Affiorata

Ricotta is a dairy product but cannot be considered cheese. In fact, it is not made through the coagulation of milk (therefore casein), but through the coagulation of whey proteins. Whey is the liquid part of the milk that remains after the curdling process takes place. The whey proteins coagulate at a very high temperature (80-90 °C), so the whey is literally re-cooked ricotto (therefore the name ricotta). The proteins involved in this process are in particular, globulin and albumin. The old technique consisted in warming the whey and waiting for it to denaturate and therefore for the ricotta to surface. Over the centuries several other techniques have been developed, such as exploiting the saline saturation reaction, to obtain improved yield and quality.