We're in Locorotondo, Italy,
and today we're going to see how ricotta is made.
Ricotta is a very versatile cheese, we all know it,
that can be eaten in very different ways.
And, technically speaking, it's not even really a cheese,
because it comes from liquid whey when the milk is curdled.
So, today we're going to visit
a small dairy here in the countryside
to find out more about how it's made.
Let's go.
Ricotta is part of a family of fresh cheeses
that are normally eaten the same day.
Fresh dairy products are very popular in southern Italy,
where each region will make its own version of ricotta
depending on the milk used and its flavor profiles.
Puglia, the region we're in today,
favors a soft, delicate ricotta
made with liquid whey derived from cow's milk.
Bigger dairies that make cheese
often consider liquid whey just a leftover product
and use it to feed livestock
or even discard it.
But for smaller, local dairies here in Italy,
it is a great opportunity to optimize their resources
and get something great out of them.
Just like its sisters, mozzarella and burrata,
ricotta is a game of time and chemistry.
Today, Giovanni is going to show us how he makes ricotta
from 100 liters of milk.
Out of these 100 liters, only 10 will turn into curds
that will then make cheese.
But cheese is not the star of the show for us today.
In reality, as much as 90% of what's in here is liquid whey,
and that's all going to be turning into ricotta.
When the curds have reached the desired texture and size,
Giovanni will extract them and place them into molds,
which will go on to age and become cheese.
Finally free from its curdled twin,
the liquid whey is ready to be turned into ricotta.
Giovanni then starts heating up the whey
to add milk and ferments to it.
If we had to judge a step by how loud it is,
I'd say this is definitely a crucial one.
[machine whirring]
Thankfully for our ears, it was also a pretty quick one.
While Giovanni carefully removes all the excess foam,
we can see it slowly starting to surface --
the ricotta we came for today.