[Sca-cooks] Re: Thoughts on Cheesemaking (LONG)

[Kathleen Madsen]

Hi, Gianotta.

Ricotta is typically made from the whey byproduct of
making another cheese, and the whey needs to be no
more than 3 hours old.  Any older and the protein
structure begins to break down and lactic acid
formation is too progressed to give you good curd
formation.  The typical curd formation for ricotta is
very fine and delicate.

There are three ways to make ricotta:

1) from whey produced by a cheese that began with a
minimum of two gallons of milk (any less and it's not
worth the time as you'll get so little curd).
2) from whey produced by a cheese that began with a
minimum of two gallons of milk and then is fortified
with additional whole milk or cream for a higher
yield.
3) from whole milk and citric acid.

Rennet is not used in ricotta as the type of curd
formation that you are trying to attain is not the
jellied mass that you are typically try for with other
cheeses.  An acid coagulant is used instead; i.e.
vinegar, lemon juice, wine, fig juice, citric acid,
cardoon stamen tea, etc.  This pulls the protein
structure together in grainy clumps rather than what
rennet does, which jells the protein, fats, and other
solids together and keeps moisture trapped inside as
well.  The only way to get the extra moisture out is
by cutting (each cut edge expresses whey) or by
increasing the heat (which pulls the mass together
into a tighter and tighter clump expressing whey out
at the edges); these two methods are usually used
together depending on what kind of cheese you are
making.

Ricotta cheese was traditionally made with sheep milk
as that was the primary milking animal of the
mediterranean during period.  Goat's were used as well
but not as extensively, cow's are late period.  This
recipe can be made with any kind of milk but the
flavor, yeild, and consistancy will be different as
the chemical composition of the milks are very
different from each other.  Sheep is higher in fats
and will give you a higher yield, goat's production is
much lower and unless you have your own animals it's
hard to find good quality milk - plus, the milk is
typically mishandled giving it that strong
goaty/capric flavor note.

I'm going to give you three recipes that would all
work to make ricotta salata,;one beginning with whey,
one beginning with milk, and one for Ricotta Salata
specifically.  These recipes can both be found in
"Home Cheesemaking" by Ricki Carroll, a great book for
the beginning cheesemaker as it gives you recipes
based on time not on looks and pH values.  A good
website to check out is http://www.cheesemaking.com/ ,
which is Ricki's online store.  If you are planning on
getting into any more advanced cheesemaking I would
recommend a couple of different sites as you can get
these products much cheaper in bulk and (in some
cases) some products only by importing.

Whey Ricotta (the period way but the starter culture
whould not have been used)
Ingredients: 
2 gallons of fresh whey no more than 3 hours old
1 quart whole milk, for increased yield (optional)
1/4 cup cider vinegar or other acid
4 ounces prepared mesophilic starter, to improve
flavor (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Cheese salt or Kosher salt (optional)
Herbs (optional)
2 tablespoons light or heavy cream (optional)

Directions:
Pour the whey into a large pot.  Add the milk, if
desired.  Heat the mixture to 200 deg. F.  (From my
experience you need to continually stir your milk or
whey once it reaches 120 deg. F otherwise it will
scorch the bottom of your pot, add a burned flavor,
and discolor your final product)  While stirring, turn
off the heat and add the vinegar/acid.  You will
notice tiny white particles of precipitated albuminous
protien.  Carfully ladle the curds into a colander
lined with butter muslin or other tightly woven
fabric, the colander should be placed in the sink
prior to ladeling anything otherwise you'll have hot
whey everywhere.  Allow it to drain.  If desired, fold
in the mesophilic starter.  When the muslin is cool
enough to handle, tie the corners into a knot and hang
the bag over the sink or a pot to drain for several
hours.  When the cheese stops draining, untie the
muslin and place the cheese in a bowl.  Add the salt
and the herbs, if desired.  For a richer, moister
cheese, add a small amount of cream and stir.  Cover
the bowl and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Yield: 1-2 cups

