Ricotta Cheese Making
Practical Action
Disinfection
Prepare a mixture of water and bleach, adding a teaspoonful of bleach to a litre of
water.
Soak the utensils in the mixture, then rinse them with hot water.
Method of Production
Step 1
Heat the buttermilk to 86°C (- this temperature may vary depending on your height above sea
level).
Step 2
Add salt – a quantity 0.1% of the total amount
Whilst the buttermilk is heating up to the desired temperature, prepare the acidic ingredient:
Citric Acid
Add a teaspoon of citric acid to a glass of cold water and stir.
Use 5g of citric acid for every 10 litres of buttermilk.
Vinegar and Lemon
Add a tablespoon of vinegar per 10 litres of buttermilk.
Add [the juice of] one lemon per 10 litres of buttermilk.
Step 3
Ensure to add the citric acid only when the
buttermilk reaches 86°C.
Step 4
Take the pan off the heat and leave it to stand for
half an hour. This allows the rennet to rise to the
surface.
Step 5
Pour the contents of the pan through a sieve, then
place the contents of the sieve in a bag of fine
cloth.
Step 6
Hang the bag overnight to air it.
Step 7
The following day, empty the contents of the bag into a mould.
Crumble up the rennet, taking care that no dirt gets in.
Place the crumbled rennet in polythene bags, to avoid contamination by micro-organisms or
other foreign bodies.
Having done this, refrigerate the product at 4°C.
In order to give greater nutritional value to the product, you may add milk to it, at 10% of the
total amount of buttermilk.
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