http://www.care2.com/greenliving/simple-organic-ricotta-substitute.html
Simple Organic Ricotta Substitute
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Producer, Care2 Green Living
Even in the food-obsessed city that I live in, organic ricotta cheese is hard to come by. This would be fine if I didn’t have lasagna-loving kids and a sentiment verging on unhinged neurosis about feeding them non-organic dairy products. So I make my own. The truth is, it may not taste exactly like the real thing, but my homemade organic “ricotta” takes about 30 seconds to make, and nobody’s the wiser, just healthier.
Once I thought that making homemade cheese would be the best way to get it organic. There are many brands of organic cheese on the market, but making it at home seemed like such a good idea. Twelve dollars worth of local organic milk and a few hours later, I had an impossibly squeaky little ball of homemade mozzarella that somehow missed the tender creamy boat and bounced right on over to the rubber food department.
So what to do about ricotta? I really shy away from conventional dairy for my kids (you can read why here). I can take a long subway ride to the one store I know that stocks organic ricotta, but this does not bode well for the spontaneous dinner desires of my kids.
The answer lies in organic cottage cheese, which is made by some major organic brands and is much more likely to be carried at the supermarket than organic ricotta. With the whir of a blender or food processor (I have an immersion blender that I use right in the container) one can transform lumpy cottage cheese into a quite decent ricotta substitute. Just blend it until creamy, that easy. Tada!
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
18 comments
add your comment »Interesting.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Loved making various cheeses with our beloved jersy's milk while raising our family,our kids equally enjoyed stretching my trial "duds" to make "it" squeek,or bounched it on the table to raze me...they still have warm bonding memories of such days
so make cheese, it could bond your family :-0..I've made soy cottage cheese too (yum) for my recipie go to Farm Funnies: Casein free cottage cheese for Grandchildren
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Take drained extra firm tofu, mash it up with a fork. Use this instead of cottage cheese in recipes. Use moisened textured soy protein instead of ground beef.It cost a lot less than ground beef and doesn't require cooking like meat; just heat with the sauce and no greasie pan to clean or getting popped with hot grease.
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
"There's no reason to drink cow's milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, not humans, and we should all stop drinking it today."
-Dr. Frank A. Oski
Former Director of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University
>> gotpus.com
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
"Honestly, tell me you haven't noticed littler girls having their periods at earlier ages, and developing chests earlier than we used to. And remember, it's in EVERYTHING"
Seriously?
You don't chalk this up, in part, to the huge amounts of hormones being injected into the animals you eat? Those hormones end up in the animals flesh, milk, eggs.
Soy is just fine in moderation.
I choose organic soy to avoid the GMOs. GMO soy, imo, is not safe to eat. The rest of the "soy is bad" stuff is just scaremongering and is ridiculous. Yes, try not to eat a lot of processed food as it contains GMO soy, GMO corn and corn syrups plus a lot of potentially harmful chemicals.
But don't go around saying eating organic tofu, tempeh and drinking organic soy dairy is deadly. It's rubbish and bad form, IMO. http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
i recently visited the italian organic agriturismo - la porta dei parchi in abruzzo - although they can't export fresh ricotta their organic smoked ricotta is something out of this world and you can buy it online too - in addition they have an adopt a sheep scheme so you really know where your food comes from - check it out here
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Don't use soy! It's dangerous! It's the only plant (that I've heard of) that *absorbs* aluminum from the ground...on purpose! It is also packed with estrogen. Why else would it be used as a hormone replacement for menopausal women? And you want to put that in your body when you're not menopausal, or put it in your future or gestating child? No, you don't. Here's why...
* Reduced male fertility
* Increased risk of certain types of cancers
* Damaged brain function in men
* Developmental abnormalities in infants
* Early onset of puberty in western women
Honestly, tell me you haven't noticed littler girls having their periods at earlier ages, and developing chests earlier than we used to. And remember, it's in EVERYTHING. "Vegetable" oil these days is really just soybean oil. As is the "vegetable" stock used in canned tuna. Not to mention that it's become an ingredient in everything that isn't raw. Really, what did companies bake with and preserve foods with before soy??
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
im allergic to soya in any form so my diet is basically vegetables but i get very bored and the only thing i drink is kombucha because i can make it myself. Any tips on livening up my diet would be good thanks.
My 1st post so hope you dont mind me butting in :o)
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
uuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhhhh
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Has anyone figured out a dairy-free, soy-free subsitute for cheese yet? I have been thinking of thickening rice milk with corn starch, but haven't had the courage to try! Ideas, anyone?
send green star
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: