1     gallon whole milk
3/4     cup heavy cream
2     teaspoons kosher salt
1     teaspoon liquid vegetable rennet
1/4     cup cold water

1. In a large heavy soup pot, combine the milk and cream. Gradually bring to a boil. As soon as the milk begins to foam up and climb toward the top of the pan, turn off the heat. The temperature of the milk mixture should be about 200 degrees.

2. With a large spoon, skim the foam from the milk. Pour the milk into a clean saucepan, leaving behind any scorched milk adhering to the bottom. Add the salt and stir until dissolved.

3. Let the mixture cool to about 100 degrees, skimming off any new foam skin that forms on top of the milk.

4. In a bowl, combine the rennet and water. Stir it into the milk mixture until well distributed. Let stand, undisturbed, for 10 minutes until you can see that the milk has thickened.

5. With a wooden spoon, cut a crisscross pattern through the center of the pot. Stir quickly with the wooden spoon for about 15 to 20 seconds to break up the coagulated milk. Then, using a perforated stainless skimmer, slowly and gently circle the pot in one direction (it should take about 20 seconds to make a full turn around the pot) and watch as the milk begins to separate into curds and whey. Continue the slow, gentle stirring motion with the skimmer, moving the curds toward the center of the pot until they have gathered into a large mound in the center with the whey surrounding them. (Some curds will remain with the whey.) This can take up to 5 minutes.

6. Line a colander with cheesecloth. Gently and slowly pour the whey into the colander. Use the skimmer to return any curds in the cheesecloth to the pan. Using the skimmer, gather the curds, disturbing them as little as possible, and gently spoon them into the baskets, mounding as high as needed.

7. Set the baskets to drain in plastic containers or bowls and let stand at room temperature until the whey no longer drips from the cheese baskets, emptying the liquid several times during the process. This should take about 2 hours. Expect quite a bit of whey to drain from the curds. The ricotta can be eaten at this point or refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.

Adapted from Rosetta Constantino

Related posts:

1. Easy Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe With Two Ingredients This delightful homemade ricotta cheese recipe requires only two ingredients...
2. Homemade Cheese Recipe Jackpot You can try your hand at blue cheeses, cheddars, chevres,...
3. Make Homemade Paneer, Fresh Indian Cheese Paneer, a delicious South Asian cheese typically pressed and cut...

Making cheese is a lot simpler than one might think – at least when it comes to making a simple cheese. You can make it just by heating milk and adding vinegar, which is fairly similar to the way I improvise on a recipe requiring buttermilk. When I make imitation buttermilk, all I do is add lemon to the milk until it curdles, the only difference is that when it comes to making cheese, you harvest the curdled part. The solid substance is called the curd, the leftover liquid is called whey – the same curds and whey Miss Muffet enjoyed.

This seemed a little too easy and this type of cheese is fairly soft, with an almost cottage cheese-like consistency. I researched a little further to find a way to make a firmer cheese?

The answer came… Rennet! Rennet is traditionally made from the stomach of a calf, it is salted after the beast is slaughtered. You can buy rennet easily through various cheese-making supply websites. I was too impatient to wait to get the real stuff, but I found out that there were other forms of rennet that would give the same results. After looking for what seemed like an eternity, I found a recipe for vegetarian rennet. I took about a pound of nettle leaves, a couple of ounces of hops, and some yarrow flowers, put then in a pot and covered it with just enough water to immerse the plants. I brought it to a simmer and then let it sit for a while to steep. I then drained it and added about a cup of salt.

Another thing that helps in cheese-making is conditioning the milk. Through my research I found that I had to add live cultures… but where to get them? The answer ended up being rather simple, buttermilk and yogurt. In the same pot as the milk, I poured a half-gallon of milk, one quart of buttermilk, and a whole container of yogurt. I put in half a pint of heavy cream for good measure. I let this sit for a good two hours and guess what? It began to curdle. I wanted thicker curds though, so I poured a half-cup of my homemade rennet in and the curds got thicker in just a matter of minutes. To promote the growth of the bacteria in the yogurt, I let it sit a while, warming it slightly over the stove, careful to not even bring it to a simmer.

I could now see the curds and the whey. The whey was a pale yellowish hue and the curds looked a little bit like scrambled egg whites. I then lined a colander with cheesecloth and proceeded to filter the curds from the whey. I put the curds into a bowl and added salt to further help the removal of excess liquid. Next, I returned it to the colander lined with a fresh layer of cheesecloth. I was anxious to taste it, and wow, it actually tasted like cheese!

The next step is optional – putting your cheese in a mold and pressing it. To make my press, I rummaged around the kitchen to see what I could use. I took an old plastic sherbet container and put a bunch of holes in it. I then placed my cheese curd filled cheesecloth inside and placed it in a large bowl and but a plate on top of my curds. Now the problem was having enough weight to press it. I placed two big cans of tomatoes on top and, voilà, it worked. After pressing it, I put the cheese into the refrigerator and let it set. It tasted a lot like cheddar.

Next time I try to make cheese, I probably use this same recipe but will try to improve upon it. When I master this one, then I think I’ll feel a little more like trying a different style of cheese. Happy cheese making!

Paul Rinehart is the founder of Online Cooking.

Related posts:

1. Easy Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe With Two Ingredients This delightful homemade ricotta cheese recipe requires only two ingredients...
2. Homemade Cheese Recipe Jackpot You can try your hand at blue cheeses, cheddars, chevres,...
3. Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe This ricotta recipe courtesy of the Boston Globe is outstanding....