The Fuzzy Chef & Friends

Whole-milk ricotta is the second-easiest cheese to make yourself*, and probably the most rewarding.  Even with supermarket milk, the ricotta you make in your own kitchen will be at least twice as good as anything you could buy in a plastic tub, because ricotta is really best as a fresh cheese, made and eaten on the same day.

My recipe is based on the one from Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making.  If you want to make your own cheese, buy this book!

Four months ago, my wife gave me the present of a cheese class with Wil Edwards. In this class, we made paneer and the now-infamous 30-minute mozzarella. This opened my eyes to how easy and fun it is to make cheese at home. In fact, making my own fresh cheese has become like making my own pizza and pasta; I can't tolerate store-bought versions anymore, because they don't compare with the stuff I make -- especially whole-milk ricotta.

While actually making the cheese is easy and fun, getting started can be a little daunting. So let me go over the basics, including equipment.  Later I'll lead you through a cheese recipe.