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Ricotta is a traditional Italian whey cheese. Due to the use of fermented milk ingredients for cooking, this product turns out to be quite bland.
This is the main reason why you should know the right seasonings and spices that can improve the taste of ricotta and make it unforgettable!
What is ricotta cheese?
According to cooking technology, we cannot call ricotta “cheese”. Manufacturers make such products from leftover whey. For example, after the production of mozzarella cheese, fermented milk residues remain, suitable for use as the basis of future ricotta.
In the culinary world ricotta is famous for several reasons – unusual taste, ease of preparation at home, as well as good compatibility with many other ingredients.
How is ricotta cheese made?
In the modern way of preparation, you can use milk or whey as a basis of your future ricotta. Bring the main ingredient to a boil, then add acid, usually lemon or vinegar, and heat until clots form on the surface of the milk.
After that, pour the mixture into a basket with a dense weave, waiting until all the whey is gone, and the cottage cheese flakes are compressed and turn into cheese.
Such a product will have a rich vitamin and mineral composition, as well as a unique taste.
Fast Homemade ricotta recipe
Milk, lemon juice, and salt are all you need to make fresh homemade ricotta.
You will also need kitchen utensils: a saucepan, an electronic thermometer, measuring spoons, gauze, a bowl, a colander, a skimmer, and an airtight container. Then just follow the step-by-step instructions:
- Pour the milk into a saucepan and put it on medium heat.
- Pour lemon juice and salt into the milk.
- Leave the resulting future cheese mixture alone for 10 minutes in an airtight container. After the time has elapsed, you will see a clear separation between the white curd mass and the straw-yellow whey. For reliability, dip a skimmer into our ricotta cheese mixture.
- Cover the colander with gauze and remove large curd clots from the pan with a slotted spoon. The serum drain time varies from 10 minutes to an hour.
What does ricotta cheese taste like?
The presence of lactose gives the ricotta a sweet taste. The flavor and sugar level depends on the type of milk or whey used. Unusual delicate white or creamy cheese texture also depends on the high fat content of the milk.
Taste characteristics may vary from the type of ricotta cheese:
- Ricotta salata – soft milk-colored cheese with a pronounced taste
- Ricotta infornata – baked brown ricotta with a coarser taste
- Ricotta affumicata – baked ricotta with the taste of oak, chestnut, beech, juniper and with the addition of aromatic herbs
- Ricotta scanta – aged ricotta with a spicy taste
What is ricotta cheese used for?
Ricotta cheese is more popular among all types of similar dairy products. You can find many uses for such sheese: use it as an independent dish, as an ingredient for salad, and also instead of cottage cheese.
Add ricotta to various meals to give them a unique Italian flavor. You can also add this product to boiled potatoes, pasta, fruits and vegetable salads – in each of these dishes, the cheese will play in its own way, bringing a creamy and delicate taste. In special cases, professional chefs advise using ricotta as a filling for pies, cakes, and pancakes.
The world–famous Sicilian cannoli – crispy waffle tubes filled with ricotta – is an integral dish of the Christmas and New Year holidays in Italy.
How do you make ricotta taste better?
You can improve the taste of fresh ricotta in various ways: add spices, herbs, sauces and also create interesting combinations with other ingredients.
Also another good option is to add various fillings. Ricotta creates a standard and basic flavor that you can enhance with other brighter flavors.
Professional chefs note that sometimes in cooking there are not enough such basic products that you can modify with your skills of combining ingredients.
Do you put nutmeg in ricotta?
The combination of ricotta with nutmeg is a classic of Italian dishes. This mix will be great for filling lasagna, crespelle, as well as for various pies.
Also do not forget about the famous Southern Italy dessert – cannoli. Ricotta with nutmeg is a mandatory ingredient of such a dish. Fake sweetness is the main reason for the success of this combination. Nutmeg-flavored ricotta has sweetness, but is not actually sweet.
Do you have to mix egg with ricotta for lasagna?
Classic Italian lasagna is the same gastronomic constructor as any pasta. Ricotta cheese is the basic ingredient for the classic version of the dish.
Adding an egg to the ricotta cheese helps bind the lasagna cheese so it doesn’t leak out. The cooking technology is simple:
- Cover a large colander with gauze and put it in a large bowl. Fill everything with ricotta cheese and refrigerate for a few hours.
- Combine the peeled ricotta, oregano and eggs in a separate bowl.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, mixing thoroughly again.
You can also experiment with different herbs and spices while preparing lasagna noodles. The main rule is to add them directly to ricotta cheese.
How do you thicken ricotta cheese for lasagna?
A standard lasagna recipe usually requires ricotta cheese. This is a light cream cheese that you spread, unlike mozzarella, which you slice or break with your hands. It has a mild taste and a delicate consistency.
However, ricotta cheese for lasagna should be firm and thick. What should you do if your product is not suitable for consistency?
Emulsify the ricotta with a small amount of milk to increase its softness and make the mixture thick enough. Instead of milk, you can also add heavy cream. Feel free to use the thickened ricotta to prepare oven-baked recipes, including lasagna and moussaka.
Epic Lasagna recipe with ricotta cheese
Jamie Oliver has created the perfect lasagna recipe with the addition of ricotta cheese, instead of the classic parmesan. To make such a dish, prepare the necessary ingredients:
- lasagna sheets – 18 sheets
- frozen spinach – 400 grams
- ricotta – 30 grams
- milk – 500 ml
- butter – 30 grams
- flour – 2 tablespoons
- parmesan – 70 grams
- salt and pepper – to taste
Step-by-step cooking technology:
- Defrost the spinach and simmer it for 5 minutes.
- Melt the butter, add flour to it and fry for a couple of minutes.
