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Steps
1 - Save the whey from making cheese in a non-reactive pot. (Here you see
curds for a basic cheese at the bottom of the pot, as the whey is being
poured off.) Filter as many of the curd particles out as you can since they
would otherwise form tough "beads" in the final ricotta. Cover and let sit 12
to 24 hours at room temperature to develop sufficient acidity.
3 - Continue heating with stirring until its temperature is near boiling (95
°C)(203 F). Note that foam will build up somewhat. Be careful. If it boils, it
can boil over.
4 - Remove from heat. Cover and allow the "cooked" whey to cool undisturbed until comfortable to the
touch. The curds should look like clouds suspended in the whey, while the whey appears clear and
yellowish green.
5 - Do not stir up the curd: Set up a receiving pot with a large strainer and a
fine clean cloth on top. If the curd is floating, you may dip out the curd into
the cloth. Alternatively, if the curd all sinks, pour as much of the whey through
the cloth as you can without disturbing the curds. It will filter through much
faster if you do this carefully without stirring up the curds.
6 - Gently scoop out the curds. Because the curds are very fine and delicate,
they can stop up the cloth easily. This will cause very slow draining if they are
broken up. Much of the whey will drain out as you dip the curd.
7 - Drain the whey through the cloth (be patient, it can take 2-3 hours).
8 - Pick up the corners of the cloth, suspend it like a bag over the drainage pot
(or sink), and allow the last of the whey to drain out. It will take several hours,
and can be done in the refrigerator over night.
Tips
This process relies on allowing the inoculated bacteria in whey to further ferment the liquid as it sits at
room temperature for an additional 12-24 hours. During that time, the remaining sugars are converted to
lactic acid, which lowers the pH of the whey. The solubility of the protein in acidified whey is reduced.
Heating the acidified whey denatures the protein causing it to precipitate out as a fine curd.