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Buttermilk Ricotta

Printed From: Foods of the World Forum
Category: Food Groups
Forum Name: Cheeses and other Dairy Products
Forum Discription: A place to discuss cheeses and other dairy products in general.
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=2450
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 19:44


Topic: Buttermilk Ricotta
Posted By: Addtotaste
Subject: Buttermilk Ricotta
Date Posted: 13 August 2012 at 10:55
Here is an alternative recipe to the one Margi posted. I found this one to be slightly creamier.

Being frugal does not come naturally to me. I am a poster child for conveniece and would much rather “just pay for it” than calculate how much I can save if i “just do it”. Unfortunately, of late, being frugal is more a necessity than an luxury and I have been doing freelance anything for some extra cash on the side.

One of those freelance anythings has been baking.  http://addtotaste.co.za/red-velvet-cupcakes/" rel="nofollow - Red velvet cupcakes  to be exact and if you follow that link to my recipe you will see that a key ingredient is buttermilk.  For those who don’t know, buttermilk is what is left over when you turn cream into butter and lends a tang and a creaminess to the red velvets.

Add to Taste - Pot o Ricotta

Suddenly buttermilk has turned into a regular ingredient found in my fridge so when I was given a recipe for ricotta made with it I had to give it a try (I am all for giving things at least one try). I make ricotta regularly and it is the one frugal move I make. Every time I reach to pick it up off the fridge shelf in the supermarket I look at the price and swop it for a bottle of milk instead to make my own.

This recipe is so simple (the friend who gave it to me has yet to let me know who to credit) with only 2 ingredients and some simple kitchen tools. If you don’t yet have a candy thermometer I recommend you invest in one ( http://www.yuppiechef.co.za/kitchen-craft-cooks-tools.htm?id=1316&name=Kitchen-Craft-Home-Made-Cooking-Thermometer" rel="nofollow - Only R60 from yuppie chef ) and you can use a regular kitchen towel if you cannot find muslin.

Add to taste - Ricotta stack

Buttermilk Ricotta

2 litres full cream milk
2.5 cups butter milk
Candy thermometer
Cheese cloth

Slowly bring both milks up to 82C on medium heat. In the this time it will begin to separate and curdle. Once it reaches 82C, remove from heat and slowly strain the whey and curds over the cheese cloth. You can use a slotted spoon to get all the curds out as well.

Once everything is separated, tie the cheese cloth into a ball and hang from an elevated area for a minimum of half an hour. The longer you hang, the dryer the curds.

Add to Taste - Snacking Ricotta

I had mine with some fresh tomatoes, a sprinkling of za’atar and a splash of olive oil



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Check out some more recipes and reviews - www.addtotaste.co.za



Replies:
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 13 August 2012 at 12:24
looks great, hila, and as you say, it is also very easy!
 
do you see any uses for the whey? i am sure that it could also be put to use, thus stretching your hard-eared rands even farther for more economy ~


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Posted By: Addtotaste
Date Posted: 13 August 2012 at 14:03
The same friend who gave me this recipe also said that the whey is excellent for making yeast bread. I am currently avoiding grains for a month so will try it next time.

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Check out some more recipes and reviews - www.addtotaste.co.za


Posted By: ChrisFlanders
Date Posted: 14 August 2012 at 05:49

Hello Hila! I wouldn't worry too much about giving credit to the original author of your recipe. This type of cheesemaking is ages old. The endresult has many local names. In my own country we still have a very ancient recipe for "mattentaart" a delicious one-portion pie, originating from the town Geraardsbergen in Belgium.

Mattentaart is recognized as a local speciality and is protected as such by the European Union. It's kind of a puff pastry filled with a mixture of eggs, sugar, almonds and "matte" which is made from 3 parts full fat milk and 1 part buttermilk, similar to your ricotta recipe.

These small pies probably date from the Middle-Ages. The word "matte" and "matton" were used in earlier times for this type of cheese made with full fat milk and buttermilk and is found in several dialect in Germany, France and Belgium. This is how mattentaart looks like;

(picture from nl.Wikipedia; http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattentaart)



Posted By: Addtotaste
Date Posted: 15 August 2012 at 06:29
ooo that looks yummy. 

