The One Cheese That Ina Garten Always Makes From Scratch

Generally speaking, cheese is not a food that many people want to make at home: It requires a bunch of specialty equipment, a very particular and finicky process, and a lot of waiting — especially if it's a cheese that needs to be aged for months. But fresh cheese, which doesn't need to be pressed or aged, is an exception that's much less onerous to make at home — this category includes cheeses like feta, mozzarella, and halloumi. Ricotta is another type of fresh cheese, and the idea of making it at home has chef Ina Garten's stamp of approval. Despite her catchphrase "store bought is fine," Garten swears by homemade ricotta on her show "Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like A Pro," dubbing it one of the ingredients she avoids buying in the supermarket. 

Garten's recipe is simple, with just four ingredients, and nothing awkward to source like rennet. You'll need whole milk, heavy cream, salt, and white wine vinegar. The milk, cream, and salt are brought to a boil, and then vinegar is added to make the mixture separate into curds and whey. Other acids can be used for this, too — some recipes suggest lemon juice in place of vinegar. You then strain it through a cheesecloth. This requires up to a half-hour of waiting, and the longer you let the ricotta strain, the thicker it will be. Garten discards the liquid that's strained out (the whey), although there are other ways to use it, such as in stocks or baking bread or pizza dough.

After the straining, the solid curds left in the cheesecloth are the ricotta. (As a side-note, if you like your ricotta creamy, it's also worth straining store-bought ricotta the same way, to make it extra-thick.) At this stage, it's ready to use, although you'll need to refrigerate it if you don't want it warm, or if you want to save it for later. Bear in mind that it only keeps for about 4 to 5 days, a bit less than the store bought version.

Once it's ready, you can use this creamy fresh cheese in numerous ways — just as you would if you picked up supermarket ricotta. But considering Ina Garten's taste and expertise, it's worth following her lead. One of her to-go uses for it is herbed ricotta bruschetta — she mixes up scallions, chives, and dill with the ricotta. That said, you can play around with other herbs: Given ricotta's fairly neutral flavor, it'll pair well with a range of herbs. Season that mix and put it on grilled bread — rub some oil and garlic on the bread for extra flavor, too. This appetizer or light bite is hardly Garten's only idea for ricotta — she's also a fan of turning it into dessert with some sugar and berries. Ricotta is also great for adding richness to baked goods — Garten uses it to bake a formidably moist berry breakfast cake. Ricotta also pairs neatly with lemon for tangy, creamy pancakes.