Ricotta cheese in cooking

Ricotta cheese, being a close relative of cottage cheese, came to us from Italy and in translation means "brewed repeatedly". It is made from sheep or cow's milk, so it tastes like fatty cream. After the preparation of the cottage cheese, some sediment remains, which is heated and mixed with the enzyme. Thus, secondary-production cheese is produced with a low percentage of fat content (in some types of cheese about 8% fat content) and lack of milk protein. Ricotta is a cheese that contains protein albumin easily digested by the human body.

There are several of its varieties:

1. Fresca is a white cheese, often used in the preparation of salads, fillings, pizza and desserts.
2. Salata - salted cheese, which is used instead of Parmesan (in a grated form).
3. Affumicata - smoked cheese, used both independently and in a grated form.
4. Forte - used for spreading on bread.
5. Romana - salty hard cheese.
6. Forno - cheese, cooked in the oven.

To date, ricotta cheese is quite expensive, it is very difficult to find on the shelves of stores, so it is replaced with cottage cheese for cooking. However, you can cook this cheese and at home, then it will have a more delicate taste and texture. Consider how it is prepared.

Ingredients: one liter of pasteurized milk, three hundred grams of fatty cream, half a spoonful of salt, half a lemon juice.

Milk and cream are mixed in the dishes, salt is added to them, everything is put on the fire and periodically stirred. When the mixture boils, add lemon juice and mix thoroughly. When the milk is curdled, the dishes are removed, covered with a dense cloth and chilled. Cottage cheese mass is gently transferred to a colander and allowed to drain the serum. Cheese is transferred to a different dish and put in the refrigerator. Keep the ricotta cheese up to two days. It can be used to make pasta, lasagna or desserts. It should be noted that for desserts in ricotta put less salt and more fat cream.

In comparison with other cheeses, ricotta is low-fat. It contains a large amount of vitamin A, responsible for the growth and vision of man, and calcium, responsible for bone tissue. And most importantly, all these useful substances are not lost during the preparation of the product.

Before you buy ricotta cheese, you need to look at the expiration date, find out what kind of milk was used to make it. At the same time, the most fatty is goat's milk cheese (24% fat content).

Due to the content of lactose and sugar, the ricotta has a soft soft texture, a sweetish taste and a white color.

This product is not stored for a long time. It is best to use it for two days after the purchase or preparation, despite the fact that it is put in the refrigerator. Up to two weeks only hard varieties of this cheese can be stored.

Thus, ricotta is a cheese made from sheep, goat or cow's milk, or a mixture thereof. This product is widely used in cooking, it is a popular ingredient in both Italian and Mediterranean cuisines. Cheese is a part of a large number of desserts, while it is crushed and whipped. With him bake cakes, salty pies, cook hot dishes, and also use it in the form in which it is. It combines ricotta with vegetables, in particular with fresh tomatoes, with it you get excellent lasagna and pizza. In Italy, traditional Easter bread is baked with this cheese .

Having high nutritional value, ricotta has good preventive and curative properties, because it contains a large amount of calcium, vitamins A and B, easily digestible protein, amino acids tryptophan and methionine. It is recommended for children and adolescents, as cheese contributes to the formation and development of nervous and bone systems, as well as to pregnant women and people of advanced age who suffer from arthritis and arthrosis.