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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Campania

Fior di ricotta di Ponte PersicaFior di ricotta

Fior di ricotta is made from whole raw cow milk, not whey. The milk is heated to 80–85 °C with a sour natural milk starter until fine flakes of all the milk proteins float up; they are scooped into baskets and chilled in ice water. It is a boundary entry, set by acid and heat, and only the starter is fermented. Made in 5 steps over 5 days. The longest step, wrap and keep cold, takes up to 5 days (Regione Campania 2017) and runs at 4–6 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Lactic bacteria of the soured milk starter (not named in the sources); the cheese itself is not ripened does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 5 daysSet[campania-pat][onaf-sheet]Wrap and keep cold
Temperature4–6 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Wrap and keep cold
Fully documentedCheese5 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Campania)Family: Acid-heat set cheese family (FERMENTATION BOUNDARY)More acid-heat set cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAbout 20 L of starter for 180 L of milk, as the regional sheet gives it; the dose is adjusted by a ladle test. Yield is about 15–18 %.
180 LRaw whole cow milk · Two or three milkings, chilled at 4 °C on the farm[campania-pat][onaf-sheet]
About 20 LNatural milk starter (latto-innesto) · Good milk held at a controlled temperature for about 10 days in winter, less in summer[campania-pat][onaf-sheet]
To taste (optional)Fine sea salt · Left out for the version used in Neapolitan pastry[campania-pat][onaf-sheet]
Starternatural milk starter (latto-innesto), soured about 10 days in winter

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 days

Start
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4 °C

What changes: Two or three chilled milkings are filtered into the vat

Step 1 of 5
Collect and filter the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
4 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: filtered raw whole milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

It looks like ricotta but is made from whole milk soured with a natural starter, not from whey, so all the milk proteins come down together. Campania therefore lists it as a cheese, though it is never ripened.

Rind
None; milk-white, fine creamy flakes
Size
Up to 500 g; yield about 15–18 %
Composition
Per 100 g, 230–250 kcal, 22–23 % protein, under 1 % lactose, 16–18 % fat, 0.4–0.7 % salt

Related ferments

Variants

  • UnsaltedMade without salt for Neapolitan pastry.

Safety

It is a very moist fresh product with a five-day shelf life; keep it at 4–6 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The regional sheet traces it to the early 1900s at Ponte Persica, on the border between Pompei and Castellammare di Stabia, where the farmer Amodio Raimo (born 1898) and his wife Ida Esposito were known for it.

  1. [campania-pat] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, prodotti tradizionali, Fior di ricotta di Ponte Persica (page updated August 2017; copy saved 2019)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet Fior di ricotta di Ponte Persicaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Fior di ricotta di Ponte Persica' (id 1195)web