Ricotta

Ricotta is an Italian type of whey cheese that can be made from cow, goat, sheep or water buffalo milk. Depending on how long it has aged, ricotta can have from a very soft texture to a semi-soft one.
Ricotta has a very long history that dates all the way back to the Bronze Age. In fact, in Italian cuisine, ricotta appears as an ingredient in several different dishes that range from savoury to sweet and is also eaten on its own, often with salt and olive oil.
In Italian, the word ricotta literally translates to "recooked", in reference to the process of making it. In fact, ricotta is made by fermenting the milk at room temperature for nearly a day and then heating it to boiling point.
The correct pronunciation of ricotta is ree-KOHTT-ah.
The first step to pronouncing ricotta is to pronounce the "i" in the first syllable as a double "e" sound. Then, the "o" in the second syllable of ricotta is pronounced like the "o" in the word "off". The real key to pronouncing ricotta is in the double "T", which, like in the audio pronunciation, must be stressed. The final syllable is then simply pronounced with an "ah" sound.

Food and Beverage

Italian