Use Cottage cheese instead ricotta?

[Claire]

I grew up with cottage cheese in lasagna (never lived anywhere that ricotta was readily available, period, and if it was, probably more expensive than my parents could afford). My husband did as well. Since lasagna is really a comfort food, if I'm just baking it for us, I still use cottage cheese (use ricotta if it is for company). It seems to me, though, having had paneer, that it probably is closer to ricotta than our cottage cheese is. Mexican grocery stores (and here in Wal-Mart) carry a type of queso fresca that I think would be good as well (I know, doesn't help you in India!).

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Skittles: Home Made Ricotta with Pasteurized Milk

Buon Giorno Skittles,

How are you today ?

To kick off with, back in January when I first joined D.C., I had posted my Grandmom Margherite´s Home Made Ricotta Salata which one can prepare with either Raw or Pasterized Cow Milk or Goat´s Milk or Ewe Milk.

It is truly divine ... Give it a try ... Believe me, it is better than any packaged Ricotta that is imported to the USA and SO SO SIMPLE ...

Let me know if you do a search in the CHEESE SECTION that you can locate it.

Kindest regards,
Ciao, Margi.

 

[Skittle68]

Those recipes make a decent substitute for ricotta. I just checked - ricotta can be made from the whey of other cheeses too.

Ricotta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Huh, that's interesting- so the home made substitute must be more like cottage cheese. Thanks!

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Skittles,

I am Italian, and I truly see very little comparison with Ricotta & small curd cottage cheese, at least the one I had once thousands of aeons ago in Manhattan ... Ricotta´s texture is curdless firstly; and the texture is like Yesso ( gesso ), stucco plaster, coarse and thick yet spreadable and creamy.

Have u see the simple recipe in Cheeses by me ?

Kind regards.
Margi.

 

[CharlieD]

Here is a picture of my lasagna, and (it's kind of hard to see) if you look carefully you cannot really see the cheese layer, it is because I thoroughly mixed it with the vegies/mushrooms. One would never know the difference between the ricotta or cottage, or even farmers cheese that I often use.
Hm, now lets see if i can get a pick added here.

 

[chopper]

Here is a picture of my lasagna, and (it's kind of hard to see) if you look carefully you cannot really see the cheese layer, it is because I thoroughly mixed it with the vegies/mushrooms. One would never know the difference between the ricotta or cottage, or even farmers cheese that I often use.
Hm, now lets see if i can get a pick added here.

Your picture makes me hungry for lasagna! It looks great-no matter which cheese you are using. Thanks for posting your picture.

 

[Dawgluver]

Your picture makes me hungry for lasagna! It looks great-no matter which cheese you are using. Thanks for posting your picture.

+1!

Last lasagna I made I used cottage cheese mixed with egg as well, it all melted up and there were no discernable curd-like chunks. Tasted great.

 

[CharlieD]

Skittles,

I am Italian, and I truly see very little comparison with Ricotta & small curd cottage cheese ... Kind regards.
Margi.

Margi, don't forget that American dairy is totally different than Italian, and not only that it is different from manufacturer to manufacturer with in the country. What I buy as Ricotta is nothing even close to a real Ricotta. It is much closer to a cottage cheese, small curd, but much liquidier (is it a word?). And farmers cheese I buy is much closer to Ricotta you describe, but it is still not the same because it is much dryer and it is not available everywhere and some stores do not carry any kind of farmers cheese and do not even know what it is when asked. It really is hard to compare what is going on here.

P.S. Add to it that I prefer russian kinds of cheeses and the picture gets even wors. Some kindsof cheese or cheese spread is simply not available in the states, no matter what the name.

 

[CharlieD]

Oh, btw, we have a thread here asking abot what we had for breakfast, this was my breakfast today, yum, but not spicy enough.

 

[chopper]

Oh, btw, we have a thread here asking abot what we had for breakfast, this was my breakfast today, yum, but not spicy enough.

Did you heat it, or eat it cold???

 

[CharlieD]

hited, i'm not big fan of cold food.

 

[zfranca]

Can I use Cottage cheese instead of ricotta? Its not easily available here. I'm not looking at any specific recipe when I ask this. Just curious.

I have had the same problem. I have, in certain recipes, used goat cheese diluted with little milk, to bring it to the consistency of ricotta. For other recipes, where the goat cheese taste would be overpowering, I made my own ricotta cheese by bringing whole milk to a scalding point, adding lemon juice. Let it sit until it curdles and them strain it thru' a cheese cloth. It has been a long time since I made it but If you are interested I'll look for the exact quantities.

