lasagna cottage cheese or ricatta

[Rumpelstil]

I opted for both

 

[beerftw]

In Italy they typically make a bechamel. I’ve never heard of anyone using cottage cheese - every Italian American I know uses ricotta. I use a mix of ricotta and mozzarella.

Probably because italians were not smart enough to invest cottage cheese!!!!one.

Ok to be serious cottage cheese balances well with tomato sauce variations, bechemal sauce used in italy does as well, ricotta does not unless it is used with a tomato sauce with a low sweetness to it, which is nearly unavailable in the states unless you make the sauce yourself.

Never had bechemel sauce but google shows it is just flour milk and butter, so not really something sweet.

 

[nota bene]

I mix ricotta, cottage cheese and mozzarella

When I began making lasagna, I used cottage cheese and mozzarella. Then I switched to ricotta and mozzarella, but I always add a lot of fresh parmesan and also chives because they're pretty. Now that I've read this, I may add cottage cheese back in. AmericanWoman is right about ricotta being on the sweet side, I think.

I live in the second-largest Sicilian community in the U.S. and if by "Italian-American" people are talking about Sicilians, their meatballs are way too sweet for my American taste. I never put sugar in any meat sauce. Blech.

 

[Redress]

I am wondering if a little cottage cheese added to goulash would be good. Don't know what brought that thought on, but it just occurred to me. I might have to try it.

 

[PoS]

Probably because italians were not smart enough to invest cottage cheese!!!!one.

Ok to be serious cottage cheese balances well with tomato sauce variations, bechemal sauce used in italy does as well, ricotta does not unless it is used with a tomato sauce with a low sweetness to it, which is nearly unavailable in the states unless you make the sauce yourself.

Never had bechemel sauce but google shows it is just flour milk and butter, so not really something sweet.

Think of bechamel as a sauce base rather than the end result- I like to throw in cream cheese (which makes it more of a mornay sauce), my special herbs and raw chopped garlic in the white sauce when I build the lasagna- try it, I bet you'll love it.

Cottage cheese is a poor man's cheese substitute, thats why real Italians never used it. :mrgreen:

 

[AGENT J]

Simple poll. I noticed frozen lasagnas often have zero cottage cheese or three specs of it, instead loading it with ricotta, stouffers classics in the big pan just uses ricotta and it darn near is too sweet while lacking any flavor. I remember a decade ago stouffers and all store brands loaded them with cottage cheese but all went to ricotta, I have to make my own as no frozen brand really bothers with cottage cheese, and I grew up with cottage cheese being a cornerstone of lasagna.

Gram and mom used ricotta
Aunt used cottage

Ricotta hands down, cottage is gross if its too heavy and ruins all the other tastes/flavors, i can only do if its REALLY light

 

[Gaius46]

Probably because italians were not smart enough to invest cottage cheese!!!!one.

Ok to be serious cottage cheese balances well with tomato sauce variations, bechemal sauce used in italy does as well, ricotta does not unless it is used with a tomato sauce with a low sweetness to it, which is nearly unavailable in the states unless you make the sauce yourself.

Never had bechemel sauce but google shows it is just flour milk and butter, so not really something sweet.

That might explain it then. I make my own sauce - which really isn’t hard tbh - and it isn’t sweet.

 

[OldFatGuy]

Who puts cottage cheese on lasagna? That's just plain weird.

Ricotta is not actually cheese, but a byproduct of it, and they didnt put them in lasagna when I was in Italy either.

The traditional Italian recipe actually calls for bechamel sauce. I just add in cream cheese and mozzarella for a richer taste. :mrgreen:

Ricotta is a simple uncured farmers' cheese. Best made from unhomogenized whole milk and a bit of salt. Adding either lemon juice or vinegar to the heated milk separates the curds from the whey. Straining the milk through a cheese cloth or wire mesh strainer finishes the job. The best ricotta is made from buffalo milk, tho in addition to cow milk, goat and sheep milk can also be used. 1 gallon of milk will yield 2lbs of ricotta. Add a quarter cup of heavy cream for each gallon of milk creates a richer ricotta. Last week I made six pounds of buffalo ricotta. 2 lbs were used for baking loaves of lemon and orange baked ricotta. Each infused with either lemon or orange zest in abundance, a touch and a large bit of Cointreau in the orange loaves. Each loaf about a 1/2 lb. 2 lbs were used for pastry fillings, including fresh ravioli and tortellini. The remaining two pounds went into a massive lasagna, with fresh home made pasta, sweet Italian sausage, minced red sweet peppers, mushroom slices and a bechamel gravy (with my own selected spices and herbs including fresh oregano), topped with both generous portions of fresh homemade buffalo mozzarella and terrific grated parmesan reggiano. No self respecting Italian chef would use tomatoes or tomato products in a lasagna.

