Ricotta Cheese

I don't even remember what had me first looking up how to make ricotta cheese from scratch out of nothing more than morbid curiosity, but boy am I glad I did. It's stunningly simple, but all the same, there were enough experiments and subtleties (not to mention just plain laziness) that I'm going to write up a whole entry on the process so that I don't forget. I tried the vinegar and lemon juice routes, but I never achieved the consistent results with full separation that I always got with buttermilk, and without any of the funny aftertastes that most people complain about when using vinegar.

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup reduced fat 2% buttermilk

This ratio can be multiplied as needed depending on how big your cooking pot is - makes approximately 1/2 cup of cheese

1. Pour both the milk and buttermilk into a pot on the stove and turn the heat up to medium-high.
2. As the milk heats up, stir it once in a while. (Avoid over-stirring. As the milk starts to separate, you don't want to break up the curds too much.)
3. While the milk is heating, dampen two sheets of paper towels with a little water and line a colander with them.
4. The milk should be fully separated just before it hits the simmering stage. The milk should never actually reach a simmer or boil - you can shut off the heat as soon as you are satisfied that it has separated completely.
5. Using a slotted spoon, fish out the curds and dump them in the colander.
6. (optional) Depending on how wet or dry you want your ricotta, you can take the additional step of gathering up the paper towels with the curds inside and giving them a light squeeze (be careful, the whey that comes out will be really hot!). Otherwise, you can just leave the curds to drain for 10-20 minutes.
7. The ricotta can be used immediately, or it can be left in the refrigerator to chill.