Ricotta cheese, being a close relative of cottage cheese, came to us from Italy and means “cooked again” in translation. It is prepared from sheep’s or cow’s milk, therefore it has the taste of fat cream. After the preparation of the cottage cheese, a certain precipitate remains, which is heated and mixed with the enzyme. Thus, secondary cheese is produced with a low percentage of fat (in some types of cheese, about 8% fat) and the absence of milk protein. Ricotta is a cheese that contains albumin, easily digestible by the human body.
There are several varieties of it:
- Fresca - white cheese, often used in the preparation of salads, toppings, pizza and desserts.
- Salata - salted cheese, which is used instead of parmesan (in grated form).
- Affumicata - smoked cheese, used both independently and in grated form.
- Forte - used for spreading on bread.
- Romana - salty hard cheese.
- Forno - oven-baked cheese.
Today, ricotta cheese is quite expensive, it is very difficult to find on store shelves, so it is replaced with cottage cheese when cooking dishes. However, you can cook this cheese at home, then it will have a more delicate taste and texture. Consider how it is prepared.
Ingredients: one liter of pasteurized milk, three hundred grams of fat cream, half a tablespoon of salt, juice of half a lemon.
Milk and cream are mixed in a bowl, salt is added to them, everything is put on fire and stirred occasionally. When the mixture boils, lemon juice is added to it and mixed thoroughly. When the milk coagulates, the dishes are removed, covered with a thick cloth and cooled. The curd mass is carefully transferred to a colander and the whey is allowed to drain. The cheese is transferred to a different dish and put in the refrigerator. Ricotta cheese can be stored for up to two days. It can be used to make pasta, lasagna or desserts. It should be noted that for desserts, less salt and more fat cream are put in ricotta.
Compared to other cheeses, ricotta is low-fat. It contains a large amount of vitamin A, which is responsible for the growth and vision of a person, and calcium, which is responsible for bone tissue. And most importantly, all these useful substances are not lost in the process of preparing the product.
Before you buy ricotta cheese, you need to look at the expiration date, find out what milk was used in its preparation. At the same time, goat cheese (24% fat) is the fattest.
Due to the content of lactose and sugar, ricotta has a delicate soft texture, sweet taste and a snow-white color.
This product is not stored for a long time. It is best consumed within two days after purchase or preparation, despite the fact that it is placed in the refrigerator. Up to two weeks only hard varieties of this cheese can be stored.
Thus, ricotta is cheese made from sheep, goat or cow's milk, or a mixture thereof. This product is widely used in cooking, it is a popular ingredient in both Italian and Mediterranean cuisines. Cheese is part of a large number of desserts, while it is crushed and whipped. They bake cakes and salty cakes with it, prepare hot dishes, and also use it in the form in which it is. Ricotta goes well with vegetables, in particular with fresh tomatoes, with it you get excellent lasagna and pizza. In Italy, traditional Easter bread is baked with this cheese .
Having high nutritional value, ricotta has good prophylactic and therapeutic properties, because it contains a large amount of calcium, vitamins A and group B, an easily digestible protein, tryptophan and methionine amino acids. It is recommended for children and adolescents to use, since cheese contributes to the formation and development of the nervous and skeletal systems, as well as pregnant women and the elderly, who suffer from arthritis and arthrosis.