Question for Mom

Ricotta (left) and Cottage Cheese (right)

When should I use ricotta instead of cottage cheese? –Tom P.

I bought my first tub of ricotta not long ago after someone criticized me for using cottage cheese in a lasagna recipe.  I have to confess that although I’d heard friends speak lovingly of ricotta, I was perfectly happy with cottage cheese.  I’d eaten it since I was a kid and was used to its taste.

Finally I decided to see what all the fuss was about.
Ricotta is creamier than cottage cheese.  In fact, it reminded me of cream cheese, although a little less dense.  In the lasagna the taste of ricotta was pretty much indistinguishable from cottage cheese, although it looked better. 

The family’s picky eater, who normally gobbles down lasagna, ate the noodles but pushed the ricotta around on his plate.  On the other hand, the family’s junior eating machine ate three portions.  Several of the adults said they liked my new version of lasagna better than the old.  Others said they preferred the cottage cheese version. 

End result: Ricotta, which is somewhat more expensive than cottage cheese, may make some dishes better, but lasagna isn’t necessarily one of them.  I plan to experiment with the leftover ricotta in a different dish and will report back.