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Cheese from Italy, Sicilia

Ricotta iblea

Hyblaean ricotta is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Cow whey with sea salt and a little raw milk is heated in a tinned copper cauldron (quadara) to about 90 °C, stirred with a cane tipped with dwarf-palm leaves, until the ricotta rises and pulls away from the rim. Some makers add the previous day's soured whey. It drains in baskets on a sloping table of cold water and is eaten fresh.

Fully documentedCheese15 min – 30 minPAT (traditional agri-food product, Sicilia)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give the method, not a batch recipe. A ricotta weighs about 0.5–1.0 kg, or about 250 g when formed in a cane cavagna (ONAF).
Cow whey (lacciata) left from cheesemaking[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Raw whole cow milkONAF gives about 10% of the whey volume[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Sea salt[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Soured whey (agra or scotta from the day before), used by some makersONAF gives pH 4–4.5[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starternone; heat and, for some makers, soured whey make the curd

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 min – 30 min

Start
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What changes: Starting material: cow whey (lacciata), filtered into a copper cauldron

Step 1 of 5
Filter the whey into the quadara
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

At a glance

Hyblaean ricotta is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Cow whey with sea salt and a little raw milk is heated in a tinned copper cauldron (quadara) to about 90 °C, stirred with a cane tipped with dwarf-palm leaves, until the ricotta rises and pulls away from the rim. Some makers add the previous day's soured whey. It drains in baskets on a sloping table of cold water and is eaten fresh. Made in 5 steps over 15 min – 30 min. The longest step, add sour whey and stir until it rises, takes 15–30 min (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 85–90 °C (Regione Siciliana 2024).

Key numbers
Main step15–30 minReported[onaf-sheet]Add sour whey and stir until it rises
Temperature85–90 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add sour whey and stir until it rises
AciditypH 4–4.5Reported[onaf-sheet]Add sour whey and stir until it rises

What makes this one different

Made with the old Hyblaean tools, a tinned copper quadara, a cane stirrer tipped with dwarf-palm leaves and cane cavagne, and fed now and then with whey draining from the fresh tuma.

Size
Truncated cone 10–15 cm across, about 0.5–1.0 kg; or an elongated cylinder of about 250 g from a cane cavagna (ONAF)
Heating
The regional sheet gives about 90 °C for the whey, salt and milk
Rind
None; ivory, basket-marked

Related ferments

Safety

Heated to about 90 °C and eaten at once or kept at 2–6 °C.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet cites an 1813 description of Noto that already mentions a thriving production of caciocavalli and fresh and salted ricotta, and Antonino Uccello's account of the tools.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Siciliana, Schede PAT Sicilia, XXIV aggiornamento (2024), sheet «Ricotta iblea» (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet «Ricotta iblea»web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page «Ricotta iblea» (id 1241)web