Ricotta Cheesecake

[kadesma]

Good Morning friends!!!
Beth- my family makes a casadedde(sp) which is like a fried turnover with a filling of ricotta, sugar and citron or chocolate bits- (depending on which aunt makes them!!)My father's family is infamous for making up their own words in sicilian too!!! I am still looking for a recipe for saviatta cookies which are also called shavolette(sp) and all I keep finding is savadori which is NOT the same thing at all. ANYHOW!!!! IF you would likethe recipe I have for casadedde I would be more than happy to dig it out for you! Love and energy, Vicki

Hi Vicki,
I just saw this post of yours..I would love your recipe when you have time. My family would love this it sounds great.
kadesma

 

[bethzaring]

Hey Licia! Mozzarella Cheese

Licia,

You inspired me to try making mozzarella cheeses. I just made my second 2 gallon milk cheese. I have changed my attitude about the mozz's. If they turn out remotely like a mozzarella, I will be happy. The first one turned out very hard and not enough flavor. In todays cheese I added some lipase powder and more salt than the first batch. I plan to concentrate on fresh mozz's until I get better at making them. Looks like pizza again tonight.

 

[BrianMorin]

Licia,

You inspired me to try making mozzarella cheeses. I just made my second 2 gallon milk cheese. I have changed my attitude about the mozz's. If they turn out remotely like a mozzarella, I will be happy. The first one turned out very hard and not enough flavor. In todays cheese I added some lipase powder and more salt than the first batch. I plan to concentrate on fresh mozz's until I get better at making them. Looks like pizza again tonight.

This is exciting. You got me thinking about making my own mozza. Do you have a book, or a web recipe? It sounds like it is relatively facile, plus we eat (my wife loves cheese) a fair amount, pizzas and all.

 

[bethzaring]

This second try at the mozz cheese, I used this technique from the New England Cheesemaking Supply website
http://www.cheesemaking.com/includes/modules/jWallace/ChsPgs/1Mozz/Index.html

I added the lipase just before adding the rennet. You will find differences between the photographs and the text. Maybe they do that so you will buy their mozz kit! Let me know if you have any questions after reading over the directions. I printed them off and took them to the kitchen.

 

[BrianMorin]

This second try at the mozz cheese, I used this technique from the New England Cheesemaking Supply website
http://www.cheesemaking.com/includes/modules/jWallace/ChsPgs/1Mozz/Index.html

That was my first cheese making book source. The other was Glen Garry Cheese Making This one would be more for the Canadian in the mid to eastern part of Canada. Importing can be a tricky business.

Thanks for this. I try to make as much of my own food as possible for several reasons:

1. To know what I eat One really doesn't know what they put in foods these days. There is a post in the ice cream area that talks about (non-toxic) anti-freeze, that they put in commercial ice cream. Yummy!
2. To know how to make it. If ever I need something and can't find it, well, I can make it.
3. So it will be how I like it. I'm a very fussy eater. I like my food to taste something over and above salt, sugar and heat... That's just me...

How many people do you know that make there own mozzarella cheeses? Me, besides you and the people on this board and the author of the book you mentioned, the answer Jonny* is: "0"

* Johnny is a fictisous character who's name I have used to confuse everyone by making them think that he is real.

 

[urmaniac13]

Licia,

You inspired me to try making mozzarella cheeses. I just made my second 2 gallon milk cheese. I have changed my attitude about the mozz's. If they turn out remotely like a mozzarella, I will be happy. The first one turned out very hard and not enough flavor. In todays cheese I added some lipase powder and more salt than the first batch. I plan to concentrate on fresh mozz's until I get better at making them. Looks like pizza again tonight.

Hey that's great you are trying your hands at mozzarella!! Clearly you have a knack for cheesemaking, I am sure you will master the art pretty soon. Actually for pizza, harder mozzarella is better as it won't make the dough too oozy and soggy. Anyway I wouldn't complain having a pizza party everyday while you are studying the mozzarella making!!

And how did the round 2 come out?? Keep us update with your quest!!

 

[BrianMorin]

Hey that's great you are trying your hands at mozzarella!! Clearly you have a knack for cheesemaking, I am sure you will master the art pretty soon. Actually for pizza, harder mozzarella is better as it won't make the dough too oozy and soggy. Anyway I wouldn't complain having a pizza party everyday while you are studying the mozzarella making!!

For me it's not so much the technique, it's the ingredients. Maybe I just don't look in the right places, but I dought they would have it in any of the giant chaine stores they have around here? But having said that I'm not sure. (rennet, lipase I think it is). I can get good milk but it is very expensive, but worth it I know.

And how did the round 2 come out?? Keep us update with your quest!!

I guess your talking about the spumoni? I have formulated my raspberry recipe. I almost did it tonight, but I don't want to put stress on the process. If all is well I will do it tomorrow afternoon, that will give it plenty of time to cool so I can put in the berries and put it in the fridge overnight.

Oh ya, I got this great book on Italian baking by a woman by the name of Carol Fields. By looking at the book you would think she was Italian. I will post more on that later, or should I say earlier as it is getting latter.

I'll be in touch.

 

[bethzaring]

Round two of the mozz cheese turned out really really well, it could even pass for mozzarella cheese! And I LOVE pizza; bread machine makes the dough, home canned pizza sauce, home grown veggies, a little goat sausage and I'm in heaven. We are having company for dinner tonight, so more pizza!

Brian, I would think you would have to try a cheesemaking supply catalog or a goat catalog to find lipase and rennet. I use liquid rennet and you can only buy that in cheese making regions or through a catalog. Liquid rennet is much more economical than the tablets if you are making a lot of cheese.