Whole-milk Ricotta (the modern way for a higher yield)
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk
1 teaspoon citric acid
1 teaspoon Cheese salt or Kosher salt
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
Directions:
Combine the milk, citric acid, and salt and mix
thoroughly.  In a large pot, directly heat the milk to
185 - 195 deg. F (do not boil).  Once the temperature
is over 120 deg. F you need to stir constantly so that
it does not scorch.  As soon as the curds and whey
separate completely (don't leave the whey milky
because that means there are still solids suspended
that could become curd), turn off the heat.  Allow to
set undisturbed for 10 minutes.  Line a colander with
butter muslin or other finely woven cloth and place
the colander in the sink.  Carefully ladle the curds
into the colander.  Tie the corners of the muslin into
a knot and hang the bag to drain for 20-30 minutes or
until the cheese has reached the desired consistency. 
The cheese is ready to eat immediately.  Store in a
covered container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Yield: 1.5 - 2 pounds

Ricotta Salata
Ingredients:
1 recipe Whole-milk Ricotta (see above)
1 Tablespoon Cheese salt or Kosher salt
Directions:
Follow the recipe for Whole-milk Ricotta.  Remove the
ricotta from the bag, add the remaining salt and mix
well.  Press the cheese into a ricotta mold and put a
saucer with a light weight (1 pound or less) on top;
press for 1 hour.  I would recommend lining the mold
with cheesecloth (not the stuff from the grocery
store!) prior to putting the curds in.  Unmold the
cheese, re-dress in a clean/dry cheesecloth and return
to the mold. Press for another 12 hours.  Unmold the
cheese and lightly rub the surface with salt.  Cover
and refrigerate.  If you find that the cheese is still
crumbly and wet re-dress it in dry/clean cheesecloth
and return to the mold and refrigerate for 12 hours. 
Turn the cheese and rub the surface with salt every
day for one week.  If any unwanted mold appears,
gently rub it off with cheesecloth dampened in salt
water.  Do not get the surface more than lightly
dampened with water, if it becomes more wet then pat
it dry with a piece of cheesecloth or paper towel. 
Age the cheese in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks.
Yield: approximately 1/2 pound.
This cheese can also be smoked, and then it is called
Ricotta Affumicata.

Note: When you are aging this in the refrigerator you
want to make sure that the cheese is not filling the
inside of the container with moisture.  As cheeses age
they give off humidity, they don't really seep out
moisture but they will expirate the moisture.  If the
box is too tightly sealed the moisture will collect on
the surfaces and before you know it your cheese is
mouldering in a puddle of water, all the sides are wet
and you are growing Brevibacterium Linens (the
orange/red mold on a reblochon or munster) and black
cat's hair molds.  Neither of which you want.  They
are difficult to get rid of and your beautiful white
cheese is permanently colored a yucky blackish yellow
with streaks of orange.  I tend to age my cheeses on a
wooden sushi mat, inside a wooden box with a sliding
lid (it once contained a bottle of olive oil, to give
you an idea of size.  I also have several sizes of
wine boxes that I use, but if I need a size I don't
have I make a box out of cardboard).  The best thing
to age in is either a wooden box with a lid you can
leave partially open or a cardboard box that you can
loosely cover with another sheet of cardboard.  Don't
wrap the cheese in any form of plastic until it is dry
to the touch, and even then I'd put it in a large
Ziploc bag taking care to check it every day for
moisture collecting and mold growth.

I hope this helps, but if you have any questions feel
free to drop me a line offline.  I've probably run
into every problem in the book, and then some!  So I
can troubleshoot for you should you need it.  I both
make cheese and manage four cheese and charcuterie
counters professionally.

Eibhlin

********************************************************

Talked with Dad again, and it turns out that Uncle
Tony was using milk, 
and he may have been using rennet. Asked Dad if maybe
it was whit 
vinegar, and he said probably not.

Now the best ricotta comes from sheeps' milk, and
ricotta salata is 
described as a sheep's milk cheese. So I wonder if you
can make a proper 
ricotta salata from cow's milk ...

I think I may start experimenting with store-bought
ricotta and trying 
to press and dry it in my refrigerator. Could be an
interesting A&S 
experiment.

Gianotta