Dancing Ewe Farm’s Ricotta is a perfect example of traditional, authentic Ricotta, made exactly as cheese makers in Italy make it.
Ricotta is made primarily from the whey of another cheese- in our case, Caciotta or Pecorino. During the curd cutting stage the majority of the whey is removed. The whey is transferred back to the cheese vat after the Prima Caciotta is completed. We now begin to make Ricotta.
As we heat a double-jacketed cheese vat, the whey is gently stirred by hand until it reaches a temperature of about 60 degrees Celsius. We then add 10% whole raw milk and salt to the whey. Again, carefully and gently stirring the whey, we pay close attention to the temperature. Once it reaches 80 degrees Celsius we add citric acid to reduce the Ph. After about ten minutes, the curd reforms into a large, round, white pillow, this floats on the top of the cheese vat. Another ten minutes and the Ricotta is ladled into baskets. Hand ladling allows the snowy white curd to release just the right amount of whey. This gives rise to a Ricotta with a delicate texture and light consistency.
