Very simple Homemade Ricotta Cheese

I need to make Ravioli, and I would like the filling to have bacon and Ricotta cheese. Buying Ricotta cheese for me is such a hassle. Need to go to certain supermarkets that sell, and sometimes they run out of stock and I got to run all over the place to look for it. Anyway it is expensive to the boot!
I have made Ricotta cheese at home before after I saw the Donna Hay 10th birthday issue (Oct/Nov 2010), but just did not blog about it.
It costs a fraction of the price from the store bought kind and it certainly taste much better without any preservatives. Really simple to make too without much effort and not troublesome at all. The good thing is I don't need to get out of the house.
So this is the second time I am making Ricotta cheese using the recipe from Donna Hay. I like this recipe because it uses both milk and cream which gives it a very good taste. I also like the fact that it uses lemon juice. Some recipes use a whole gallon of milk only and some use vinegar which I guess will not taste as good as lemon juice.
This recipe really taste good and it makes just a small amount.  

                  

I didn't even bother about using cheese cloth because I don't have any. I just used my big sieve with a fine mesh. It works pecfectly fine.
Ingredients:
Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine
3 cups (750 ml ) milk
1 cup (250 ml) double cream
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 - 3 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
Line a sieve with cheese cloth or muslin and place over a large bowl, or just use a fine mesh sieve.

Heat the milk, cream and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to boil, stirring continuously.

When it boils, turn down the flame and let it just bubble a little.

Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice and stir.

Let it curdle but if it is not curdling so well, add another tbsp of lemon juice to it and it will do the job.

Let it boil for a couple of minutes more and remove the pan from the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Pour the milk mixture into the prepared sieve and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to strain the whey out.

Shake and move the sieve now and then to make sure all the whey flows out and the curds are dry.

Make sure the curds are cool and place the Ricotta cheese in an airtight container in the fridge until required.

Makes more than a cup.

You can either discard the whey at the bottom of the bowl or you can use it to bake bread.

I always make plain white bread with the leftover whey and the bread tastes great!