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Cheese from Italy, Puglia

Ricotta forte (scanta)ricotta forte

Whey left from cheesemaking is heated to 75–80 °C, and the ricotta that floats up is drained for 3–4 days until it starts to turn rancid. It is then salted, packed into glazed clay tubs and stirred every other day for 2–6 months. Lactobacilli and fat breakdown turn it into a creamy, very sharp spread.

Fully documentedCheese2.1 months – 6.1 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Puglia)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

Ricotta forte (scanta), a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceThe regional sheet gives the salt rate (20 g per kg of ricotta) and up to 10–12 % added milk; the whey volume is whatever the day's cheesemaking leaves.
Whey from cheesemakingEwe, goat, cow or mixed whey, filtered through a fine sieve[puglia-pat-rf]
Milk10–12 %Optional[puglia-pat-rf]
Salt20 g per kg of ricotta[puglia-pat-rf]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 months – 6.1 months

Start
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75–80 °C

What changes: Hot whey throws up flakes of curd that float to the top

Step 1 of 5
Heat the whey
Time
5–10 min
Reported
Temperature
75–80 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacilli

Output: ricotta flakes floating on the whey.

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

Whey left from cheesemaking is heated to 75–80 °C, and the ricotta that floats up is drained for 3–4 days until it starts to turn rancid. It is then salted, packed into glazed clay tubs and stirred every other day for 2–6 months. Lactobacilli and fat breakdown turn it into a creamy, very sharp spread. Made in 5 steps over 2.1 months – 6.1 months. The longest step, ferment, stirring every other day, takes 2–6 months (Regione Puglia). Lactobacilli, 33 strains of 10 species including Lactobacillus kefiri, L. paracasei, L. plantarum and L. paraplantarum does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–6 monthsReported[puglia-pat-rf]Ferment, stirring every other day
Temperature75–80 °CReported[puglia-pat-rf]Heat the whey

What makes this one different

Ricotta forte is left to drain and go rancid, then stirred in clay tubs for months, so lactobacilli and fat breakdown make a sharp spread. In samples from 14 manufacturers, fat breakdown was the main change and protein breakdown stayed moderate.

Milk
Whey from ewe, goat, cow or mixed cheesemaking, with up to 10–12 % milk
Ripening
2–6 months in clay or plastic tubs
Composition
Moisture 62–66 %; fat 57–60 % of dry matter in samples from 14 manufacturers

Related ferments

Safety

The regional sheet relies on careful cleaning of the wooden and clay tools and on rejecting any batch with an odd colour, smell or taste. Stirring every other day keeps mould from growing.

History and sources

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

Puglia lists it as a traditional product whose method has stayed constant for longer than the 25 years the listing requires. It is made all year but mostly from October to May.

  1. [puglia-pat-rf] Regione Puglia, Scheda identificativa per l'Elenco dei Prodotti Tradizionali, Ricotta "forte" (ricotta 'scanta), schede A and Bgov
  2. [baruzzi2000] Baruzzi F., Morea M., Matarante A., Cocconcelli P.S. 2000, Changes in the Lactobacillus community during Ricotta forte cheese natural fermentation, Journal of Applied Microbiology 89(5):807–814 (abstract)paper
  3. [faccia2018] Faccia M., Trani A., Natrella G., Gambacorta G. 2018, Chemical-sensory and volatile compound characterization of ricotta forte, a traditional fermented whey cheese, Journal of Dairy Science 101(7):5751–5757 (abstract)paper