Ricotta cheese

Ricotta cheese refers to soft varieties of cheese. Due to its special properties and low calorie content, ricotta cheese is a source of healthy proteins and calcium, and is also a truly dietary product.

Interestingly, in Italian ricotta means "remade. " His closest "relatives" are mascarpone cheese, feta cheese and biogarde cheese. They are very similar in delicate consistency and brackish taste.

Italy is considered the birthplace of ricotta cheese, in particular, the suburbs of Rome. There it was made from cow, goat, sheep or buffalo milk, which was thoroughly heated, and then seawater was added to the liquid. As a result, the mixture was divided into two products of different consistency - curd flakes and whey. All this mass was poured into a basket of vines or willow rods: the serum was spilled through the cracks, and the finished fresh cheese remained. Seawater gave ricotta cheese a rather pleasant brackish taste, but lactose made it sweet, which was largely present in the starting products.

The modern method of making ricotta cheese is modernized and has several differences from the above. First of all, milk is not used, but milk whey, which remains as a result of the production of other types of cheese. It is brought to a boil, and then the liquid is combined with tartaric, citric or hydrochloric acid. After that, the mass is boiled until clots form, which are poured into special baskets made of plastic. As a result, cheese heads in the form of truncated cones are formed. It is they that are packed in polyethylene, paper, parchment or small straw baskets.

In the field of culinary arts, ricotta cheese has found wide application. Without it, it is almost impossible to imagine national dishes of Italian cuisine. In addition, this cheese is a frequent "guest" in many dishes in the Mediterranean. And as an independent snack, it is simply excellent. Many dairy lovers prefer to eat toast with this tender cheese for breakfast. In addition, you can serve ricotta with tomatoes or other vegetables - the combination of these products is considered ideal.

Thanks to its very delicate taste, ricotta cheese is one of the important components of a variety of desserts - creams and mousses, cakes and pancakes, cookies and cakes, as well as many other delicious dishes. In addition, ricotta cheese is used in the preparation of some snacks, hot dishes, salads and pastries.

Ricotta cheese is not only surprisingly delicious and nutritious, but also a very healthy product. It is recommended to include in the dietary diet due to the low fat content and low calorie content of ricotta cheese.