![]() Ricotta salata is sold in wheels, decorated by a delicate basket-weave pattern. It is milky-white and firm and used for grating or shaving. Ricotta salata is a pressed, salted, dried, and aged variety of the cheese. These production methods include salting, baking, smoking, and further fermentation. Ricotta affumicata, a smoked variety from the Sila, in Calabria Ricotta forte is a very soft variety from Apulia sold in jars.įresh ricotta can be subject to extra processing to produce variants which have a much longer shelf life. Aged variants Ricotta salata is a firm, salted variety of ricotta. Ricotta Romana is made from the whey of sheep milk. Ricotta di Bufala Campana is made from the whey left over after the production of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, a protected variety of buffalo mozzarella. Ricotta di Bufala Campana and Ricotta Romana are notable varieties produced in Italy and protected by the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin regulation. The whey solution is heated to a near-boiling temperature, much hotter than during the production of the original cheese, of which the whey is a remnant. ![]() The production process entails the use of heat and acid to coagulate whey protein from whey solution. Accordingly, ricotta production requires large volumes of input milk. Whey itself comprises less than 1% of total milk protein, by weight. Whey proteins are kinds of the many milk proteins. Today, metal milk boilers are used, but production methods have changed little since ancient times. Ĭeramic milk boilers were still used by Apennine herders to make ricotta in the 19th century AD. Even so, evidence from paintings and literature indicates that ricotta was known and likely eaten by Roman aristocrats, as well. Ricotta was most likely consumed by the herders who made it. A likely reason is that ricotta was not profitable because its very short shelf life did not allow distribution to urban markets. They described the production of rennet-coagulated cheese, but did not write about milk boilers or acid-coagulated cheese. The ancient Romans made ricotta, but writers on agriculture, such as Cato the Elder, Marcus Terentius Varro, and Columella, do not mention it. Cheesemakers then started using a new recipe, which used a mixture of whey and milk to make the traditional ricotta as it is known today. The increased production of rennet-coagulated cheese led to a large supply of sweet whey as a byproduct. Unlike the fresh acid-coagulated cheese, aged rennet-coagulated cheese could be preserved for much longer. Cheese graters were also commonly used in ancient Roman kitchens. Bronze cheese graters found in the graves of the Etruscan elite prove that hard-grating cheeses were popular with the aristocracy. The production of rennet-coagulated cheese, though, overtook the production of fresh whole-milk cheeses during the first millennium BC. The fresh acid-coagulated cheeses produced with these boilers were probably made with whole milk. These were designed to boil milk at high temperatures and prevent the milk from boiling over. In the second millennium BC, ceramic vessels called milk boilers started to appear frequently and were apparently unique to the peninsula. The production of ricotta in the Italian peninsula dates back to the Bronze Age. However, ricotta is also made in aged varieties which are preservable for much longer. In this form, it is somewhat similar in texture to some fresh cheese variants, though considerably lighter. The fat content varies depending on the milk used. Ricotta curds are creamy white in appearance, and slightly sweet in taste. Once cooled, it is separated by passing the liquid through a fine cloth, leaving the curd behind. The combination of low pH and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to flocculate, forming a fine curd. ![]() Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked", "refined") protein can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation (by letting it sit for 12–24 hours at room temperature). Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese, notably albumin and globulin. Ricotta ( Italian pronunciation: ) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Sheep, cows, goats, or Italian water buffaloĭependent on variety, fresh soft to aged semisoft
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