[Sca-cooks] Re: ricotta as "fresh cheese"?

[Naquiba Katira al-Maghrebiyya]

I once made an entry for a 'Spoon' (cooking) contest
that called for fresh cheese.  I made three versions
and submitted them all for the judges to taste.  Cream
cheese, ricotta cheese and my own fresh cheese (milk
and lemon juice).  

I couldn't tell the difference myself except a vague
difference in the coloring of the browned tops, yet
each judge favored a different one!  

The most surprising thing to me was that there was
only a few almonds (decoration) and crumbs on the
plate when I retrieved it.  Surprising as this was my
most disappointing effort in any cooking contest. 
Just goes to show you how much difference there is in
peoples tastes!

Katira
P.S. I won

--- Ruth Frey <ruthf at uidaho.edu> wrote:
> Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > Greetings, all.  ...Coming out of lurk-mode...
> 
>   Ditto here. ;)
>  
> <snip> <relevant portions quoted . . .>
> > I have found a *ton* of recipes for cheese tarts,
> both sweet and savory . . . One of my favorites
> is Lese Fryes . . . Here's the recipe:
> 
> > Lese Fryes
>  Take fresh cheese, and pare it clene, and grinde
> hit in a morter small . . .
> 
> > My redaction:
> > 16 oz. Ricotta . . .
> 
>      Huh!  I redacted Sabina Welserin's "Genovese
> Tart" recipe last 12th Night -- a savory tart with
> spinach, "fresh cheese" (I used ricotta), aged
> cheese (I used parmesan), and olive oil in a pastry
> crust.  It was very yummy, and got a good response
> from everyone who tried it, but our local
> cheesemaking expert really gave me a chewing out for
> using ricotta, since it turns out ricotta is a whey
> product and not actually a cheese at all (or so he
> told me, and I respect his knowledge of the
> subject).  He did admit the dish was tasty as
> redacted, but we worked out that I should try some
> cream cheese or cottage cheese "drip strained" (like
> you do with yogurt for yogurt "cheese") and blended
> for my next attempt, so I would not offend the
> cheese-knowledgeable in the audience.  It was
> actually a very fun discussion . . . :)  But:
> 
>      I'm curious to get responses from this group --
> how appropriate is ricotta as a "fresh cheese"
> substitute in redactions, in your opinion?  Thought
> I might hear from some more cheese-knowledgeable
> folks than myself.  After all, blessed are the
> cheesemakers.  ;)  :)
> 
>               -- Ruth
> 
> 
> 
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