Performance Notes
Ricotta is an excellent cooking cheese because it adds body and a fresh creaminess to whatever you cook with it. It doesn’t keep for very long, though, so always try to use it within a week of purchase.
Pairing Notes
Anything light, and preferably bubbly or effervescent, drinks well with ricotta. Some of our favorite pairings include white or pink vinho verde, off-dry prosecco, cava, pinot grigio, pilsner, kolsch and citrusy fruit beers.
Serve
Ricotta is a really fun cheese to cook with and serve because it’s happy to go sweet or savory. It’s perfect for stuffing big shells and tubes of pasta, especially when they’re smothered in a bright tomato sauce. We’ll often add fresh herbs, parmesan and cooked spinach to the mix. It’s also great to bake into sweets like cheesecakes, lemon-ricotta pancakes or berry tarts. On a board, ricotta goes well with sundried tomatoes, figs, fresh spring asparagus and blueberries. It’s also great with sturdy salads featuring peppery greens like radicchio, arugula and dandelion.