COTTAGE CHEESE in Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta Ricotta is also called "Seirass"; "Seras" or "seré"; terms derived from Latin Seracium; and from the French or the Serai Seret (in Switzerland and Haute-Savoie Ricotta is still call Sérac); with reference to the whey with which it is produced; is in fact not a cheese but a dairy product: in the traditional recipe (without the addition of milk or cream) is produced with the remaining milk after the removal of the curd to make cheese. The ricotta; which recovery of by-product of the processing of dairy products; was much consumption in the Middle Ages and the doctor from Vercelli Pantaleon Confienza gave news of course in his "Summa Lacticiniorum" (1477); indicating the then very popular "Seras Nus" valdostano which type of reference for this type of processing. In the image you just extracted from the artisanal ricotta cheese strainer when it was left to drain and compacted; which impressed the shape. Photography by Patricia Piccini; Agriturismo San Lorenzo; Ponzone AL; 2014