The Easiest Whipped Ricotta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is whipped ricotta made of? ›

Make the whipped ricotta dip:

In a food processor or blender, process 1 ½ cups high-quality whole milk ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and lemon zest until light, fluffy, and smooth, about 1 - 2 minutes.

Cream cheese: Cream cheese is made with milk and cream, while ricotta is made with just milk. The lower fat content makes the latter cheese slightly less creamy. However, cream cheese can still be substituted for ricotta.

While ricotta is already creamy, it has an almost grainy and slightly crumbly texture -- this must be smoothed out. Incorporating full-fat dairy, like heavy cream, will add richness to the cheese and create a lusciously sleek texture.

Whipping ricotta in the food processor transforms it into an incredibly smooth, spreadable cheese—a blank canvas to be paired with any number of flavors and ingredients.

Whipped ricotta has a lighter, fluffier texture and a milder flavor compared to regular ricotta. How is whipped ricotta used in cooking? Whipped ricotta can be used as a spread for toast, crackers, or sandwiches. It can also be used as a topping for bruschetta, pizza, or pasta dishes.

For extra creamy ricotta, add in an extra egg, a handful of grated parmesan, and a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella. Eggs help prevent the ricotta from drying out and serve to bind the ricotta so it doesn't become runny.

It's an ideal substitute for cream or whole milk in a cream sauce. George Carlberg, executive chef at Littleton Adventist Hospital, uses the ricotta sauce to turn chicken and pasta into a one-dish meal. In this recipe he uses ricotta, because “it gives the palate the feel of heavy cream but reduces the fat.”

Whipped is easier if you are using it in a recipe like cream cheese frosting. The block takes longer to soften. Whipped is also lighter and easier to spread IMO.

Mascarpone cheese is made by heating heavy cream with acid until it has coagulated. 1 Ricotta is made by heating whole milk and buttermilk together until hundreds of small curds form—the curds, when strained, become ricotta.

Whole Milk (not ultra pasteurized!): I recommend whole cow's milk for creamy flavor and texture. Alternatively, 2% or 1% milk can be used; but the final result will not be as creamy. Ultra pasteurized milk does not work for homemade ricotta. It won't curdle properly.

Why is my homemade ricotta rubbery? ›

It really matters what kind of dairy you use: organic whole milk and not ultra-pasteurized cream are preferred. I also want to emphasize the importance of timing: do not overheat the milk-cream mixture, and do not let it boil. Otherwise, you will end up with tough and rubbery curd.

Homemade ricotta that does not curdle can be the result of either using ultra-pasteurized milk or not adding enough acidity. Ultra-pasteurized (UP) milk and ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk (including all organic milk) has been heated to a temperature that destabilizes the proteins and prevents curds from bonding.

You can also add garlic powder, black pepper, fresh basil, or shredded mozzarella cheese for an added boost of flavor. For desserts, there are so many delicious ways to flavor your ricotta.

Eggs help bind the ricotta cheese, but if you don't have eggs on hand then it's OK to omit them. Adding egg to ricotta cheese helps to bind the cheese for lasagna so that it doesn't ooze out of the casserole when you cut it. Basically, the egg helps all the cheesy goodness stay intact.

Why make homemade ricotta? Because you can. And because the results are so much better than most of the packaged stuff you can buy, especially at the supermarket. Making it yourself is also less expensive than buying fresh ricotta at a fancy gourmet market.

Whipped cottage cheese has a different texture than regular cottage cheese. The whipping process creates a creamy and smooth cottage cheese, removing the chunky curds. It becomes lighter and more velvety, making it easier to spread or dip.

These differences can be explained by the manufacturing process. Block cream cheese is made by adding a cheese culture to milk and cream, which causes the proteins to coagulate slowly and produces a rich, smooth mass. Whipped cream cheese is coagulated with lactic acid, a process that is quicker (and less expensive).

Commonly, fresh ricotta cheese can be made from cow's milk. However, it can also be made from goat, sheep, and water buffalo milk. Ricotta is made from whey, the liquid left over from the cheese-making process of other cheeses.

Ricotta cheese was traditionally made in Italy from the whey from sheep milk cheese, which was heated to denature and coagulate the whey proteins; the coagulated protein was scooped from the whey.