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Check out some more recipes and reviews - www.addtotaste.co.za


Posted By: ChrisFlanders
Date Posted: 15 August 2012 at 09:23

They are not all that difficult to make when using bought puff pastry. When done, the filling should be somewhat crumbly but still moist, just like a fresh ricotta texture. Enjoy!

Recipe for 5 small mattentaarten, translated from http://www.mattentaart.be/?menu=recept" rel="nofollow - http://www.mattentaart.be/?menu=recept

You will need;

Small round baking molds (or a big one), 2,3 liter fresh raw farm milk, 1,2 liter fresh buttermilk, 4 eggs, 235 gram sugar, a few drops vanilla and almondextract or 80 gram powdered almonds. Two sheets of puff pastry made with 100% good butter.

Preparation;

Boil the milk. As soon as the milk boils, add the buttermilk. Keep stirring and boiling on high fire for approx. 15 minutes until the milk curdles. Remove from the fire. Let the preparation drip out in cheese cloth during one night. The next day, remove the cheese from the cloth. Add the egg yolks, the beaten eggwhite, the sugar and the almonds and vanilla extract.

Finishing;

Put puff pastry in the molds and press well. Fill the molds with the cheese mixture. Cover with another sheet of puff pastry. Cut the redundant pastry off with a knife. Brush the puff pastry with egg white to give it a color in the baking process. Take a pair of scissors and cut a small cross on top of the pastries. This will allow the steam to escape and avoid hollow parts in the pastries. It will also provide that typical brown spot on top. Bake in the oven at 225°C for 30 minutes.

Puff pastry; translated from http://www.njam.tv/recepten/klassieke-frangipanetaartjes-met-een-frisse-toets" rel="nofollow - http://www.njam.tv/recepten/klassieke-frangipanetaartjes-met-een-frisse-toets

I took this recipe for puff pastry because this chef is a truly fantastic pastry chef. There's also a video if you want to see it. Just click the link I just posted where he's making frangipane pies using puff pastry. So the first part is the making of puff pastry... very interesting!!

You will need;

250 gram flour, 5 gram salt, 130 gram cold water, 200 gram good butter.

Preparation;

Put the flour on your workspace in a circle. Make a crater in the middle. Sprinkle the salt at the outside of the circle. Pour the water in the crater and add 25 grams of butter. Carefully mix water and butter with the flour until it forms a homogenous dough. Make a ball from that dough, wrap in clingfilm and rest it 10 minutes in the fridge.

Roll the ball into a square of approx. 8 mm thickness. Soften 175 gram butter and spread it over 2/3th of the dough. Fold the dough toward the middle, starting from the part that was not buttered, then fold the other side over it. Let's call this one lap of 3 overlapping parts. (Bakers call this one tour of three)

Dust your workspace with a little flour. Roll the dough in a square of 1 cm thickness. Fold again in 3 overlapping parts. You now have what they call two laps of three folded parts (including the previous mentioned lap). Wrap in clingfilm and let rest in the fridge for another 10 minutes.

Repeat the rolling and folding until you reach four laps of three folded parts, wrap again in clingfilm and rest 10 minutes in the fridge.

Repeat the rolling and folding until you reach six laps of three folded parts. Wrap and rest this time for 20 minutes.

You can now roll out the puff pastry thinly to be used in baking. How easy was that...



Posted By: Margi Cintrano
Date Posted: 15 August 2012 at 09:27
Add to Taste,
 
Thank you for posting your Ricotta version  ... We are over on Adriatic in Puglia, where we just finished reforming the electrical system, wood floors, kitchen and 2 bathrooms ...
 
Have a lovelysummer. I am off kitch duty at moment ...  LOL
 
 
Have a lovely August.
Margaux.


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Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 15 August 2012 at 11:10
Hey Chris, is fresh raw milk important?

That would be hard to get here.


Posted By: ChrisFlanders
Date Posted: 15 August 2012 at 11:28
Not really, Darko. But the original "mattentaartjes" have to be made from raw farm milk coming from a farm in the region where Europe contributed the designation of origin to. It's a little simplistic imo, seen how easy to make these tartelettes are.



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