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Cheese from Italy, Sardegna

Ricotta di pecora o di capra lavorataS'arrescòttu spongiàu

Fresh sheep or goat ricotta is hung in a cloth for one or two days to drain, then worked by hand in a clay pan or wide glass demijohn, sometimes with a little salt. Covered with tulle and stirred every day, it ferments for a month or more until it is very white, creamy and sharp. It is made in summer, eaten in autumn and winter, and kept in small glass jars.

Fully documentedCheese31 days – 32 daysPAT (traditional agri-food product, Sardegna)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedA household preparation with no fixed amounts; the sheets give the method, not a recipe. The finished ricotta is packed in 250–500 g glass jars.
Fresh ricotta of sheep, goat or mixed wheyMakers say it works best with a traditional ricotta boiled for longer[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt (optional)Only a little, and some makers add none[laore-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 32 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Starting material: fresh sheep or goat ricotta

Step 1 of 5
Start from fresh ricotta
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus kefiri
L. plantarum
Lactobacillus

The ricotta is made from the whey left after cheesemaking, by the traditional method.

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

Fresh sheep or goat ricotta is hung in a cloth for one or two days to drain, then worked by hand in a clay pan or wide glass demijohn, sometimes with a little salt. Covered with tulle and stirred every day, it ferments for a month or more until it is very white, creamy and sharp. It is made in summer, eaten in autumn and winter, and kept in small glass jars. Made in 5 steps over 31 days – 32 days. The longest step, ferment, stirred every day, takes at least 30 days (Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural develop…). Lactobacillus kefiri, L. paracasei, L. plantarum and L. paraplantarum, among 10 Lactobacillus species found in a related product, Apulian ricotta forte, which also ferments naturally does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysReported[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ferment, stirred every day

What makes this one different

Drained fresh ricotta is crushed and left to ferment for a month or more, stirred every day. A demijohn closed with a plastic cap instead of cloth gives a sweet version.

Rind
None; very white, turns yellowish when older
Size
250–500 g glass jars
Season
Made in summer, eaten in autumn and winter

Related ferments

Variants

  • PiccanteDemijohn covered with tulle; sharp
  • DolceDemijohn closed with a plastic cap; sweet, also eaten by children

Safety

The pan is covered with tulle and checked every day for insects and larvae. The finished jars are kept in the fridge at 4–6 °C.

History and sources

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

Oral accounts from older people in Teulada and Santadi show it has been made for more than a century. The terracotta jar (sa pruina) once used was replaced by the glass demijohn, which is easier to check.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Temperature, salt and pH
The sources we found give no temperature, salt or pH figure for any of its steps.
  1. [laore-sheet] Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural development agency), Prodotto tradizionale della Sardegna, sheet 'Ricotta di pecora o di capra lavorata'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Ricotta di pecora o di capra lavorata'web
  3. [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 89:807-814, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2672.2000.01183.x (abstract)paper