A guest blog post/pics from my super cool sis/kick ass mom extraordinaire!
by Ree
Having made yogurt years ago I thought it would be fun to try to make ricotta, which I'd heard wasn't too difficult. I picked the first website to pop up on a search. It happened to be from the kitchn. The only thing I might add to the kitchn's recipe is to stir the milk constantly when heating it to 200 degrees so it doesn't scorch.
The day I happened to make the ricotta was a snow day so my kids were around to watch. This seems appropriate as ricotta kind of resembles snow. They didn't find cheese-making that interesting or impressive. Not even when I kept saying, "I can't believe how easy this is!"
Having made yogurt years ago I thought it would be fun to try to make ricotta, which I'd heard wasn't too difficult. I picked the first website to pop up on a search. It happened to be from the kitchn. The only thing I might add to the kitchn's recipe is to stir the milk constantly when heating it to 200 degrees so it doesn't scorch.
The day I happened to make the ricotta was a snow day so my kids were around to watch. This seems appropriate as ricotta kind of resembles snow. They didn't find cheese-making that interesting or impressive. Not even when I kept saying, "I can't believe how easy this is!"
"It's all about the texture" | Since being a guest blogger is sort of a special occasion I thought I might make something fancy and new with the fresh ricotta. I chose a recipe in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone for Ricotta Tart with Saffron and Herbs. Nothing says fancy like saffron. I'd always wanted to work with it but never made it happen. I needed to find some saffron...I found it locally at Sawall's. Just $13 for one gram. Yes, that's $13 for .036 ounces. So, since I splurged on that ingredient I couldn't justify using Parmigiano Reggiano for "Parmesan or dry Jack" on the ingredient list. I looked for "dry Jack" but didn't see it. I did however find something labeled Argentina Parmesean for a much better price than Parmigiano Reggiano. I'd never heard of it, but I vaguely remembered that a lot of Italians immigrated to Argentina and other parts of South America last century. So they probably know what they're doing. And they do. It's a little softer, but my unprofessionally trained pallet couldn't really tell it wasn't the real Italiano dealio. |
Since, unlike my sweet sister, I don't line my bookshelves with cheese reference books (isn't she adorable?) I consulted Wikipedia. "Reggianito" is what they call this "hard, granular" cheese. It's made from milk of pasture-fed cows and aged for six months. It was indeed made initially by Italian immigrants to Argentina. I think the reason Sawall's, a small family-owned health food store, carries it is because the wheels are smaller and they don't sell enough cheese to buy a huge wheel. Reggianito is produced in 15-pound wheels which is much better suited to sales volumes of a small store.
So is it a designer knock-off? Yes. But a very good one. I'd definitely buy it again. For the taste, it's a great cheese value. I wouldn't say it's cheese fraud. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But this tidbit is interesting. "In the years following World War I, " writes Wikipedia, "Italian cheese makers recognized Reggianito as a serious competitor in the export market and this fact was instrumental in setting up the Parmigiano-Reggiano consortium." So anyway, I made the tart. I was really impressed with the texture of the ricotta when I beat it with two eggs in the food processor as the recipe directed. It looked so creamy, light and rich. After baking, this dish looks like a quiche, but the golden hue of the ricotta comes not from egg yolks but primarily from that gorgeous golden saffron. The finished product was delicious. The ricotta had a very pure taste. You don't taste gunk. It's all about the texture. It makes a wonderful lunch or light supper. I think I'll be making my own ricotta from now on as long as I have the 30 minutes and cheese cloth to do it. |