In past years before plastic was employed, hand-woven reed baskets like these pictured were used to store and age ricotta, ricotta salata, and other cheeses.
Tag: ricotta salata
Basket Weave 101
To make ricotta salata (salted, aged ricotta), the whey of sheep’s milk (i.e., fresh ricotta) is drained, pressed by hand to ensure as much liquid is removed as possible, salted, and then aged in baskets (like this one pictured) for at least 90 days. In the old days, wicker or wood baskets were used, but…