Ricotta
• Ricotta (translated cooked again) is a cheese by-product made from whey.
• Collect the whey from yogurt and yogurt cheese.
• Leave covered at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
• In a heavy pot, heat the whey to 190°F/88°C.
• Do not stir to avoid mixing protein back into the whey. It will appear foamy.
• Remove the pot from heat and leave the whey covered until cool.
• Remove as much of the curds as possible so the proteins can drain properly.
• In a fine cloth or coffee filter, drain the whey several hours or overnight.
• The green/yellow color is riboflavin (vitamin B2).
• Discard the drained whey; you have finally extracted all the nutrients.
• The resulting ricotta will keep just a few days but freezes well.

You can make Norwegian cheese from the whey after making ricotta called gjetost (from cow’s milk) or mysost (from goat’s milk). It is a caramel-colored cheese that is as good if not better than ricotta, with a buttery, cheesy flavor and a slightly sweet/sour bite. It is used more like a spread, can be used in sauces and soups, or to flavor veggies.

You cook it down for several hours until it renders down to about 1/4 (or less) of the original volume, then use a hand blender or mixer to fluff it and make it creamy, then pour it into containers to cool. It keeps for a good while in the fridge. Add about 1/4 cup of heavy cream before starting to boil it down. It’s delicious!