Cottage cheese, tho another farmers cheese is an American aberration for people too lazy to make their own ricotta, a 40-60 minute task, but well worth the effort.

 

[OldFatGuy]

Cheddar?

Sacrilege!

 

[Redress]

Ricotta is a simple uncured farmers' cheese. Best made from unhomogenized whole milk and a bit of salt. Adding either lemon juice or vinegar to the heated milk separates the curds from the whey. Straining the milk through a cheese cloth or wire mesh strainer finishes the job. The best ricotta is made from buffalo milk, tho in addition to cow milk, goat and sheep milk can also be used. 1 gallon of milk will yield 2lbs of ricotta. Add a quarter cup of heavy cream for each gallon of milk creates a richer ricotta. Last week I made six pounds of buffalo ricotta. 2 lbs were used for baking loaves of lemon and orange baked ricotta. Each infused with either lemon or orange zest in abundance, a touch and a large bit of Cointreau in the orange loaves. Each loaf about a 1/2 lb. 2 lbs were used for pastry fillings, including fresh ravioli and tortellini. The remaining two pounds went into a massive lasagna, with fresh home made pasta, sweet Italian sausage, minced red sweet peppers, mushroom slices and a bechamel gravy (with my own selected spices and herbs including fresh oregano), topped with both generous portions of fresh homemade buffalo mozzarella and terrific grated parmesan reggiano. No self respecting Italian chef would use tomatoes or tomato products in a lasagna.

Cottage cheese, tho another farmers cheese is an American aberration for people too lazy to make their own ricotta, a 40-60 minute task, but well worth the effort.

Cottage cheese, like most American "aberrations", ****ing rules!

 

[OldFatGuy]

Cottage cheese, like most American "aberrations", ****ing rules!

Think about this, cottage cheese is made from milk that has gone bad. The same basic process as ricotta, but from milk that has soured or gone plain rotten from bacterial caused breakdown. Boiled and mixed with an acid (ascorbic acid) or vinegar to force a separation of the curds from the whey. For ricotta, new milk, simmered rather than boiled. BTW the whey from ricotta can substituted for water in baked recipes resulting in richer breads, cakes and pastries, not so for the whey from cottage cheese. Too sour.

I've a personal preference for American takes on many recipes from elsewhere. Part of the evolution of food. But cottage cheese has always seemed lame and flavorless to me. On the other hand, I do enjoy many other farmers cheeses, including feta, brie, Bergenost, Teleme, cream cheese, and so on. One of the benefits of farmer cheese is high protein, relatively low lipids and lactose (sugars).

 

[justabubba]

Yeah I've had lasagna 100's of times in restaurants, friends homes, family, every single Christmas Eve for my whole life, LOL, etc.., I've never heard of cottage cheese in lasagna. The only advantage to using it would be if someone is on a diet? And that's only a guess, I'm assuming cc has less calories than ricotta?

mouth feel. creamier; not as dry

 

[Jay59]

Sacrilege!

I'm glad you smiled. Lasagna can be a clean out the fridge dish. It just won't be particularly Italian. You can make a very edible Mexican-ish lasagna using cumin and very little oregano in the sauce, with queso blanco, sour yogurt and jack cheese.

As you say, ricotta and cottage cheese are both variants of drained curds. Some of both works better than all of either.

 

[Northern Light]

Ricotta is expensive so in the past we've used cottage cheese. Sometimes you just want a simple quick lasagne so the ingredients are no frills.

When we want to go all out we combine ricotta, mozarella and reggiano... but that's more for special occasions.