Beth

 

[urmaniac13]

Round two of the mozz cheese turned out really really well, it could even pass for mozzarella cheese! And I LOVE pizza; bread machine makes the dough, home canned pizza sauce, home grown veggies, a little goat sausage and I'm in heaven. We are having company for dinner tonight, so more pizza

You rock Beth!! I knew you could do the mozzarella in no time!!
BTW are you still making the ricotta, too? We did our pizza the other day and made extra pizza dough (try mixing about 20% of yellow soy flour if available, it helps the dough become more crispy), enough to make a double crust "pie".
We filled it with a mixture of ricotta, an egg, lightly precooked chopped asparagus(not all the way, as it would get cooked more while baking), diced ham and grated parmigiano, baked it at 180°C/350°F for about 40 minutes (or the crust became golden). That was wonderful too... another suggested recipe for your ricotta!!

 

[bethzaring]

Yeah Licia, I am making some ricotta with the whey from the mozz. I am about to post a recipe for ricotta from fresh milk. And I have some soy flour, so will definitely try that. And I also like the idea of making extra dough and keeping it in the fridge, need to slap it around a bit to keep it under control in the frig. I have the asparagus too, and I note the temp, 350 F, is a bit lower than I usually cook pizza. Thanks for the suggestions and support!!

 

[urmaniac13]

You're very welcome!! I specified the temp for the ricotta pie because indeed it is much lower than regular pizza temp. (which is almost like higher the better) Pizza should be cooked much more quickly but for this pie it needs to be cooked slower for the filling to settle. I hope you will enjoy it, and look forward to your official ricotta recipe! In Rome it is difficult to get a real "FRESH" milk (I mean the ones straight from a farmer collected just in the morning), but this is one thing we would love to try one day!!

 

[BrianMorin]

Brian, I would think you would have to try a cheesemaking supply catalog or a goat catalog to find lipase and rennet. I use liquid rennet and you can only buy that in cheese making regions or through a catalog. Liquid rennet is much more economical than the tablets if you are making a lot of cheese.

Beth

Ok, I found a site that supplies “cheese making supplies”. I have pots, one twelve litter (3 gal) and one 16 litter. I have thermometers. So I need cheese cloth, Lipase and liquid rennet. Could you or someone here advise me on quantities, of these items I should get?

Or better yet, does this sound right to you. 60 ml (2 oz) rennet, 20 g (¾ oz) Lipase, Natural unbleached muslin cheesecloth Sold by the square meter (unfinished edges) m2 or 1 Piece of 14” x 14” (finished edges) I'm really lost on this last item, the cheese cloth?

Any words of encouragement will be more than welcome.

 

[bethzaring]

Ok, I found a site that supplies “cheese making supplies”. I have pots, one twelve litter (3 gal) and one 16 litter. I have thermometers. So I need cheese cloth, Lipase and liquid rennet. Could you or someone here advise me on quantities, of these items I should get?
/quote]




The two pots are good, so you can fashion a double boiler type set up.

Or better yet, does this sound right to you. 60 ml (2 oz) rennet, 20 g (¾ oz) Lipase, Natural unbleached muslin cheesecloth Sold by the square meter (unfinished edges) m2 or 1 Piece of 14” x 14” (finished edges) I'm really lost on this last item, the cheese cloth?

/quote]

Yes, the two ounces, 60 ml, of rennet is perfect, as is the 20 g of lipase. I would suggest the square meter of cheesecloth, 14x14 inches may be too small.
Good Luck

 

[BrianMorin]

Ok, I found a site that supplies “cheese making supplies”. I have pots, one twelve litter (3 gal) and one 16 litter. I have thermometers. So I need cheese cloth, Lipase and liquid rennet. Could you or someone here advise me on quantities, of these items I should get?

The two pots are good, so you can fashion a double boiler type set up.

Or better yet, does this sound right to you. 60 ml (2 oz) rennet, 20 g (¾ oz) Lipase, Natural unbleached muslin cheesecloth Sold by the square meter (unfinished edges) m2 or 1 Piece of 14” x 14” (finished edges) I'm really lost on this last item, the cheese cloth?

Yes, the two ounces, 60 ml, of rennet is perfect, as is the 20 g of lipase. I would suggest the square meter of cheesecloth, 14x14 inches may be too small.
Good Luck

bethzaring:

Thanks for all of this. It make the process much easier. I have figured that it would cost me somewhere in the vicinity 18.00$ for the milk for this enterprise, unless I could find a farmer that would sell me whole (organic is best) milk, then it would cost me, maybe ⅓ of that (about 6.00$ - you wonder why the dairy cartel doesn't want us to buy directly from the farmer. For our health - of course. ) So this would have to be, either a serch for good milk or an artisanal love thing and not a regular happening. I'm into the ocassional artisanal love thing with good food. I'll get there, but I'm not sure when...

 

[BrianMorin]

You're very welcome!! I specified the temp for the ricotta pie because indeed it is much lower than regular pizza temp. (which is almost like higher the better) Pizza should be cooked much more quickly but for this pie it needs to be cooked slower for the filling to settle. I hope you will enjoy it, and look forward to your official ricotta recipe!

Great looking recipe, indeed.

In Rome it is difficult to get a real "FRESH" milk (I mean the ones straight from a farmer collected just in the morning), but this is one thing we would love to try one day!!

It is difficult for us to get fresh milk also, due to the fact that it is illegal. I find it difficult to believe that we are, supposedly, not mature enough to chose our own milk suppliers, and yet some bureaucrat sitting behind a desk can tell us how to eat.

Oh well, quella è vita!