“Ricotta” is an old Italian word literally meaning “recooked” which is a tell-tale, practical naming, telling you exactly how this fluffy, sweet cheese is produced. Cheesemakers simply take the whey left from whipping up batches of other types of cheese, drizzle in whole milk, an acid of some sort (in our case, acetic acid), and begin cooking the whey mixture. This causes curds to coagulate, grow, and solidify. Finally, the curds are strained of the remaining whey and you’re left with freshly made, fluffy, white Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese.

The aforementioned process is the “traditional” way (or should we say whey) of making ricotta, and as we’re never one to shy away from culinary tradition, Trader Joe’s Ricotta Cheese follows this authentic tradition to bring our shoppers a classically Italian cheese able to find its way into tons of recipes! An ideal cheese for lasagna, baked pastas, stuffed shells, and of course dessert recipes such as cannolis and cheese blintzes. In addition to all these mealtime options, our Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese is high in calcium and, for a cheese, light in fat and high in protein.