4 minute read
Ricotta
By Alexander Fox
Photos by Christopher Fox & Winter Caplanson
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An All-Star Summer Cheese
If you’re only using ricotta to fill your lasagnas or stuff your shells, you’re missing out on much of what this refreshing summer cheese has to offer. It’s delicate in taste and texture, unlike aged cheeses that tend to be more aromatic and dense, so another scoop is never too much. Ricotta is easy to use, consume, and make—maybe one of the easiest cheeses of all!
“The first thing I look for is fat content,” said Chef Joel Gargano of Grano Arso in Chester. “Retail versions are usually skim milk, which means dryer curds, which to me is not very appealing. In most kitchens, we aren’t afraid of whole milk. I go half whole milk and half cream.”
Joel brings the mixture to a simmer without scorching it and then he acidifies it. “We call that ‘splitting the milk’—you can do it with lemon juice or what we use, buttermilk,” he said. “Buttermilk is already soured due to the fermentation that occurs when the culture is added to make it. Buttermilk provides just the right amount of acidity that we prefer. Splitting takes about 20 minutes, during which we chill the mix and then strain it through cheesecloth and let sit overnight.”
- Chef Joel Gargano
Joel said Grano Arso uses Calabro, a brand of ricotta you can find at Stop & Shop. If you are looking to shop local, you cannot do much better than visiting Calabro’s market, located at the site of its East Haven manufacturing plant. The milk used to produce their handmade cheese comes from dairy farms located within 100 miles of the plant; about 90 percent comes from Connecticut farms.
Calabro has been family owned and operated since it was founded in 1953 by Joseph Calabro. At first, the company was a cheese distribution business that Joseph ran with his father, Salvatore, out of the back of the family home in Stratford. It wasn’t until 1960 that Joseph entered the cheese production industry following a merger with another New Haven cheese company. Production was moved to Vermont but returned to Connecticut in 1980, making its home in the newly created East Haven Commercial Park.
The company has won awards for its products, CEO Frank Angeloni (Joseph Calabro’s nephew) said, but ultimately, Calabro has to let the cheese do the talking.
“We’ve won gold awards over the last 15 years with everything from the fresh mozzarella to the buffalo to the burrata, we got our share,” he said. “You say you won the gold, the other guy says he won the gold—it doesn’t mean a thing. What matters is, does it taste like it won the gold?”
Awards or no awards, Joel Gargano says he’s “always been a big fan.”
“When I went to New York City and worked in the largest Italian restaurant I have ever worked, the fresh cheese of choice was Calabro,” Joel said. “The name goes pretty far.”
Joel’s brother, Patrick Gargano Jr. of Cheri’s Bakery in Branford, said he’s been using Calabro for 19 years.
“They have always been consistent products, their products have never changed,” he said. “They have always been extremely high quality.”
To appeal to more modern sensibilities, the company has brought back an organic line of products, as well as introducing more exotic cheeses.
“The younger generation was looking for not only local but also organic,” Frank said, adding that he’s expanding that line to include fresh mozzarella, Gouda, cheddar, and parmesan.
Wherever the market takes Calabro, Frank said it’ll remain in the family. “If a company came in here today and bought us out, all of a sudden I would have a ton of money but I don’t know if I would be happy, I don’t know what I would do,” he said. “I would like to enjoy my days in my garden, be outside working, putzing around with my hands, but nothing beats coming around here and just making cheese.”
