You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make your own cheese at home!

America's Test Kitchen on Jun 15, 2022

1. Line a colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth (let extra cheesecloth hang over the edge of the colander). Place cheesecloth-lined colander in the sink. Place a large bowl next to the sink.

2. In a large saucepan, combine milk and salt. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often with rubber spatula, until milk registers 185 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Turn off heat and slide the saucepan to a cool burner. Slowly pour in vinegar and use rubber spatula to stir until milk solids clump together, about 15 seconds. Let sit, without stirring, until mixture fully separates into solid curds on top and watery, yellowish whey underneath, about 10 minutes.

4. Use a rubber spatula to gently pull milk solids (called curds) away from the edge of the saucepan to see if they have clumped together and if liquid left behind (called whey) is mostly clear. If the whey still looks like milk instead of mostly clear liquid, stir in 1 more tablespoon of vinegar and let mixture sit for 2 to 3 minutes until curds separate.

5. Carefully pour mixture into cheesecloth-lined colander in sink. Let sit, without stirring, until the whey (liquid) has mostly drained away but cheese is still wet, about 1 minute.

6. Working quickly, gather edges of cheesecloth into a bundle and transfer cheese (inside cloth) to a large bowl next to the sink. Slide cheesecloth out from under cheese (leaving cheese in bowl) and discard cheesecloth. Use a rubber spatula to break up large cheese curds.

7. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir cheese before serving. Ricotta can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.

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