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Cheese from Italy, Sardegna

Ricotta toscanellaRicottone

Ricotta toscanella is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Sheep whey is heated to about 60–70 °C with stirring, then to 85–90 °C, and the flakes are pressed in cloth-lined cylinders for up to about 24 hours. The large cylinder is dry-salted and dried 15–30 days in airy rooms.

Fully documentedCheese16 days – 31 daysPAT (traditional agri-food product, Sardegna)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 3–3.2 kg.
Whey from sheep cheese (pecorino) makingSarda breed sheep; filtered through a cloth[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Fine saltOne or two passes of dry salt[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]
StarterHeat makes the curd.

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days – 31 days

Start
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60–70 °C

What changes: The sheep whey is stirred and heated to about 60–70 °C

Step 1 of 5
Heat the whey with stirring
Time
Not documented
Temperature
60–70 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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 toscanella is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Sheep whey is heated to about 60–70 °C with stirring, then to 85–90 °C, and the flakes are pressed in cloth-lined cylinders for up to about 24 hours. The large cylinder is dry-salted and dried 15–30 days in airy rooms. Made in 5 steps over 16 days – 31 days. The longest step, dry in airy rooms, takes 15–30 days (Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural develop…).

Key numbers
Main step15–30 daysReported[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]Dry in airy rooms
Temperature60–70 °CReported[laore-sheet][onaf-sheet]Heat the whey with stirring

What makes this one different

A Sardinian salted ricotta. It is made like moliterna but pressed in a straight cloth-lined cylinder and dried 15–30 days. Italian Wikipedia describes ricotta in general as the whey proteins (albumin and globulin), not the casein, set by heating the whey to 80–90 °C.

Rind
None; white
Size
Cylinder about 20 cm across and 12–15 cm high
Weight
3–3.2 kg
Season
November to July

Related ferments

Safety

The whey is heated to 85–90 °C, the ricotta is salted and dried, and the vacuum-packed product is kept in cold rooms.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says the ricotta arose from the need of shepherds to keep their large output of fresh ricotta. Rather than throw the surplus away, they added salt, pressed the forms and extended the ageing to two months and more. It says that traditionally it was served to important guests and offered during religious ceremonies.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [laore-sheet] Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural development agency), Prodotto tradizionale della Sardegna, sheet 'Ricotta toscanella'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Ricotta toscanella'web
  3. [it-wp-ricotta] Wikipedia (Italian), Ricotta (an outline; used only for the general statements that ricotta is made from whey proteins, not casein, by heating whey to 80–90 °C)wiki