 

[PoS]

Ricotta is a simple uncured farmers' cheese. Best made from unhomogenized whole milk and a bit of salt. Adding either lemon juice or vinegar to the heated milk separates the curds from the whey. Straining the milk through a cheese cloth or wire mesh strainer finishes the job. The best ricotta is made from buffalo milk, tho in addition to cow milk, goat and sheep milk can also be used. 1 gallon of milk will yield 2lbs of ricotta. Add a quarter cup of heavy cream for each gallon of milk creates a richer ricotta. Last week I made six pounds of buffalo ricotta. 2 lbs were used for baking loaves of lemon and orange baked ricotta. Each infused with either lemon or orange zest in abundance, a touch and a large bit of Cointreau in the orange loaves. Each loaf about a 1/2 lb. 2 lbs were used for pastry fillings, including fresh ravioli and tortellini. The remaining two pounds went into a massive lasagna, with fresh home made pasta, sweet Italian sausage, minced red sweet peppers, mushroom slices and a bechamel gravy (with my own selected spices and herbs including fresh oregano), topped with both generous portions of fresh homemade buffalo mozzarella and terrific grated parmesan reggiano. No self respecting Italian chef would use tomatoes or tomato products in a lasagna.

Cottage cheese, tho another farmers cheese is an American aberration for people too lazy to make their own ricotta, a 40-60 minute task, but well worth the effort.

Ricotta in ravioli or tortellini is fine, but I'd never put it in lasagna because Im a purist in that sense. Cottage cheese is for the birds. :2razz:

mouth feel. creamier; not as dry

Thats what she said.

 

[Common Sense 1]

Have to go with ricotta.

 

[Frank Apisa]

Simple poll. I noticed frozen lasagnas often have zero cottage cheese or three specs of it, instead loading it with ricotta, stouffers classics in the big pan just uses ricotta and it darn near is too sweet while lacking any flavor. I remember a decade ago stouffers and all store brands loaded them with cottage cheese but all went to ricotta, I have to make my own as no frozen brand really bothers with cottage cheese, and I grew up with cottage cheese being a cornerstone of lasagna.

Ricotta.

Cottage cheese is a delight...but it most assuredly does not belong in lasagna.

 

[OldFatGuy]

I'm glad you smiled. Lasagna can be a clean out the fridge dish. It just won't be particularly Italian. You can make a very edible Mexican-ish lasagna using cumin and very little oregano in the sauce, with queso blanco, sour yogurt and jack cheese.

As you say, ricotta and cottage cheese are both variants of drained curds. Some of both works better than all of either.

Then it ain't lasagna, its a casserole or cassoulet (i.e. made with beans). Little can be beat a Sardinian cassoulet, made with seafood, olives, assorted beans, sweet peppers, spices and sheets of thick pasta, assorted cheese, slow baked for hours in a bechamel gravy with a tahini base. Served with flatbreads and fruity white wine. Followed by strong Tunisian coffee and honey and nut pastries. A hint of paradise on earth.

BTW the term "lasagna" comes from the type of pan it was baked in, a relatively shallow but long and wide baking dish, made from either steel, ceramic or glass.

 

[justabubba]

Then it ain't lasagna, its a casserole or cassoulet (i.e. made with beans). Little can be beat a Sardinian cassoulet, made with seafood, olives, assorted beans, sweet peppers, spices and sheets of thick pasta, assorted cheese, slow baked for hours in a bechamel gravy with a tahini base. Served with flatbreads and fruity white wine. Followed by strong Tunisian coffee and honey and nut pastries. A hint of paradise on earth.

BTW the term "lasagna" comes from the type of pan it was baked in, a relatively shallow but long and wide baking dish, made from either steel, ceramic or glass.

i keep seeing this referenced by you and others: "bechamel gravy"
would you please share with me/us how you prepare your version? my southern bubba version of lasagna with cottage cheese has always been a much requested fav of my kids, nephews and niece (i believe the addition of bratwurst to the ground beef helped make it so). but i would want to be able to try a semi-authentic approach with the bechamel gravy to understand the difference

 

[OldFatGuy]

i keep seeing this referenced by you and others: "bechamel gravy"
would you please share with me/us how you prepare your version? my southern bubba version of lasagna with cottage cheese has always been a much requested fav of my kids, nephews and niece (i believe the addition of bratwurst to the ground beef helped make it so). but i would want to be able to try a semi-authentic approach with the bechamel gravy to understand the difference