 

[Skittle68]

13.30 Hours.

Good Afternoon, Buonsera,

One of the simplest pleasures, is to have home made Ricotta ... Here is the family recipe ...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Organic whole milk ( by choice, you can use regular whole milk)
1/2 cup organic heavy cream
Zest of 2 lemons and the juice
1/4 teaspoon Coarse or Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1. Creating Ricotta is a 2 day process, however, the final results are that you shall have a Creamier and thicker than shop bought Ricotta, which can be pasty and runny outside of Italia.

2. Ricotta is often made with Vinegar, however, I use hand squeezed Lemon juice which provides a refreshing citrus flavor and lovely aromas.

DIRECTIONS ...

a) in a small sauce pan, heat the milk, and heavy cream to 180 degrees.
b) remove from the heat and add: lemon juice, zest, salt and sugar.
c) pour mixture into a cheese cloth lined strainer and strain OVERNIGHT
d) press out any remaining liquid and the Ricotta is Ready to use !

It is lovely in Baked Pastas ... or on its own with a sprinkle of herbs and Focaccia warm out of oven ... or with fresh fruit and a drizzle of honey ...

Kind regards.
Happy Holidays.
Margi Cintrano.

This is margi's ricotta recipe she was talking about from another thread, and while I'm sure it's wonderful, according to taxlady's research, it is a ricotta substitute, not a true ricotta. I'm very interested to try it, and see if I like it better than a true ricotta, which is made from whey. Would love to make calzones with this! Yum!

 

[chopper]

I have a question for making the ricotta since I have never tried anything like this before. Please forgive me for my stupidity. While it is straining, does it need to be under refridgeration? Thanks.

 

[zfranca]

I have a question for making the ricotta since I have never tried anything like this before. Please forgive me for my stupidity. While it is straining, does it need to be under refridgeration? Thanks.

I have kept mine in the refrigerator, Also when I made it I had used lemon juice which would be good if ricotta is used in making desserts, such a cheese pie. For cooking other foods, I would recommend using white distilled vinegar instead. The left over whey I have used it for making bread.
The process is much easier than it sounds. However, I was slightly disappointed with the final result because out of one gallon of milk you only get 3 1/2 cups of ricotta.

 

[chopper]

Got it, thanks!

 

[CharlieD]

... out of one gallon of milk you only get 3 1/2 cups of ricotta.

That is actually good. I cannot get even 2 cups of my milk. Of course the quality of the milk matters the most.

 

[GotGarlic]

This is margi's ricotta recipe she was talking about from another thread, and while I'm sure it's wonderful, according to taxlady's research, it is a ricotta substitute, not a true ricotta. I'm very interested to try it, and see if I like it better than a true ricotta, which is made from whey. Would love to make calzones with this! Yum!

This is basically farmer's cheese. I made it once, with the juice only of one lemon, from a recipe in a Turkish cookbook. I think it's pretty common wherever cow's milk is available (I haven't made it from other milks, but the process is probably pretty similar). The result is a bit firmer than the ricotta I'm used to buying, but it was pretty tasty I would also recommend increasing the milk to at least 1 gallon and the other ingredients accordingly, in order to have a reasonable amount of cheese at the end.

 

[CWS4322]

This is basically farmer's cheese. I made it once, with the juice only of one lemon, from a recipe in a Turkish cookbook. I think it's pretty common wherever cow's milk is available (I haven't made it from other milks, but the process is probably pretty similar). The result is a bit firmer than the ricotta I'm used to buying, but it was pretty tasty I would also recommend increasing the milk to at least 1 gallon and the other ingredients accordingly, in order to have a reasonable amount of cheese at the end.

How long does it keep? I don't know that I could use 3-1/2 c of ricotta before it spoiled (I'm sure the hens would love it--they love sour milk, yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, cheese), but unless I buy the milk in the States, it would be around $6 for the milk, if I went with organic or raw, it would be a lot more (raw would be $28 for 4 l). It seems to me I can get ricotta in the States for about $4 for 32 oz.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Buon Giorno, Good Morning,

Mine, never lasts too long, as we love home made Ricotta, and use it as quickly as I prepare my lasagnes or stuffed shells. However, if you wish to refrigerate some, a week, assured or you can freeze as well.

The recipe: I had learnt to make Ricotta from both a well known Italian Chef in the USA, who I met in Emilia Romagna during a reporting project and my paternal Grandmom as Ricotta was scant during the 50s & 60s.

It is very lovely and perfect for lasagne and stuffed shells, and I also like Ricotta as a snack with home made Breadsticks.

Have lovely summer.
Margi.