Er, maybe not, but perhaps I invented a new tradition that will sweep the nation by this time next year. Yep, while the crowds were on the Hill, sweating and crammed in like sardines to see the royals, I boiled up some milk and got down to cheese making. Hard to say who had a more glamorous time -- me or Kate -- but I did don a fascinator for the occasion.
Anyway, the recipe's from the new Jamie Oliver magazine, and I thought it looked both interesting and relatively easy, so opted to give it a try. Funnily enough, it starts out by stating that ricotta's a good way to use up leftover milk. But who has two litres of milk just left over? And left over from what is a better question.
Start by bringing the milk to a boil in a large pot. Two litres is a lot of milk, let me tell you, and you'll be shocked at how little cheese it makes.
Once you add in the vinegar and let the mixture sit for a while, you spoon out the curds into a strainer. I didn't have any cheesecloth to line mine, so I used a (clean) linen tea towel.
This is what the cheese looks like after 15 minutes of resting in the strainer.
And this is what it looks like after it's all bundled up and the remaining whey is squeezed out. There's a lot of whey! (And a lot of blue veins on my wrist. I ought to have that checked out.)
And here's the finished product. The recipe says it produced 300g of cheese, and while I didn't weigh it, I'd estimate it at just over a cup or so. Honestly, I found the texture of this a little disappointing. I was hoping for something creamy and salty, but it was pretty dry and a little bland. I'd chalk this recipe up to more of a fun science experiment than a roaring success.
It tasted better on toast though, with some roasted asparagus and drizzled with some olive oil. Makes a great lunch!Cheat's Ricotta
From Jamie Magazine, June 2011 edition
2 litres full-fat milk, cow or goat
1 tsp sea salt flakes
100 ml rice vinegar or white vinegar
A large piece of muslin or cheesecloth
1. Pour the milk into a large, deep saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the salt and stir to dissolve.
2. As the milk comes to a boil, you'll see small bubbles forming. Remove spoon and add in vinegar all at once. You'll see small lumps form and rise to the surface as the milk curdles.
3. Once the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat. Cover pan and leave for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, line a sieve or colander with the cheescloth and place over a large bowl.
5. Remove lid from pan and gently lift the separated curds into the sieve. Or, slowly pour mixture from pan into sieve. Allow curds to sit in strainer for 15 minutes.
5. Wrap the fabric around the cheese and squeeze gently to remove more liquid, until you reach desired consistency. Unwrap the ricotta to serve, or cool commpletely then store in fridge for two days.
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