese is traditionally made with pure milk, which can be difficult to get unless you have a dairy or your own milking cow. If you wanted to recreate a similar result you could add extra cream to milk before making the cheese.

    The easiest and most cost-effective way is to use pasteurised full cream milk. You could also use skim milk, however, due to the low-fat content you will need to use more skim milk to produce the same amount as you would get from full cream milk.

    Another alternative is to use milk that has been made from full cream milk powder.

    How Much Ricotta Is In A Litre Of Milk?

    How much whole milk ricotta you get from a litre of milk will depend on the type of milk used (as discussed above), and how much of the whey is drained from the curd.

    The more whey left in with the curds will give you a cheese that is moist and weighs more. The longer you drain the curds the drier the cheese will be.

    For example: We usually make ricotta with 2 litres of full cream milk and prefer the ricotta to be slightly dry, after about 5 – 10 minutes of draining, we get about 350 grams of ricotta cheese. If you don’t like it this dry don’t drain it as long.

    How To Make The Whey?

    White vinegar or fresh lemon juice can be used to make the whey. Our preferred method is to use white vinegar as this does not leave an after taste.

    If you do use lemon juice be careful not to use too much of it. Start by stirring in 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to start with, then mixing in an extra tablespoon of juice at a time until the milk curdles, don’t add any more juice after that, if you do you could end up with a lemon flavored cheese.

    Step by Step How to Make Ricotta Cheese

    Step 1 - Warming The Milk

    Place the milk and a little salt in a saucepan, bring to almost boiling point, but don’t let it come to a complete boil. You want the milk to be heated just to the point where it froths and bubbles start to form around the sides of the pot. Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. While the milk is heating stir it several times to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.

    Step 1. Whole milk ricotta cheese - warming the milk.
    Heat the milk too just boiling point.

    Step 2 - Add Vinegar to The Milk

    Start by adding 5 tablespoons of vinegar to the hot milk and stir it in, leave for a few seconds, then add the remaining vinegar, stir again and allow to stand for 5 minutes. In this time the milk solids and liquid will separate into curds and whey.

    Homemade ricotta cheese. Step 2 Adding vinegar to milk for ricotta cheese.
    Vinegar is added to the milk.

    Step 3 - Draining

    While the milk is standing, line a large sieve with two layers of cheese cloth and place this into a large bowl or pot. Pour the separated milk into the lined sieve to drain the liquid from the solids. Allow the curds to sit in the strainer for 5 minutes, before moving onto the next step.

    Strain the ricotta over a bowl.
    Drain the curds and whey.

    Next, gather and tie the ends of the cheesecloth together and hang the cheese for about 5 – 10 minutes. You could tie the cloth to a wooden spoon and suspend it in a deep pot or tie it to your kitchen tap.

    Draining ricotta cheese.
    Allow the cheese to hang and drain for 5 - 10 minutes

    The End Result

    Remove the ricotta cheese from the cloth and transfer the cheese to storage container. Use a spoon to press the cheese into the bowl - compressing the cheese will help keep it moist.  Allow it to cool completely before covering and storing in the fridge.

    Homemade ricotta cheese

    Storage

    Ricotta cheese can be kept in the fridge for about a week, or if you prefer it can be frozen for up to three months.

    Homemade ricotta cheese in a bowl.
    Use the back of a spoon to press the cheese into the bowl before storing.
    Ricotta cheese
    Freshly make whole milk ricotta.

    CONNECT WITH RECIPE POCKET

    Be sure to follow us on social media, so you never miss a post!

    Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter


    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

    📋 Recipe Card

    Whole milk ricotta cheese in a bowl.

