More work needed

Not every recipe turns out the way you hope...but I always think it's an opportunity to work on it, and eventually get it right. I mean life's a learning experience. Right?

The other day a neighbour brought in a container of ricotta cheese fresh from the manufacturer. It was still warm and it was DELICIOUS and much better than anything I'd bought or tasted before.

...so I thought why not give it a go...so I did.

This was my first attempt so I thought I'd try it with just a litre of milk (full cream please), because MONT had brought some home from Bonnie Doon and it didn't have long to run on it's use-by-time

I checked out a few recipes for ricotta...some used citric acid, others vinegar. The one I chose used lemon juice as the curdling agent.

You'll need

1 litre of full cream milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Bring the first 3 ingredients to a slow boil in a pot, stirring so the milk doesn't scald. Add the lemon juice and reduce the heat and give it a gentle stir. Note: don't stir it too much.
You'll see the curds forming almost immediately. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a minute, then strain the liquid through muslin or cheesecloth into a sieve and let drain for about an hour

As you see in the photos I used a cotton tea towel because I couldn't find the muslin...but it also did the trick.

This is what you're left with...warm ricotta cheese

Mine tasted OK, but nowhere near as good as the one I was given. Mine was a little grainy and dry. I think I tried to accelerate the drainage process instead of being patient.
I won't be impatient next time