In article >,
Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>Charlotte wrote:

[homemade ricotta]

>> The recipe I use (pace David Lebovitz and other similar ones; David says
>> use buttermilk, I use plain yogurt and lemon juice) doesn't start with
>> whey. The second batch will probably use the whey from the
>> previous ones, though, as a side-by-side experiment. I've made it
>> before; it was easy, which is why I'm contemplating doing it on Holy
>> Saturday after all the prep at the church.
>
>I read over Lebovitz's recipe, and I have to say that I don't think that's
>really ricotta. It's fresh cheese, just like Indian paneer or Mexican queso
>fresco. The defining factor of ricotta is that it's made from the whey left
>over from making other cheese -- and when I say "defining," I mean that the
>literal translation of the word "ricotta" is "re-cooked," coming from the
>fact that ricotta is made from the second cooking of the milk. I am in no
>way saying that fresh cheese isn't GOOD. In fact, it can be VERY good. It's
>just not the same thing as ricotta.

Ppffffbbbbbtttt. Professional opinion varies on this.

One site I ran across when following a friend's link for fresh mozzarella
had with- and without-whey procedures and said that the with-whey was
often called "ricottone".

http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/217-Ricotta.html

But if YOU make the cheese, you can call it what YOU like.

Charlotte

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