Ricotta Cheese Introduced to Domestic Market A New First for Armenia

The story of Ricotta cheese, started with the young son of USDA MAP TDY, Paul Sommers. In asking mom to bake lasagna (Italian dish made with ricotta cheese) he triggered a chain of events, which has resulted in sales of this new MAP-developed cheese to top Italian restaurants in Yerevan. "When I asked MAP TDY Cheese Specialist Poul Hansen about the availability of locally produced ricotta, his reaction was sure it can be made locally," said Mr. Sommers. Ricotta is a by-product of the cheese making process. "Before I would remove the whey from the mozzarella and discard it. MAP has provided me with a low cost process of converting the waste stream of whey into a new product that is in-demand and profitable," said Myasnik Grigoryan, the owner of Balaki Lechak plant. MAP marketing team investigated retail sources of imported ricotta and contacted restaurants to identify their needs for it. Hansen began to work with a goat cheese producer in Vatoz Dzor to demonstrate how to make ricotta. Marketing investigations showed that ricotta was imported (on an infrequent basis) from Italy and sold at a retail price of 3,500 drams for 250 grams. Its shelf life was also very limited. The marketing team also learned that Italian restaurants were very keen to have a supply of good quality locally produced ricotta for hot pasta dishes and desserts. Ricotta is now produced and marketed by Balak Cheese. Myasnik Grigoryan, the owner says that he cannot meet the demand for ricotta. Also the combination of producing mozzarella and ricotta has meant the several fold increase in profits. "This quick action, high impact exercise has increased the efficiency of the Balak's operation, expanded markets, increased sales and profits," added Mr. Sommers.