Ricotta: salted or soft, ready to eat or in sweets, perfect for filling

Ricotta: during the (ovine, goat and bovine) milk preparation process for the cheese, the serum is deposited, then re-cooked (that is where the name came from), it emerges on the surface under the shape of white creamy granular flakes. On specific pierced containers of log-conical shape “tied” : after the drip of the serum in excess, the ricotta is ready.

The Ricotta is normally consumed fresh (within a week, before its turns sour), but some people prefers to confer it a particular smoked taste. The Ricotta Salata (salted) is also very appreciated, frirmly drier than the fresh one. It is frequently used in the preparation of the fillings of “first” course (the ravioli, for instance) and sweets (pardulas, frittelle, cakes). It is also used in the paste of a typical bread, that tastes sweetish. It can be used as a garnishment for the paste ( especially "maccarronis" kind) with ricotta and grated cheese, even with a little bit of saffron to color it all. The fresh ricotta, cut into slices, can be tasted also with a veil of honey (preferably bitter) or sugar and some drops of “acqua di fiori di rose (water of rose flowers)", used in kitchen to flavor some sweets.