    How To Make Whole Milk Ricotta At Home

    Easy homemade ricotta cheese recipe, use this for cooking many different recipes including a variety of dinner recipes, dessert and snacks. This recipe makes about 350 grams of fresh ricotta cheese.
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
    Prep Time : 5 mins
    Cook Time : 5 mins
    Total Time : 10 mins
    Cuisine: : Western
    Servings : 4 - 87 gram serves
    Calories : 312 : kcal
    Author : Harriet

    EQUIPMENT

    • Large deep pot
    • Large double layer of muslin cloth
    • Sieve or colander

    INGREDIENTS

    • 2 liters (8 cups) Milk
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
    • 10 tablespoons White Vinegar
    Tap button to prevent your screen from going dark while cooking.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • Place the milk and salt into a large saucepan, heat the milk over a medium to high flame until it just comes to the boil. Stir the milk from time to time to prevent it from scorching to the bottom of the pot.
      Note: You don’t want the milk to come to a complete boil, just to the point where the milk froths and bubbles start to appear on the sides of the pan.
      Whole milk ricotta cheese - warming the milk
    • Remove from the heat, stir in 5 tablespoons of vinegar into the milk, and leave for a few seconds.
    • Add another 5 to 6 tablespoons of vinegar, stir and mix well. The milk should separate, and curds and whey will form. Let this sit in the pot for 5 minutes.
      Adding vinegar to milk for ricotta cheese.
    • Prepare a sieve lined with a double layer of cheese cloth (or muslin), place this over a large bowl if you want to keep the whey or, drain directly over the sink if you don’t want to keep the whey.
    • Pour the heated milk mixture into the lined sieve and allow to sit in the sieve for another 5 minutes.
    • Next, tie the ends of the cheese cloth together and allow the ricotta cheese to hang and drain for about 5 – 10 minutes.
      Note: This can be done by tying the cheese cloth around a large wooden spoon and suspended it from the top of a deep large pot, or just tie the cloth to the kitchen tap.
      Draining ricotta cheese.
    • Remove the ricotta cheese from the cloth and transfer to a bowl, use the back of a spoon to press it down, allow it to cool, cover and store in the fridge.
      Homemade ricotta cheese in a bowl.
    • Ricotta can be kept for up to one week in the fridge or it can be frozen.
    Nutrition Facts
    How To Make Whole Milk Ricotta At Home
    Serving Size
     
    1 - 87 gram serve
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    312
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    16
    g
    25
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    9
    g
    56
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    50
    mg
    17
    %
    Sodium
     
    1088
    mg
    47
    %
    Potassium
     
    660
    mg
    19
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    24
    g
    8
    %
    Sugar
     
    25
    g
    28
    %
    Protein
     
    16
    g
    32
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    810
    IU
    16
    %
    Calcium
     
    565
    mg
    57
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Nutrition Disclosure

    More Miscellaneous Recipes

    • White Chocolate Sauce
    • Flavored Whipped Cream Recipes
    • Onion Soup Mix Substitute
    • Cinnamon Whipped Cream

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sasha says

      December 23, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      This is very nice fresh curd cheese, and I am going to actually make it and use it, but it is not ricotta. Ricotta is made from the whey left over after making other cheese; that is why it's called "ricotta" (recooked).

      Reply
      • Harriet Britto says

        December 24, 2020 at 6:23 am

        Thanks.

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Author image.

    Hi, I'm Harriet! The face and photographer behind Recipe Pocket. I am a mother of two who is a cook by day and blogger by night.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • 39 Best Heart Shaped Cookies (Easy To Make)
    • Meatless Monday Recipes - 50 Easy Dishes
    • Starting from Scratch: Baking Equipment For Beginners
    • Strawberry Oreo Milkshake

    Trending

    • Crescent Roll Recipes
    • How To Use Instant Yeast
    • How To Make Instant Coffee Taste Better
    • Creamed Sweetcorn Fritters
    • Dry Buttermilk Powder Substitute
    • Gelatinous Bone Broth With Chicken Bones (Slow Cooker Recipe)

    Web Stories

    Recipe Collections

    • Yeast bread recipes
    • Overnight oats
    • Puff pastry appetizers
    • Banana breakfast recipes
    • Crescent roll recipes

    Footer

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms and Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About/Contact
    • Image Use

    Copyright © 2023 Recipe Pocket