Ricotta Romana

Ricotta Romana is a fresh dairy product made exclusively from the whey of whole milk from ewes of the Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, Massese breeds and their crosses, reared and processed within the Lazio Region. On release for consumption it has a white, lumpy paste, a sweetish milky taste, a weight of up to 2 kg, and a minimum fat content of 40% of dry matter.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-IT-0298, with EU protection granted on 24 June 2003 and recorded in the eAmbrosia register under identifier EUGI00000013460, Ricotta Romana is produced exclusively within the Lazio Region of Italy. The designation is reserved for the dairy product obtained from the whey of whole milk from ewes of four permitted breeds — Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, and Massese — and their crosses. The whey must be produced and processed within the Lazio Region, and the finished product must also be packaged there, a requirement the specification links directly to the need to preserve freshness, purity, and traceability. The whey of whole sheep's milk used in production must meet minimum compositional values: non-fat dry matter of 5.37% or more, protein of 1.09% or more, fat of 0.35% or more, lactose of 3.55% or more, and ash of 0.4% or more. No acidity adjusters are added to the whey during processing. The product is fresh and does not mature or season; it is packaged directly when the whey is almost fully separated and put up for sale a few hours after production. Permitted packaging formats include truncated conical wicker, plastic, or metal baskets with a maximum capacity of 2 kg, parchment wrapping, and plastic and/or vacuum containers. Labelling must display the term 'Ricotta Romana' followed by the words 'Denominazione Origine Protetta (D.O.P.)' and the product logo. The applicant body is the Consorzio di tutela Ricotta Romana DOP.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 24 June 2003 under file number PDO-IT-0298 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013460).
• The designation is reserved exclusively for ricotta made from the whey of whole milk from ewes of the Sarda, Comisana, Sopravvissana, and Massese breeds and their crosses; no other breeds are permitted.
• The minimum fat content on release for consumption is 40% of dry matter; the specification permits no lower figure.
• Milk production, whey processing, and packaging must all take place within the Lazio Region; the specification permits no stage to occur outside it.

Tasting notes

Lazio fresh whey ricotta from sheep's milk. Bright white soft texture, fresh mild sheep-milk flavor with delicate sweetness, less rich than buffalo ricotta but more characterful than cow ricotta.

HoReCa use

Ricotta Romana is used as an ingredient in traditional dishes from Lazio and is also eaten as a dish in itself.

Packaging

• tub-250g
• tub-500g
• tub-1kg
• basket-fascella-300g