Ricotta

I'm having a friend over for dinner tonight. The recipe calls for ricotta cheese but she doesn't eat cow's milk but goat's milk is ok. I ventured to make my own ricotta using goat's milk instead. I read a ton of recipes, various other food bloggers recommendations and started in on my first cheese making adventure.

It turned out well. There were many recipes that used whole cow's milk and buttermilk for the separation. Since I couldn't use buttermilk I decided upon a recipe that used vinegar instead.

Goat's Milk Ricotta

6 cups Goat's Milk
4 tbsp vinegar (try to find one with a pH of 6% or greater)
Salt

Heat the goat's milk and salt to 180-185 degrees F. Until scalding but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Allow the curds to separate. When it is coolish and curds are clearly differentiated spoon into a colander lined with muslin or a flour sack and drain whey. When curds are at dried to your determination use or place in a container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Recipe should yeild about 1 1/2 cups of cheese.

I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the goat's ricotta. It has a slight bitter flavor like chevre that will go better with my recipe than the cow's milk variety.