First, it helps to understand the preferred serving of pasta, considered a street food in Italy, for peasants and farmers, was to slather it in rendered pig fat. Hence the term "gravy." This goes back to pre-Roman times. Marco Polo bringing back pasta from the Orient was BS. Not that pasta, noodles, didn't exist in Asia, but more likely found its way from Egypt where extant recipes for making pasta from wheat and other grains have been found in the Pharaonic tombs, and are still in use in modern Egypt, the Nile being a wheat breadbasket. Sauces were originally fruit based toppings from Austro-Hungarian cuisine, adopted by the French, and used for topping or glazing roasted meats and vegetables, eventually fish. Tomatoes are fruit and a New World addition to European cuisine. When first introduced to the Spanish, thought to be the "Devil's Fruit" because of its blood like color, and initially viewed as poisonous, even tho the first tomatoes brought back to Spain were of variegated colors. Fortunately common sense and good taste prevailed.

Bechamel gravies or sauces, are essentially a lipid, melted fat or an oil, whisked with touch of flour over a low temperature and then extended with water, milk, fish or chicken stock. They are the base for many casserole type dishes, including our comfort food Mac & Cheese. They are common throughout the mideast and Europe, the term "bechamel" coming from the French, who adopted the sauce from Viennese cuisine. A typical French bechamel can be made from butter, flour and cream, flavored with garlic and onion stock.

When I prepare a basic bechamel for a multitude of uses, including lasagna, I start with Tahini, a sesame butter, all purpose flour and water. Depending on use, I will flavor it with garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, herbs, for serving simply over a brown rice dish with chopped vegetables. For lasagna, I add both chicken stock and milk, lots of garlic and oregano, fresh ground black pepper, chopped sharp onion or shallots, and always the whisking is done over the lowest possible temperatures in a stainless steel pot until a desired consistency is reached, starting with the roux, the lipid and flour mixture, careful not to burn, before adding liquids, with numerous tastings. The basic ratio is 1 1/2 tbs of lipid, 1 1/2 tbs of flour for every cup of liquid. Everything else is eyeballed and to taste preferences.

You can use the same bechamel for lasagna, felafel and Israeli salad (chopped tomatoes and onions with an abundance of raw garlic, which has swept into mideast cuisine), many casseroles including mom's green bean and crisped onions, fish dishes, whatever your culinary imagination desires. Even on Lebanese style spiced, skewered and grilled lamb. As some say, "to die for." Works really well with Tempura and southern fried chicken, or Buffalo wings.

Surprise your kids. Forget the bratwurst and use sweet Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms and zucchini. A world of difference in flavor and texture. Use fresh home made ricotta, a quality mozzarella and a high quality reggio parmesan. Fresh oregano, lots of garlic and don't be afraid of fresh ground black pepper.

 

[PirateMk1]

i keep seeing this referenced by you and others: "bechamel gravy"
would you please share with me/us how you prepare your version? my southern bubba version of lasagna with cottage cheese has always been a much requested fav of my kids, nephews and niece (i believe the addition of bratwurst to the ground beef helped make it so). but i would want to be able to try a semi-authentic approach with the bechamel gravy to understand the difference

You put bratwurst in your lasagna? That sounds interesting.

 

[Jay59]

Then it ain't lasagna, its a casserole or cassoulet (i.e. made with beans). Little can be beat a Sardinian cassoulet, made with seafood, olives, assorted beans, sweet peppers, spices and sheets of thick pasta, assorted cheese, slow baked for hours in a bechamel gravy with a tahini base. Served with flatbreads and fruity white wine. Followed by strong Tunisian coffee and honey and nut pastries. A hint of paradise on earth.

BTW the term "lasagna" comes from the type of pan it was baked in, a relatively shallow but long and wide baking dish, made from either steel, ceramic or glass.

It's a quibble, but OK. You can even do a dessert version, with sweetened curd and baking spices. It's still lasagna to me. A layered dish, using lasagna noodles in a lasagna pan is close enough.

You put bratwurst in your lasagna? That sounds interesting.

Sure. Leftover turkey with the bechamel sauce.

I said before, clean out the fridge.