Homemade Ricotta

I was flipping through Lynne Rosetto Kaspar’s How to Eat Weekends a few weeks ago (David had bought it for his sister’s birthday and had not yet sent it off), and stumbled upon a recipe for making your own ricotta.  The description sounded so wonderfully simple.  Bring milk and salt to a simmer, add lemon juice, simmer for a few minutes more, until the curds separate from the whey, scoop out the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth.  It seemed too simple not to try.  So I got some non-homogenized milk from the co-op and a try.  

Here's how it looked after the curds had formed.

And here it is draining.

It was highly satisfying to make this bit of kitchen alchemy happen with such speed and ease.  I may have cooked it a little too long or squeezed out too much liquid, as it was a little more firm and rubbery than I would like it.  Lynne said to rinse the pan with cold water before adding the milk to make the cleanup easier.  I'd hate to see how the cleanup could have been more difficult (I didn't take a picture of that).