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Fermentation Atlas

Whey cheeses

Whey proteins precipitated by heat and acid at about 80–90 °C, as for ricotta.

68 entries listed here.

How these cheeses are made

The shared make of whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family. Each cheese below says what it does differently.

  1. Collect and warm the fresh wheyup to 2 h · 60–70 °C
  2. Add salt and milk or cream40–75 °C · 0.5–1 % salt
  3. Heat until the flakes rise15–30 min · 80–90 °C
  4. Ladle into moulds and drain4–24 h
  5. Chill, or salt and ageat least 10 days · 4–12 °C

Compare them

CheeseRegionMilkRipeningRind
AnariCyprusWhey from halloumi making with a little fresh milk; in a 1986 trial cow milk gave no anari1 h
AnthotyrosGreeceSheep or goat whey (sometimes combined), sometimes with milk
Brocciu PDOFrance, CorsicaWhey and raw whole milk of Corsican sheep and goats only; no frozen or powdered milk or wheyFresh, or passu after at least 21 days
BrossaItaly, Valle d'AostaNone
Brus da ricottaItaly, Piemonte30–40 daysNone
BrùzzoItaly, Liguria7 days
Casàda con la ricottaItaly, Trentino-Alto Adige8 h
CuincirItaly, Friuli Venezia Giulia45 days – 2 monthsNone; takes the shape of its container
Glarner SchabzigerSwitzerland, canton of Glarus3–8 months
LorTürkiye15 min
Manouri PDOGreece, Central and Western Macedonia and ThessalyWhey of sheep or goat milk, enriched with sheep or goat cream and milkFresh; kept at 4–5 °C
MascarpaItaly, PiemonteNone when fresh; grey or ochre when aged
Myzithra (Mizithra)Greece
O' PelusoItaly, CampaniaNone; ivory white, soft and crumbly
Requeijão da Beira BaixaPortugal, Beira Baixa15–30 min
Requeijão Serra da Estrela PDOPortugal, Serra da Estrela
Requesón (Mexico)Mexico2 h
Ricotta affumicata di malgaItaly, Friuli Venezia Giulia24 h – 2 days
Ricotta di Bufala Campana PDOItaly, the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana areaup to 30 days
Ricotta di capra (Friuli Venezia Giulia)Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia2 days
Ricotta di capra affumicataItaly, Calabriaat least 2 months
Ricotta di capra fresca o affumicata (Trentino)Italy, Trentino12–16 h
Ricotta di colostro ovinoItaly, Sardegna4–5 daysNone; white, rough surface
Ricotta di pecora e di capra dei Monti LepiniItaly, LazioSheep and goat whey with 2 % sheep or goat milkNone; drained about a day and kept a few days at 5 °CNone; milk-white surface marked by the basket
Ricotta di pecora grossetanaItaly, Toscana24 h – 2 daysNone; white, marked by the baskets
Ricotta di pecora masseseItaly, Toscana5–10 minNone; white with small basket marks
Ricotta di pecora nera di ArbusItaly, SardegnaNone; truncated cone from the basket
Ricotta di pecora o di capra lavorataItaly, Sardegnaat least 30 daysNone; very white, turns yellowish when older
Ricotta di pecora pistoieseItaly, Toscana1–3 hNone; white, marked by the baskets
Ricotta di stazzoItaly, AbruzzoNone; basket marks; cylinder or truncated cone of variable size
Ricotta di vaccaItaly, Sicilia15–30 minNone; ivory, basket-marked truncated cone
Ricotta forte (scanta)Italy, PugliaWhey from ewe, goat, cow or mixed cheesemaking, with up to 10–12 % milk2–6 months in clay or plastic tubs
Ricotta fresca ed essiccata di capraItaly, Campania10–30 daysFresh none, bright white; dried a very thin ivory skin
Ricotta fresca ed essiccata di pecoraItaly, Campania10–30 daysFresh none, white; dried a very thin ivory skin
Ricotta fresca o affumicata (Trentino)Italy, Trentino7 days
Ricotta fresca ovinaItaly, Sardegna18–22 hNone; snow white
Ricotta ibleaItaly, Sicilia15–30 minNone; ivory, basket-marked
Ricotta infornataItaly, Sicilia20 daysThin baked skin, amber to reddish-brown, sometimes rigid and crisp; the paste inside is ivory-white to yellow-brown
Ricotta mantèca di MontellaItaly, Campaniaat least 10 minNone; pale straw, glossy from the fat, with basket marks
Ricotta marzotica lecceseItaly, Puglia10–20 daysThin, wrinkled, more or less tender, covered with grass
Ricotta mistaItaly, Sicilia15–30 minNone; ivory, straw yellow when sheep or goat whey dominates
Ricotta moliternaItaly, Sardegna15–20 daysNone; white
Ricotta mustiaItaly, Sardegna2–3 daysNone or almost none; amber from smoke
Ricotta ovina di ArischiaItaly, Abruzzo0.1 minNone; basket marks on a pale straw-yellow surface
Ricotta Romana PDOItaly, Lazio8–24 h
Ricotta salataSouthern Italy, especially Sicilyat least 10 days
Ricotta salata o marzoticaItaly, Pugliaat least 30 daysThin, wrinkled, white, or brown if bran-coated
Ricotta SchotteItaly, SappadaNone; classic type browned by smoke, fresh type white with green tarragon flecks
Ricotta seccaItaly, Lazio20 days – 2 months
Ricotta stagionata di pecoraItaly, Abruzzoat least 30 daysThin, clean or with bloom; marked by the rush baskets; milk-white, ochre or black with age
Ricotta testa di mortoItaly, Sardegna20–30 daysNone; white, marked by the cloth
Ricotta toscanellaItaly, Sardegna15–30 daysNone; white
Ricotta vaccina fresca dell'Emilia-RomagnaItaly, Emilia-Romagnaup to 7 daysNone
Ricotta viterbeseItaly, Lazio12–36 hNone; white, basket-marked
Ricottone salatoItaly, Calabria2–12 monthsRough, with basket marks; brownish
SarassoItaly, Liguria30 daysThin, fairly hard, pale straw with whitish mould spots
Seirass del fenItaly, Piemonte21 days – 3 monthsNo true rind; a mould film from straw yellow to green-grey under green hay
Seirass di siero di pecoraItaly, Piemonte12–24 hNone; white, slightly wrinkled surface
Seirass stagionatoItaly, Piemonte50 days – 2 monthsA light greyish mould film, or a wrapping of mountain herbs such as wild thyme
Sérac / séré (Swiss whey cheese, Ziger)Switzerland15 min
Travia da Beira BaixaPortugal, Beira Baixa15–30 min
UrdăNorth Macedonia and MontenegroNone; sold a few days after making
Xinomyzithra Kritis PDOGreece — the island of CreteSheep or goat whey, with up to 15 % whole sheep or goat milkAt least 2 months after a week of pressing
Brossat (brull)Spain and Andorra
Ricotta calda con sieroItaly, Lazio
Ricotta salapreseItaly, Campania2–5.9 monthsThin, clean, hard, dry, pale ivory
SalignoùnItaly, Valle d'AostaNone
SérasItaly, Valle d'AostaNone (fresh) or fairly hard, brown or reddish (smoked)

