Recipe: Raw Ricotta with Orange and Chocolate

Sara Kate Gillingham
Sara Kate Gillingham
Sara Kate is the founding editor of The Kitchn. She co-founded the site in 2005 and has since written three cookbooks. She is most recently the co-author of The Kitchn Cookbook, published in October 2014 by Clarkson Potter.
updated Feb 7, 2020
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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

You asked for it. Well, not really. (Most of you seemed “grossed out” by my post about Cooking with Colostrum.) But I’m giving it to you anyway: the recipe for Colostrum Raw Milk Ricotta.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

One theory I have for the blech-reaction that post elicited is simply the name: Colostrum. If I’d called it “early milk” or “beestings” as others have referred to it, would you have stuck your collective fingers down your throat so energetically? If you didn’t find your finger down your throat and are actually interested in this topic, here is some more reading from Weston Price, a great resource for all kinds of hippy-dippy food information.

I intended to make to make this pudding, but blundered along the way, perhaps with too much heat, but perhaps because of some different cellular structure of the milk. Instead, it was ricotta. Puzzling, however, since there was no acid added, as in traditional ricotta. Consider this an experiment, and if you happen to find yourself with some cow’s colostrum and have no idea what to do with is, as I did, here is a recipe to try.

We stirred in some orange zest, a dash of sugar and topped it with some grated bitter chocolate. And it was good. So there.

Colostrum Raw Ricotta with Orange and Chocolate
Makes about 1.5 cups

1 pint raw colostrum
1 pint whole milk, preferably not homogenized
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest, optional
2 tablespoons grated bittersweet chocolate

In a saucepan large enough to hold all the milk, combine the colostrum with the milk, if you are using both. Otherwise, place the milk in the saucepan. Dissolve the sugar and salt in a few teaspoons of warm water and add to the mix. Stir in the orange zest, if using.

Set over medium low heat and cook gently, stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until the mixture begins to set. You will see the curds and the whey separating. This should only take a few minutes. Continue to cook over low heat, covered for another few minutes until the curds have become more firm.

Remove from the heat and drain through a fine sieve or a few layers of cheesecloth set over a regular strainer. Serve just a few spoonfuls per serving, warm or at room temperature with chocolate shavings or a drizzle of honey.

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Dessert
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