Soft Fresh Cheeses

These are uncooked and unripened cheeses. Uncooked means that the curds are not heated in their whey - which would encourage them to harden and cohere - while unripened indicates that the cheeses have not been ripened for more than a few days. They are too young to have developed any rind. Most soft fresh cheeses are made from cow’s milk, often skimmed of its fat. Examples include cottage cheese, curd cheese, fromage frais, fromage blanc, quark and American pot cheese.

Fresh ricotta, one of the gems of Piedmont, is different. Traditionally it is prepared from the whey left over from sheep’s milk after making pecorino. However, sometimes the whey from other cheeses, including cow’s milk varieties, is used. Ricotta’s dry, bland texture makes it ideal for blending with other ingredients in both savoury and sweet dishes.