Ricotta salata

Cons. Provola dei Nebrodi D.O.P.

Ricotta salata

Dry ricotta, or ricotta salata, or seasoned ricotta, in Sicilian is a variety of ricotta produced and appreciated in particular in southern Italy . It differs from fresh ricotta for being more "dry" and for a more marked flavor and texture. It is produced by letting the proteins and albumin present in the whey flocculate through their denaturation: the whey is brought to a temperature close to 85 ° C in large hemispherical containers, called "double bottoms", where the whey proteins tend to clump into flakes ( "flocculate") and then come to the surface, to then be collected and inserted into the appropriate fuscelle. Subsequently, the freshly produced ricotta is left to drain for a few days before being salted. Salting is done almost exclusively by hand with coarse sea salt. After aging for a few days (on average from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 30) the dry ricotta is ready for consumption . A particular variant involves the addition of red chilli, which is inserted directly at the time of harvesting and put into the mold. Dry ricotta with chilli is an ingredient in some typical Calabrian, Apulian and Sicilian dishes, such as Pasta alla Norma. Ricotta salata is used instead of grated cheese . The dry ricotta on the market is mainly produced with sheep's milk whey , but in Sardinia dry ricotta is produced with goat's whey , which has a softer consistency and makes it used as a table product and not for grating.