More Deliciousness -- Ricotta Cheese

This has turned out to be a dairy-oriented summer for us!

It started with digging out our old yogurt makers and using them for making fresh yogurt for my family.  We also decided that we like to strain our yogurt so that it would be thicker.  Store-bought yogurt has thickeners (pectin or gelatin), and some of our batches with skim milk turned out pretty runny.  Whole milk makes a much thicker yogurt.




Straining the yogurt gave us a significant amount of whey.  I wondered, "Does this stuff have any nutritional value?" and "What should I do with it?"  One website, Livestrong, gave instructions for making ricotta cheese with the whey leftover from the strained yogurt.  I tried these instructions twice, and it failed both times.  But that got me thinking  (which I do on a frequent basis, anyway).  "Is there another way to simply make ricotta cheese?"  And, viola!  I found multiple recipes on-line.




Before I explain this wonderful process, let me explain what whey is to other novices like myself.  In yougurt and cheese making, two main proteins exist:  whey and casein.  The liquid that separates from the yogurt is whey.  The uninitiated, like me a little while back, think that when they see this on the top of commercial yogurt that it's a sign that it is going bad.  While some pout this down the drain, yogurt whey contains all of the vital amino acids that make a protein "complete."  It also contains calcium, potassium and vitamin B-12.

Now to my ricotta cheese experiments.  One morning, armed with whole milk, cream, vinegar, whey, and yogurt, I put my hand to making my own soft cheese in my own kitchen.