en-us http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/ Comments from Making Homemade Ricotta and then Italian Bread With The Whey http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136352129This sounds very good indeed. Couple of questions, while the cheese is draining through the cheesecloth, do you just leave it on the counter, or should it be refrigerated? Also where you say &quot;3/4 hot whey&quot; did you mean 3/4 of all the whey you have, or 3/4 cup of the whey? Mon, 21 Mar 2011 03:48:06 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136352129 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136339503This is fantastic! I&#039;m bookmarking this post because I LOVE ricotta cheese. Mon, 21 Mar 2011 02:06:27 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136339503 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136337561What&#039;s the yield on the ricotta? How many cups do you get from this recipe? Ricotta cheesecake is my dessert kryptonite and this would just be over the top! Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:50:33 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136337561 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136322782Ricotta cheese grosses me out like nothing else but that bread looks gooooood. Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:01:49 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136322782 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136316943Thanks! These are both really good recipes, I decided to go for them both today. Step 1 is pouring some chianti. I have successfully made the ricotta, this is my first cheese making experience. Holy crap that is so much better than what I would get at the store. I used whole organic cow&#039;s milk. Bread dough is rising.... I&#039;m going to stuff manicotti pasta shells (pre-cooked) with the ricotta, onions, arugula, and garlic. The manicotti will then go into a casserole dish to swim in canned fire roasted tomatoes and a few of those little pearl mozzarella. I&#039;ll bake all of this until it looks good. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:16:37 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136316943 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136291436I&#039;m not sure about the potential dangers. But I make homemade yogurt at least once a week by leaving a milk and yogurt mixture in the oven (with the oven light on) for up to 10 to 12 hours. You&#039;re not allowing the milk to spoil; instead you&#039;re allowing the active cultures in the yogurt to ferment the milk and convert some of the lactose into lactic acid. Same goes for creme fraiche. When it&#039;s done I refrigerate it and in a couple of hours there is some amazing stuff. When making yogurt with pasteurized milk, you have to boil it first to change the protein structure. Not so with cream used for creme fraiche, though...you just have to warm it up before adding the yogurt or buttermilk. For creme fraiche, buttermilk is used traditionally, but I use yogurt without problem. The important thing is to keep the mix above 90 and below 125 degrees. Higher than that and the cultures die; lower than that and they stop being active. A closed oven with the light on has always worked fine for me. Homemade yogurt is much better than anything I buy in the store. And I can adjust it to my needs by using organic milk, whole or non-fat or low fat, and I can make it as thick as any store-bought Greek yogurt by adding some dry-milk powder to the mix. The taste is far superior, too, and the texture is creamy, not gelatinous. Do a google search for &quot;make creme fraiche at home.&quot; Tons of recipes and tips. Chowhound.com has a lot on the subject. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:15:25 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136291436 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136290358Goat milk yogurt is my lover! Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:07:00 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136290358 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136283414How potentially dangerous is this? And does using buttermilk v. yogurt make a big difference in flavor? Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:19:57 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136283414 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136281451This sounds deceptively easy, I would be afraid to mess it up and have the dairy spoil. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:08:33 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136281451 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136277297.&lt;img src=&quot;http://www.lottieanddoof.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/img_6878.jpg&quot;&gt; Well, I guess everyone is too blown away to post recipes! I am making this tonight. <a href="http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2009/04/mac-cheese-lottie-doof-style/" target="_blank">http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2009/04/mac-cheese-l...</a> </img> Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:38:19 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136277297 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136267168There is a local farm that makes amazing sheep cheeses and has a ricotta. I&#039;m waiting for the farmer&#039;s markets to start up again so I can try their ricotta. I get goat milk, but I don&#039;t know if it would have enough fat for ricotta. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:29:10 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136267168 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136265359It really is hard to find sheep milk. If I ever do though, I am so giving it a try - I&#039;ve heard that&#039;s fabulous. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:15:19 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136265359 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136262095I did that once! It was the most satisfying thing I&#039;ve ever done, cooking-wise. And then I made a cheesecake with the ricotta. It was great. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:52:34 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136262095 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136261277Thank you for fixing my photos! You&#039;re a good egg. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:46:35 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136261277 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136258026SteveHolsmtr - I did some editing because the pics weren&#039;t showing up. I hope you don&#039;t mind! The recipes look delicious! Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:25:51 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136258026 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136246364I want to just stick my entire face in that bowl. Yum! Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:00:23 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136246364 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136244427Creme fraiche isn&#039;t difficult to make; plenty of recipes on the net. Requires nothing more than cream mixed with buttermilk or yogurt. I use yogurt because buttermilk is impossible to find here. You just have to be willing to let it sit out, unrefrigerated, for hours (some recipes call for days) as the bacteria in the yogurt changes the nature of the cream. I make mine the same way I make yogurt (also incredibly simple): put it in the oven with the oven light on to raise the temperature. Culturing dairy products tend to work best when the temp is slightly elevated. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:44:26 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136244427 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136242001Looks delish. Any chance you can find an easy way to make creme fraiche, too? Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:25:17 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136242001 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136240105My understanding is that true ricotta is actually made from sheep milk. However, I have been unable to find sheep milk ricotta in the U.S. apart from small farms. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:09:52 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136240105 http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136240022What the hell? You are crazy and I live vicariously through cooks like you. Not vicariously enough because I am not eating that now. Looks super yum. Sun, 20 Mar 2011 14:09:07 +0000http://crasstalk.com/2011/03/making-homemade-ricotta-and-then-italian-bread-with-the-whey/#IDComment136240022