Soup's On!: Another Dairy Adventure

A few weeks ago, riding a wave of confidence from my yogurt-making success, I decided to step up my game and try making another dairy favorite: ricotta cheese. Like yogurt, cheese is really not part of the local cuisine here in Cambodia, and as it is not readily available it can be quite expensive where it is sold.

During some routine data analysis at work the other day, I was able to quantify just how much dairy is consumed here compared to other food groups. One set of data showed that of 1,134 children, only 10.9% had consumed any milk product in the last 24 hours; whereas 99.6% had consumed rice, 94.8% had consumed fresh or dried fish, and 58.1% had consumed some kind of fruit or vegetable. Additionally, almost half of the families in this study reported that they never buy milk products. In comparison to other foods, dairy is pretty low on the scale of diet preferences for Cambodians. This makes a lot of sense given that, according to some studies,* lactose intolerance is more prevalent in this part of the world and milk is not traditionally part of the diet. I, however, am from the heavily cow-populated, dairy-obsessed land of the Upper Midwest. At the Minnesota State Fair, we have an entire building (okay, a barn) dedicated to dairy products. We have a Butter Princess crowned each year, who has her very own bust carved out from a giant block of butter. And then there is the All-You-Can-Drink-For-25cents Milk Booth. Growing up in this dairy culture, I definitely consumed a milk product at least once a day, much like most Cambodian children consume a fish product at least once a day, given that they grow up surrounded by streams, rivers and the ocean.

The idea of making ricotta was at first intimidating, but it is probably one of the simplest recipes I've ever followed. And unlike yogurt, you get to eat the results almost right away. To enjoy your own homemade ricotta, follow these simple steps:

-- Heat up 4 cups of whole milk + cream on the stove. You can use all milk, but the outcome will be less rich and creamy. And your milk to cream ratio should be no more than 1 cup cream : 3 cups whole milk.

-- Heat until the mixture begins to get frothy, kind of like a latte. Try not to let it boil. You can see how it is getting there in the picture above.

-- While you are waiting for the milk/cream to heat up, squeeze out 3 tablespoons to juice from limes or lemons. Make sure you don't have seeds in your juice.

-- Once your milk is hot enough, turn off and remove from heat. Pour in the lemon/lime juice and stir 2-3 times slowly and gently. You will start to see some curds within seconds.

-- Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. While it's sitting, line a sieve with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth and put over a big bowl.

-- Nest, pour the mixture (which is now curdled) into the cheese-clothed sieve. Let it sit for 1 hour. All the whey will drain into the bowl and you can throw this away. Some people keep their whey, but I'm still not sure what you can do with it. If you have any ideas, let me know!