Can you substitute ricotta cheese with other cheese and still enjoy the results?

Substituting certain ingredients in recipes is nothing new. For example, when Chinese cuisine has become popular in our corner of the world not everyone had the right ingredients. But people were still making Chinese recopies… For example, skilled cooks replaced bamboo shoots with cauliflower stalks. Creativity is the key. For example, nuts may be replaced with roasted oatmeal, butter may be replaced with a vegetable fat, and vanillin is used instead of the real vanilla sugar. But that is different story…

Maybe you have your own exotic recipe you would love to try, but due to the unavailability of the necessary ingredients you had to give up. That may not always be the case. If you are careful and choose the substitute ingredient wisely, the result may turn out to be very good…

Photo: Pixabay

What is exactly ricotta cheese anyway?

Ricotta cheese is made from whey. It’s that simple. The name ricotta may be translated as “re-cooked”, which accurately captures what the Italians had in mind. Italians never waste quality ingredients. So, they reheat the whey, add a drop of milk in, put the mixture into special conical baskets and let them drip and drip.

What is left is a soft cheese with a sweet taste – great for a wide variety of dishes.

Can you replace ricotta cheese

It depends on what recipe you have. Probably the best substitute for ricotta is sour cream or whipped cream. The more fat the better the taste will be. Creamy cheeses are also great replacement but they need to be good quality cheeses (watch for the salt content too).

If you want to make pasta with ricotta substitute, use lumps of sour curd. Another tips is to use an Italian specialty – mascarpone. It is actually an older brother of ricotta and you should be able to find it in stores easily (even on sale).

Preview photo: Pixabay