The buttermilk we make at Pepe Saya is REAL, fresh buttermilk. Traditional buttermilk like ours is the whey left over from churning créme fraiche (soured cream). Once the crème fraiche is churned it splits into butter and buttermilk. The beauty of using buttermilk in your cooking is its pH of under 4.5 and the flavour of the cultured cream. It adds depth of flavour to cakes, batters, salad dressings, pancakes and when marinating meats. The other recipe it is perfect for is buttermilk ricotta – spread it on bread, salads or with some fresh basil and tomato (Mrs Peps favourite).
Making your own ricotta may seem scary, but it is once of the simplest things to make. You heat the buttermilk with milk, turn the heat off and watch it split, that’s it. My recipe works on a 1L buttermilk to 1L of milk ratio, giving you 700gm of ricotta. The acidity of the buttermilk will curdle the milk, then you are left with beautiful fresh buttermilk ricotta. Add a pinch of salt if you like…or don’t! For this recipe you need to use traditional buttermilk, you will find the cartons at the supermarket are made with skim milk powders and cultured flavour, they are not the same.
Ingredients
- 1L full cream unhomogenised full cream milk, I used Tilba Milk from the markets
- 1L Pepe Saya Buttermilk
Method
- Heat the milk in a large saucepan until it reaches 85°C (185°F) or just before boiling. Turn off heat and add buttermilk and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
- Using a large slotted spoon or ladle, gently scoop the curds into a muslin (cheesecloth) and strain it over a bowl, it will strain naturally as you are scooping it, you do not need to squeeze. You are now left with the buttermilk ricotta and the whey (liquids).
- Transfer the buttermilk ricotta to a sterilised tupperware container or jar and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
This makes approx 700gm of ricotta (depending on the fat and protein levels in the milk).
Easy as that!