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Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Ricotta di pecora grossetana

Ricotta is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Whey from local pecorino is heated to about 70 °C, an acid such as sour whey or citric acid goes in, and heating continues to 80–85 °C until the whey proteins rise as flakes. They are ladled into perforated cone-shaped baskets, drained at room temperature and kept cold.

Fully documentedCheese24 h – 2 daysPAT (traditional agri-food product, Regione Toscana)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give the method, not a batch recipe. Each ricotta weighs about 1.3 kg.
Whey from pecorino makingFiltered through a mesh strainer to remove curd bits[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Acid to lower the whey's pHSour whey from earlier batches, citric acid, lactic acid or another permitted acid[onaf-sheet]
StarterHeat and added acid set the curd; ONAF classes the coagulation as acid-thermal.

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h – 2 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: sheep whey left from pecorino making

Step 1 of 4
Filter the whey
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The whey left from pecorino making is strained to remove curd bits.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Ricotta is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Whey from local pecorino is heated to about 70 °C, an acid such as sour whey or citric acid goes in, and heating continues to 80–85 °C until the whey proteins rise as flakes. They are ladled into perforated cone-shaped baskets, drained at room temperature and kept cold. Made in 4 steps over 24 h – 2 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes 24 h – 2 days (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 0–4 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 2 daysReported[onaf-sheet]Keep cold
Temperature0–4 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Keep cold

What makes this one different

A plain sheep-whey ricotta from the pecorino dairies of the province of Grosseto, made from November to June. Most of it is sold through distributors outside the area rather than by direct sale.

Shape and size
Truncated cone of about 1.3 kg
Rind
None; white, marked by the baskets
Season
November to June

Related ferments

Safety

The ONAF sheet keeps the ricotta in a cold room at 0–4 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The regional sheet says two large dairies, at Manciano and Sorano, make most of it, about 9,000 quintals a year, and that the method has not changed over time.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Toscana / ARSIA, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, sheet «Ricotta di pecora grossetana» (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet «Ricotta di pecora Grossetana»web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page «Ricotta di pecora Grossetana» (id 955)web