The History of Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta gets its name from the past-participle of the Italian word cuocere and translates to “re-cooked.” This is a reference to the way ricotta is made from reusing leftover whey after milk has been separated. The cheese is so ancient that its origins are rather murky, but it is thought that Arabs coming from the Fertile Crescent brought the practice with them when they conquered Sicily and ruled it as a Muslim state. (The practice of reusing whey essentially started with cheesemaking itself and likely dates back to Neolithic times.) From Sicily, ricotta cheese spread throughout the rest of Italy through trade and migration. Sicilians perfected the making of ricotta using sheep’s milk, as the livestock was prominent in the area after being introduced during an earlier Greek migration. Cheesemakers in other parts of Italy used different types of milk that were more readily available to them, such as cow’s milk, which created regional variations of the cheese. Over time, ricotta gained popularity in other parts of the world, too, especially in the United States, where it arrived along with waves of Italian immigrants. Today, ricotta cheese can be made the traditional way (fresh) or smoked or aged, and is used to make everything from sweet desserts to savory pasta dishes.