Cannoli & Sheep Milk Ricotta

I love ricotta! It's an incredibly versatile whey cheese. They have been making it in Italy, using the same methods, virtually unchanged, since the Bronze age. Italians use it in a wide range of delicious products such as cannoli, ravioli, cassata cakes, and a whole host of other desserts. In many rural communities ricotta cheese is a dessert in its own right, they simply add honey! The sweet ricotta we use at L'Arte is naturally sweet and especially unique. Firstly, it's made of sheep’s milk. Virtually all ricotta used in the United States is made from cow's milk. Sheep’s milk ricotta however is Sicilian’s favorite and the traditional ricotta used for their desserts. Not only does sheep's milk ricotta taste great, but also has more proteins, amino acids and mineral salts than cow's milk ricotta. Secondly, ours comes directly from Sicily, from a very small town named Aragona, in the province of Agrigento 40 miles away from Ragusa as well as Palermo. We are only able to import this very fragile product thanks to cryo-freezing, a super-fast freezing method that keeps all the taste, texture and nutritional qualities of the ricotta intact. Finally, our ricotta is still made in small batches by local farmers using traditional and artisanal techniques. It is not mass produced and loaded with additives! Stop by L'Arte soon and have another one of our cannoli or cassata pastries...see and taste for yourself the difference! Fun Fact: Ricotta means "re-cooked" because of the method used to make it!

Chef Andrea

(revised 01/27/2022)