Though considered a cheese, it is actually made from the remaining whey of the cheese making process. Similar to cottage cheese, it is surprisingly low in fat and has a distinctive curdled texture.
AmoreMio and I got a first hand look at the ricotta making process. Thanks to our friend's local connections he invited us to a farm on the outskirts of Caltagirone where they take personal orders during the week for fresh ricotta which is then collected the following Sunday.
They also made Pecorino (the popular hard cheese dotted with black peppers), and Tuma; ricotta that has been cooked a little longer with added salt, resulting in a slightly firmer texture.The best part about this is that you can eat the fresh, hot ricotta right there. It isn't unusual to eat ricotta by itself in Italy, though I prefer mine with a generous sprinkling of sugar. But this ricotta didn't need any sweetening. AmoreMio and I ate ours straight out of the basket with plastic spoons.
Yes, we ate the entire basket.
All 500 grams of fresh ricotta.
I am unashamed.
I knew that ricotta wasn't techinically a cheese but never really knew why. Neat!
ReplyDeleteI didn't really know why either (even after going to the ricotta farm) until I had to write this post. I was just starting to type when I realized I didn't know whether I should write "cheese" or not :-P
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