🧀 Ricotta

Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese, made by heating the whey left over from other cheeses. According to the Treccani dictionary, it involves slight acidification and cooking at about 80 °C, and the name comes from ricuocere, "to cook again" ⁴. The whey proteins coagulate into small lumps.

Under the Codex standard, ricotta is a whey cheese: its ratio of whey protein to casein is distinctly higher than in milk, and it has relatively little lactose. Milk or cream may be added to the whey, while acid is not always used ¹.

Treccani calls ricotta the age-old "cheese of the poor": nutritious, cheap food for those with little money. It is eaten fresh, sometimes salted, and goes into ravioli, cakes and sweets. There are other types too, including Sicilian, while Apulian forte is salted and aged ⁴.

"Ricotta Romana" PDO uses whey from whole sheep's milk in Lazio: at least 1.09% protein and 3.55% lactose in the whey. While the whey is heated to 50–60 °C, up to 15% whole sheep's milk may be added. The finished ricotta is white, lumpy and sweetly milky, up to 2 kg, with at least 40% fat in dry matter, and is sold a few hours after production ². The milk comes from Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, Massese, Lacaune, Merinizzata, Assaf and Valle del Belice sheep and their crossbreeds. They graze natural and sown pasture, and feed from outside the area may not exceed 30% of dry matter a year. The ricotta is packed in truncated conical wicker, plastic or metal baskets ².

"Ricotta di Bufala Campana" PDO uses the "first" sweet whey from buffalo mozzarella. It has under 80% water and at least 4% fat, weighs up to 2 kg and is porcelain white. Up to 6% milk and 5% cream may be added. A lactose-free version exists; "fresca" keeps for up to 7 days, and after heat treatment up to 30 days ³. Whey acidity is limited, so acid whey from fully matured curds cannot be used. Sodium may not exceed 0.4 g per 100 g. Being rindless, the product is especially prone to contamination and must be packaged in the certified facility ³.

Ricotta differs from tvorog in the origin of its protein: in tvorog the main protein is casein, in ricotta it is whey proteins. Ricotta is eaten on its own or used in fillings for fresh pasta and pastries ¹⁴.

Ricotta or cottage cheese, or mascarpone? What sets ricotta apart is the raw material: it is a whey cheese, made from the whey left over from other cheeses, with a little milk or cream sometimes added. A curd cheese such as cottage cheese or the tvorog described here is mainly casein, whereas in ricotta the protein is whey protein, coagulated by heat at about 80 °C. The result is a soft, lumpy, sweetish cheese that is used fresh in pasta fillings and cakes.

Look for the full names "Ricotta Romana" (sheep's milk whey, Lazio) or "Ricotta di Bufala Campana" (buffalo whey) with the EU PDO symbol, protected designation of origin. Fresh ricotta is sold in tubs or baskets at the chilled counter of a supermarket, at a cheese counter or in a delicatessen. The "fresca" version keeps for up to 7 days, so check the date. Ricotta forte is a different, salted and aged type from Apulia.

Why it matters to you. Look for “Ricotta Romana DOP” (sheep's, Lazio) or “Ricotta di Bufala Campana DOP” (buffalo) on the label. At home, keep ricotta in the fridge: according to USDA FoodKeeper advice, up to 2 weeks from purchase and up to a week once opened; freezing is not recommended ²³⁶. According to USDA, 100 g of whole-milk ricotta has 150 kcal, 7.5 g of protein, 10.2 g of fat, 7.3 g of carbohydrates and 206 mg of calcium ⁵.