Home made ricotta

I have recently discovered that the "safe" dairy items listed on our trusted low histamine list are not actually good options for those of us outside of Europe. The milk we purchase has a mix of A1 and A2 beta casein and it is the A1 that is the liberator of histamine from our already agitated mast cells. Enter A2 or camel milk! These two milks are almost entirely devoid of A1 beta casein and so are considered a safe food. 

Building on this discovery, I decided to purchase a couple of litres of A2 milk and make myself some lovely home-made ricotta. As long as you have all of the required equipment on hand, this is a dead simple dish that is undoubtedly going to bring joy to those who have been missing dairy as much as I have. 

HOME-MADE RICOTTA

1900ml/67 fl oz A2 milk

84ml/3 fl oz white vinegar

Muslin cloth

Candy thermometer

1. Pour milk into a heavy based saucepan with candy thermometer attached

2. Heat, stirring, until it reaches 90°C/194°F
3. Remove from the heat and add vinegar
4. Stir through and watch as the curds separate from the whey
5. Set a sieve lined with muslin cloth over a large bowl

6. Almost immediately, you can begin to spoon the curds into the sieve with a slotted spoon

7. When you have the majority of the solids transferred, pour the rest of the liquid through the muslin to catch all of the solid bits. I like to push the curds I have already collected to the side of the sieve to keep them from getting soaked

8. Gather up the muslin and squeeze the ricotta over the bowl to expel the excess liquid

Use as you like! As a dip, a spread, mixed through a salad, on vegetables or as ricotta gnocchi - I will post my recipe for this soon! The whey (liquid) can be used to make pancakes for others. I did sneak one but am fairly sure most of the vinegar ends up in the whey so left the rest to my family to eat. I used this recipe for the pancakes and it was delicious.

Enjoy ❤️