Blackberry preserves home-made

When the pandemic hits and you want preserves with your home-made ricotta , you go to the freezer. This is very quick and bubbles happily while you make brunch. In a pan, add a 10oz pack of frozen blackberries, about a tsp of fresh grated ginger (I always have frozen ginger) and 1 tbsp of so of mulling spices, pumpkin spice or any variation of clove/cinnamon/all spice/cardomom you wish. Cook for 20 minutes- stirring every few minutes.

Home-made ricotta

Ricotta is a soup-ier creamier paneer. Delicious savory with eggs or on pizza or sweetened with sugar or honey with fruit and pancakes or crepes or toast or crumpets. Problems of rubbery ricotta can be solved by just giving the acid time- leave it be to do it’s magic. Draining early causes rubbery curd- still delicious just not as creamy.

I use vinegar with Melissa Clark’s milk-yogurt-cream proportions. The yogurt really works and makes the ricotta curds creamy. Bring to a low simmer: 4 cups of whole milk, 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup of yogurt. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and 2 tbsp of white vinegar. Stir till the curds seperate. Remove off heat and leave curd-whey mixture alone for 10-15 minutes. Strain with cheesecloth/coffee filters over a colander for 5-20 minutes (depending on how firm you want your ricotta). I drain for about 6-7 minutes generally. The ricotta should keep for a few days – I wouldn’t know- this is such a delicious treat with sugar that we finish ours the same day everytime.