Bold names have a full page with the animated steps. Blank cells: no sourced value yet.

Short entries

What the sources record about each of these so far.

Brossat (brull)Spain and Andorra

Also called brull (Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, Alt Maestrat).

Brossat is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Whey (xerigot) left from sheep or goat cheese set with cardoon, sometimes with fresh milk, salt or vinegar added, is heated slowly to about 90–95 °C, and the flakes that rise are skimmed off. They drain in moulds or cloths without pressing and are eaten fresh.

  1. Collect the whey
  2. Heat slowly
  3. Skim
  4. Drain without pressing

Safety: Clotet et al. note that, because of the near-boiling heat, brossat is a hygienically safe cheese even though it is soft. CDC advises pregnant women, newborns, adults 65 or older and people with a weakened immune system to avoid unheated fresh soft cheeses, made with pasteurised or raw milk, such as queso blanco and requesón.

Ricotta calda con sieroItaly, Lazio

Also called Ricotta calda con siero.

Ricotta calda con siero is a ricotta of the province of Rieti that Lazio added to Italy's list of traditional food products in 2026. ARSIAL's February 2026 press release names it among 28 new entries. We found no technical sheet or description of how it is made.

Made like Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family.

Ricotta salapreseItaly, Campania

Ricotta salaprese is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Whey of raw cow or sheep milk is heated to 85–90 °C with an acid farm whey, and the flakes are drained in baskets on a sloping table. Next day it is salted heavily, again over several days, dried away from insects and kept 60–180 days as a hard grating ricotta.

Rind
Thin, clean, hard, dry, pale ivory
Size
Elongated truncated cone, 1.0 kg or less
Season
Made all year
  1. Heat the whey and add acid whey85–90 °C
  2. Ladle into baskets and drain
  3. Salt again and again
  4. Dry and ripen2–5.9 months

Safety: The whey is heated to 85–90 °C, and the ricotta is heavily salted and dried away from insects.

SalignoùnItaly, Valle d'Aosta

Also called saulignoun, salignön.

Salignoùn is a boundary entry, a spiced ricotta set by heat, not by microbes. Cow-whey ricotta made with added cream and milk is pressed by hand to remove whey, salted, and kneaded with oil, pepper, paprika or chilli, seeds, juniper, herbs or garlic. It is eaten fresh within days, or rolled into balls of about 300 g and smoked by the hearth.

Size
Loose in bowls, or spheres of about 0.300 kg for smoking
Rind
None
  1. Make the ricotta
  2. Press out the whey
  3. Salt, spice and knead
  4. Shape
  5. Smoke (smoked type)

Safety: The ONAF sheet lists whole raw milk among the raw materials. It says the fresh product is refrigerated and sold and eaten within a few days. Products made from raw milk can expose people to germs such as Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella (CDC).

SérasItaly, Valle d'Aosta

Séras is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Whey left from cow, sheep or goat cheese, usually raw-milk cheese, gets a little citric acid and sometimes milk and is heated to 80–90 °C until the whey proteins rise as flakes. The flakes are skimmed into baskets or linen cloths to drain; Séras is eaten fresh within days, or salted, smoked and kept for a few months.

Size
Square block, 10–20 cm a side, 0.2–3.0 kg
Rind
None (fresh) or fairly hard, brown or reddish (smoked)
  1. Add acid to the whey
  2. Heat until the flakes rise80–90 °C
  3. Skim and drain
  4. Salt and smoke (smoked type)

Safety: Fresh Séras is chilled after draining and sold and eaten within a few days. The smoked kind is salted dry, smoked, and kept for up to a few months in cool, airy rooms.

Numbers come from cited sources and carry a label that says how each is known. How this atlas is made