[Sca-cooks] Cream cheese?

[Terry Decker]

> >-----Original Message-----
>>>the king and his hunting party came across the hut of a dairy
>>>farmer making ricotta and, being ravenous, asked for some. Frederick 
>>>pulled
>>out his bread loaf, poured the hot ricotta and whey on top
>>
>>That sounds more like curds and whey than ricotta, which is made *from*
>>whey.
>>
>>Ranvaig
>>
>>It says that the farmer is making ricotta not that it was ricotta and it
>>sounds like the product is in the cooking stage, so yes, curds and whey.
>>Ricotta is curds without the whey.
>>
>>De
>>
>
> I wonder if there might be a translation issue here.  Does the original 
> really use the word "ricotta"? Because ricotta is specifically made from 
> the leftover whey after other cheesemaking.
>
> From wikipedia:
> Ricotta is an Italian dairy product made from sheep (or cow, goat, 
> buffalo) milk whey left over from the production of cheese. Although 
> typically referred to as ricotta cheese, ricotta is not properly a cheese 
> because it is not produced by coagulation of casein. Rather it is made by 
> coagulating other milk proteins, notably albumin and globulin, left over 
> in the whey that separates from the milk during the production of cheese. 
> In fact, ricotta is safely eaten by individuals with casein intolerance.
> Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked") uses the whey, a limpid, low-fat, 
> nutritious liquid that is a by-product of cheese production. Most of the 
> milk protein (especially casein) is removed when cheese is made, but some 
> protein remains in the whey, mostly albumin. This remaining protein can be 
> harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional 
> fermentation (by letting it sit for 12-24 hours at room temperature). Then 
> the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. The combination of low pH 
> and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to precipitate 
> out, forming a fine curd. Once cooled, the curd is separated by passing 
> through a fine cloth.
>
> Ranvaig

"Frederick pulled out his bread loaf, poured the hot ricotta and whey on 
top"

Although there may be a mistake in translation, it is also very possible 
that it is ricotta being eaten.  During the second cooking, the remaining 
proteins coagulate to form ricotta curds.  These curds are seperated from 
the whey after cooling.  The quote describes "hot ricotta and whey," which 
would indicate that this serving was spooned out during the cooking process 
before cooling and seperation.  The quote also says "making ricotta" which 
suggests that the cheese was served before the curds were shaped (as they 
are in the painting The Ricotta Eaters).

Bear