Italian ricotta cheese

Ricotta is an unripened soft cheese that originated from Italy. Like cottage cheese ricotta cheese is a high moisture cheese. Originally, ricotta was produced from whey derived from mozzarella or provolone cheese production. In Latin American and the Hispanic communities in North America, Ricotta is known as Requeson.

Ricotta is now prepared from whole milk with or without addition of whey. When made from blend of 95% sweet whey and 5% milk, ricotta contains 68-73% moisture 16% protein, 4-10% fat and 4% lactose.

Whole milk is added to make fresh ricotta, while skim milk is used to produce dry ricotta, which is usually used for grating.

Ricotta has a bland to slightly cooked but pleasing flavor. Its texture is soft, mild semisweet and creamy.

Ricotta cheese in addition to being an acceptable product itself, has many applications, including use as a base for whipped dairy desserts, cream cheese, and pasteurized processed cheese product and use in confectionary fillings and cheesecake.

Ricotta cheese also may be used in dips, spreads and traditional Italian dishes like lasagna and manicotti. Ricotta has a relatively short shelf-life about 3 weeks of properly packaged and stored at 4 °C or lower.
Italian ricotta cheese