How much protein is in the whey of ricotta?
Ricotta cheese is made predominantly from whey proteins and contains around 10g of total protein per 100g of cheese.
Last updated 17/01/2024
Ricotta is an Italian word that means ‘recooked’ and is made from the whey portion leftover from other cheese making, which is reheated to bring the whey proteins together. Ricotta cheese has 10.1g of protein per 100g.
The production of most cheese requires the addition of enzymes. Renin (chymosin) is the most common enzyme used in cheese making and when added to milk it causes the casein proteins to adhere together to form a curd. The left-over liquid portion is called whey and contains classes of whey proteins called lactalbumin and lactoglobulin. Typically, cow’s milk will contain 80% casein proteins and 20% whey proteins.1
All dairy proteins are high quality however whey proteins have been studied in sports nutrition including the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine. Whey protein has a high content of leucine, which is known to assist muscle regeneration.2
References
- 1. Croxford S, Stirling E. Understanding the Science of Food: From molecules to mouthfeel. Allen and Unwin Academic. 2017.
- 2. Sports Dietitians Australia. Protein Supplementation Factsheet. Accessed 23.07.19
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