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Very Veggie Pesach 2019: Make Your Own Ricotta!


I love ricotta cheese, but I could never find it certified kosher for Passover. My understanding is that ricotta is normally curdled using white vinegar, which is distilled from grain, a definite no-no for Passover! I usually substitute small curd cottage cheese for ricotta in my Passover recipes. Cottage cheese is not as good as ricotta but it has a similar taste and texture and gets the job done.

Last year toward the end of Passover, I was in the mood for my Potato-Cheese Gnocchi but I had run out of cottage cheese! And there was no kosher-for-Passover certified cottage cheese at my local grocery stores! I was ready to give up on the gnocchi but then I was watching a morning news show and a guest chef gave a recipe for homemade ricotta! It was very easy to make, worked great for my gnocchi and I'm sure it would work in other Passover recipes. I have heard that this recipe is not true ricotta because true ricotta is made from whey, not milk, but I don't really care because this is, at the very least, closer to true ricotta than the cottage cheese I was using, and the only two ingredients (milk and lemon juice) are easily available for Passover.

Let's get started!

Ingredients
  • 1 quart milk (whole or 2%; not non-fat!)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Yup, that's all you need! This will make about 1 cup of ricotta. Increase the quantities if you need more, the resulting ricotta will be about 1/4 of the amount of milk you use.

Kashrut Notes

  • Milk does not require Passover certification if it is purchased before the holiday begins. I always buy a LOT of milk before Passover! And I frequently see it certified during the holiday.
  • Realemon bottled lemon juice is kosher for Passover without special certification, or you can just squeeze your own from a lemon -- all fresh fruit is kosher for Passover!
Preparation

  • Put the milk in a pot and heat it on the stove slowly, until it starts to bubble or foam a little, but not to the boiling point
  • Take the pot off the heat, add the lemon juice and stir gently. You may quickly see the milk start to separate into curds (clumps that will become the ricotta cheese) and whey (a watery, yellowish, protein-rich liquid that many people discard but it can be saved and used in other recipes -- more below)
  • Let the mixture sit, uncovered and undisturbed, for about 10 minutes
  • Line a strainer with cheese cloth or paper towels. If you plan to save the whey, put this on top of a pot or bowl that is large enough to hold the liquid
  • Spoon the larger clumps into the strainer, then pour the rest into the strainer
  • Let it sit and drain for about 10 minutes
The curds in your strainer are your ricotta cheese!

The whey that you strained out of the curds is commonly discarded, but it is high in protein and other nutritional value. You can use it in place of water or broth in other recipes or put it into a smoothie.

In a couple of days, I will be adding one more Passover recipe, and it's one that can use this ricotta! Kiwi-Quinoa with Cinnamon Ricotta.

Have a sweet and kosher Passover!
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