Homemade Ricotta Cheese

I stumbled across this the other day when I was all ready to make my pan of lasagna. I opened my big container of ricotta cheese and the seal was broken and it was moldy. $6 down the drain so to speak and a pan of lasagna without cheese. In my panic I started searching on the computer because I knew that ricotta was not processed for very long.

I found this recipe and it is a keeper! I've tried it several times now. It works nicely with 2 percent milk. I've always heated it up to 190 degrees and used the 1/4 cup of vinegar. When my milk was really fresh I needed to add just a little bit more vinegar. You'll know when you have enough vinegar because your milk will start to ball up immediately.

I was thinking it would be good to mix in some fresh herbs at the end for a spreadable cheese for crackers. You can make it softer or drier by how much of the water you squeeze out in the end. It's a fun and easy recipe that my daughter loves to help with. A gallon of milk is a whole lot less expensive than a big container of ricotta!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Home-Made-Farmers-Cheese/Detail.aspx