Instant Pot Ricotta and Farmer’s Cheese
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Instant Pot Ricotta and Farmer’s Cheese 00:00 Introduction 01:01 Ricotta vs Farmer’s Cheese 01:45 Why ricotta is hard to buy? 02:41 Why farmer’s cheese is …
Answers to some of your questions:
1) Can you use lactose-free milk?
Probably, but I haven't tried it.
2) If fermenting using the sous-vide method, do I use a zip lock bag?
I'd use a pot set into a water bath, not a bag.
3) What if I don't have an instant pot or sous-vide set up?
Find a warm place in your house (maybe near a radiator?). Be creative!
4) How does this recipe compare to Chef John's?
Mine will taste fermented and tangy. Chef John's will taste milky and sweet. Mine is unsalted, so salt it to taste when using.
5) Can you use the whey for something?
Yes, there are lots of ideas in the comments.
6) Do I need milk that's not ultra pasteurized?
I've tried it with all different supermarket milk brands and they all worked. I think the presence of kefir will make any milk curdle.
7) Is this ricotta or farmer's cheese?
The point is not what is it officially called, or whether it follows some traditional method, but how does it taste. Traditionally, ricotta was made completely differently from how it's made today. It was a bi-product of making mozzarella. So if we go down that route, all homemade ricotta isn't really ricotta (unless of course, you were making mozzarella 😉 Many farmer's cheeses tend to be grainy and mine isn't. I love sweet and milky ricotta on its own, but I much prefer the cheese from this video in desserts traditionally made with ricotta (like cannoli filling).
You are welcome to call it whatever you want as long as it's not "cottage cheese". I never understood that horrible product. It's like styrofoam swimming in semen. I was worried that if the only term I give for this cheese is farmer's cheese, people will confuse it with cottage cheese. So I wanted to throw out a concept of ricotta out there because this cheese has more similarities with ricotta than with cottage cheese.
Damn, you are gonna make me finally buy an instant pot Helen! 😀
me patiently waiting for pancake recipe
Thank you Helen. Interesting variation of making it in an instant pot. Have to give it a try. I make my own kefir(from kefir grains) and then my own farmers cheese(tvorog). But I usually heat the milk on the stove and pour kefir in while slowly stirring. This is the most popular way it's done in Lithuania, where I am from originally. Looks like Instant pot method produces smaller curd.
Also, for everyone: keep the whey. Use it to make smoothies, pancakes, bread etc. Or just drink it cold. Especially, if you are using organic milk.
This episode is giving me many thoughts apparently! Have you tried seasoning/flavouring your ricotta? Spices? Fresh/dry herbs? Oil or honey or vinegar? Or am I trying to make something that's already perfect into more than it needs to be?
I realize the answer to all these questions is "go try it yourself", but I'd love to know if you've stumbled on any winners
Love this episode! Might just be the reason I finally get over my aversion to fermenting dairy. I'm surprised to hear how much of an effect the pectin in the kefir has on the final product, considering how little is added.
Excellent.
My 1940's oven runs at 90-92 F with the pilot. Question: do I cover the pot or no?
Question: think we could use a dollop of real yoghurt instead? No disrespect to kefir which isn't hard to say at all. What about lassi? Same thing?
Request: how about a lesson on the differences, if any, between farmers, ricotta, kajmak, paneer, and queso fresco.
Story: a man from India, now aged probably 75, told me that his grandmother brought whole, raw milk to temperature, used lemon to make the curds, wrapped it in a lot of muslin, and put it in the ground to draw off the moisture.
We forget how new refrigeration and city water are! If we were that easy to kill we wouldn't still be here. (Half Slav, Half Scot. Of course I think that way.)
Супер, спасибо! Жаль, что многое мои друзья не знают английский, а то бы поделилась видео.
The gums and stabilizers added to commercial cream cheese make it almost chewy; I prefer my cream cheese creamy, so I make my own whenever possible. The problem is finding half'n'half or cream that hasn't been ultra-pasteurized. I noticed your whole milk simply states "pasteurized" – is a gentle pasteurization process vital to the success of this ricotta recipe?
Are you saying that ricotta is the same as farmers cheese?
Hi, Helen! Greetings from México.
I just make one exception in dairy and for the same reason you make it for ricotta: yogurt.
You don't mention whether it matters if the milk is ultra high pasteurized; I do know that for homemade cheeses (harder cheeses, anyway) the UHP milks will **not** form a curd. Of course, I'm blessed that I have my own raw milk, so I'm asking to the benefit of others 😉
Great video! Question about the difference between ricotta and farmer's cheese: I think you were saying that perfect ricotta and perfect farmer's cheese should be the same. Commercially available versions of the two types fall short of perfection in different ways. Is that right?
This is not really ricotta cheese it's "ricotta style" cheese, real Ricotta is made with the whey of cheese making. This was done as a way back then of not wasting the whey.
By the way, folks, you may want to save that strained-out whey to use as the cooking liquid for lentils (dal). I learned from an Indian cook that cooking dal in whey instead of water creates a much more nutritious dish, and a tastier one, too. So I tried it about ten years ago and was very pleasantly surprised at how much better the dal dishes turned out. If you cook split Masoor Dal (bright orange split lentils) in whey until very soft you can easily blend it into a nutritious and delicious soup you can drink from a mug or a Thermos.
When my Mom makes tvorog, she always let the curdled milk come to a room temperature after heating, which takes a few hours, she never drains it immediately or while it's warm, because you will get significantly more tvorog this way. Thanks for your videos, Helen!
Kefir = like Key West and Cape Fear …. Key Fear.
Awesome!
I really need to try this so I can make some home made vareniki, it has been years since I've had home made ones.
What is the difference between these and Feta cheese?
Bold move posting this right after Chef John dropped his ricotta video. I'll make both and determine once and for all who is the real big cheese.
Can't wait for the Syrniki video. Good quality store bought Tvorog is so so hard to come by where I live so we've just had to settle for a really long time…
I used to make Greek yogurt in the IP all the time..even bought of those yogurt strainers/containers, and it would come out great but my 86yr old mother never cared for it since it wasn't sweet (she's got a huge sweet tooth) but I liked it and even used it as a sour cream replacement. I also make cottage cheese once and it came out great as well. SAVE THE WHEY! Freeze it in ice cube trays as it can be used as a starter the next time or used in bread recipes or a variety of other wonderful dishes.
Growing up, the only time I saw farmer's cheese was during Passover. It has been decades since I have seen it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.