- Pour the milk into the mixture and at the same time constantly beat with a whisk.
- Add nutmeg, salt and a little pepper. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes. The sauce should thicken.
- Mix the ricotta with spinach. add salt.
- Pour boiling water over the lasagna sheets and let them stand for 5-7 minutes.
- Grease the baking dish with butter and put 6 lasagna sheets on the bottom.
- Lubricate the sheets with sauce and do the same work with each layer.
- Grate the ricotta cheese and sprinkle the top layer of lasagna. The recipe calls for the addition of an Italian seasoning mixture.
- Bake the dish for 30 minutes at maximum oven power.
How to season ricotta cheese for pizza
Spices used in fresh and dried form are extremely important for pizza: they give it a unique flavor and expand the taste range of the product.
Each cook selects spices for the dish in his own way. Pizza provides truly limitless possibilities in this regard. Each time you can change the composition of the mixture, find new proportions of herbs and create new unusual flavor combinations. Classic pizza is made of dough, sauces and toppings.
Adherents of classic Italian recipes even single out ricotta cheese as a separate ingredient. Oregano and fresh basil are the most typical spices for any pizza. But if you add ricotta cheese to such a dish, then also consider adding bay leaf, thyme, parsley, rosemary, cardamom, coriander, and fennel.
How to season ricotta cheese for lasagna
Lasagna consists of flat sheets of dough, sauces, as well as meat filling and mozzarella cheese. However, in some cases, you can replace mozzarella with ricotta cheese.
In this case, improve the lean taste of the product with the right spices. Lasagna seasoning is an essential ingredient of a classic homemade dish. It is one of the most famous culinary masterpieces of Italian cuisine.
Consider rosemary, bay leaf, sage, and thyme as spices for ricotta. Be careful with the amount of seasonings so as not to interrupt the taste of the lasagna itself and its sauces.
How to season ricotta cheese for stuffed shells
Stuffed shells are a favorite dish of many housewives. Among the main advantages – ease of preparation, as well as the ability to combine and select ingredients.
The filling for pasta shells is made of pork sausage, spinach, tomatoes, garlic powder, and ricotta cheese. When you buy ricotta, make sure that there is nothing in it except cow’s milk, salt and acidic or bacterial starter culture.
Next, your task is to improve the taste of cheese with the right spices and herbs. Professional chefs recommend parsley, basil, as well as sea salt and ground black pepper as suitable options to stabilize the taste.
How to season ricotta cheese for baked ziti
Ziti consists of spicy layers of meat sauce, ricotta cheese and tender ziti pasta, baked until golden brown. The dish looks complicated at first glance, but you won’t spend much time preparing it.
The main feature of this dish is properly selected spices for ricotta cheese. Such a product gives a creamy texture, so you’d better choose spices without a pronounced taste. Give preference to Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, as well as chopped fresh basil.
Best sauces for ricotta cheese
Choosing a sauce for homemade ricotta cheese is a difficult task. This product differs in texture from the classic Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, and Mozzarella.
There are a huge number of sauces that can be an ideal pair for cheese or a cheese mixture. Among the variety of recipes, you can find both classic and new amazing combinations. Professional chefs advise you to choose the following options for ricotta:
- Tomato sauce. To prepare this sauce, you will need onion, garlic, sugar, salt, and spices to taste.
- Marinara sauce. This “sea” sauce consists of olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, carrots, fresh tomatoes, dry red wine, and oregano.
- Mostarda sauce. It is a rather spicy Italian chutney—style sauce with an unusual combination of ingredients and a harmonious taste. The main ingredient is a pear, which goes well with cheese.
Creamy ricotta sauce for lasagna
Bechamel sauce is a wonderful classic dressing for lasagna, moussaka and many other delicious dishes. But due to the high fat content and the presence of dairy products in the composition, you can replace it with something lighter or vegetarian.
The taste of the ricotta or grated romano substitute is more delicate, which may even appeal to culinary aesthetes more. Use a blender to emulsify the cheese with a small amount of whole milk to increase its softness and make the mixture as thick in consistency.
Best universal spices and herbs for ricotta
Among the spices that give ricotta cheese different flavors, experts distinguish ground pepper, coriander, cardamom, mint, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, parsley, and walnuts.
Powdered black pepper seeds are often used by professional chefs in the manufacture of soft cheeses, which allows them to give a moderately spicy flavor.
To create a softer consistency, you can also add lemon juice to the ricotta cheese. All in all, do not forget about the combination of such cheese with other products: olives, truffles, and tomatoes.
What to use instead of ricotta?
You can find ricotta in large stores or at fresh markets. However, there are some situations when you simply cannot buy this cheese anywhere. What to do in such a situation?
Your ability to combine cottage cheese, sour cream and various spices can help here. To achieve a delicate consistency, rub it through a sieve or grind it until smooth in a blender.
Secondly, use any cream cheese, for example, the popular mascarpone. Then it will only be necessary to add a creamy and sweet taste!
DO and DON’T with Ricotta Cheese
DO consider the sweet taste of the ricotta cheese filling for the choice of spices and herbs | DON’T do not add sweet spices and seasonings to the ricotta |
DO use ricotta with spices as a substitute for fatty parmesan cheeses | DON’T mix the ricotta with other cheeses |
DO add the citric acid to the ricotta mixture to balance the texture | DON’T throw away the leftover ricotta instead of recycling cheese |
Final Verdict
Ricotta cheese is an excellent base ingredient with a bland or sweet taste. You can add such a product to many dishes. The main advantage is low calorie content and the ability to combine flavors.
Learn how to add the right spices to ricotta and cook gastronomic masterpieces.Bon appetit!