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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Ricotta di pecora e di capra dei Monti Lepini

Whey left from making sheep and goat cheese gets 2 % fresh sheep or goat milk and is heated to 85–90 °C in a wood-fired copper vat until the proteins rise as small flakes. The flakes are ladled into wicker baskets, left unsalted and drained in the cold for about a day. This is a heat-and-acid whey cheese; nothing ferments in the ricotta itself. Made in 4 steps over 24 h – 29 h. The longest step, drain in the cold, takes 24–29 h (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…) and runs at 5 °C (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…).

Key numbers
Main step24–29 hSet[arsial-lepini][onaf-lepini]Drain in the cold
Temperature5 °CSet[arsial-lepini][onaf-lepini]Drain in the cold
Fully documentedCheese24 h – 29 hPAT (traditional food product, Lazio)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) familyMore whey cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe only amount the sheets give is the 2 % of milk added to the whey. A ricotta weighs 0.5–1 kg.
Whey from sheep and goat cheesemaking · Filtered in the vat to remove impurities[arsial-lepini][onaf-lepini]
2 %Sheep and/or goat milk · Added as the whey heats[arsial-lepini][onaf-lepini]
No salt · The ricotta is never salted[arsial-lepini][onaf-lepini]
Starternone; heat and the whey's own acidity make the proteins clot

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h – 29 h

Start
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What changes: A little fresh sheep or goat milk goes into the whey from the cheese make

Step 1 of 4
Add milk to the whey
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: enriched whey.

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 is made from sheep and goat whey rather than cow whey, with only 2 % milk added. It is never salted, and the traditional make uses a wood-fired copper vat and wicker baskets.

Milk
Sheep and goat whey with 2 % sheep or goat milk
Ripening
None; drained about a day and kept a few days at 5 °C
Rind
None; milk-white surface marked by the basket
Size
0.5–1 kg; truncated cone

Related ferments

Safety

The whey is heated to 85–90 °C, but the ricotta is moist and unsalted. It is kept at 5 °C and keeps only a few days.

History and sources

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

The ricotta is listed in the Istituto Nazionale di Sociologia Rurale's atlas of Italian cheeses, and the sheet links its history to the ricotta of the Roman countryside.

  1. [arsial-lepini] ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultural development), Lazio patrimonio agroalimentare, tra biodiversità e tradizione, PAT sheet 'Ricotta di pecora e di capra dei Monti Lepini', p. 419gov
  2. [onaf-lepini] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Ricotta di pecora e di capra dei Monti Lepini', PAT Regione Lazioweb