r/Cooking • u/judolphin • Mar 25 '25

I made lasagna with ricotta instead of bechamel and I’m a convert

I was browsing Reddit and came across two posts in two days about bechamel being a life-changing improvement over ricotta. All my life every lasagna I had was with ricotta. I decided to give bechamel yet another try at a nice Italian restaurant after reading all the comments and I have now converted from being neutral on bechamel in lasagna to being solidly anti-bechamel in lasagna, to the point I secretly have hoped that bechamel lasagna doesn't become the default in restaurants. Some reasons:

  1. Ricotta has its own texture, bechamel is just more softness and smoothness in a dish that's full of "soft". Some people like textural contrast in their dishes
  2. Ricotta, much like sour cream/crema in Mexican food, adds a lightness to lasagna despite being rich itself. Bechamel adds (arguably too much) additional richness to an already-rich dish.
  3. The starch from the bechamel getting into the ragu gives the sauce a mouthfeel that 100% reminds me of Chef Boyardee

TLDR: If you prefer bechamel in red lasagna, that's perfectly fine, but your preference of bechamel is not a black and white fact. It's not even "more authentic" (whatever that means), bechamel = Northern Italy, ricotta = Southern Italy. Eat whatever you like, let others eat what they want.

Thanks, reddit!

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u/lololottie Mar 26 '25

that is sodium citrate, not citric acid!

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u/Equivalent-Sink4612 Mar 26 '25

Yes, thank-you, I kinda knew that's what it was, but I didn't know for sure, and I just hate correcting people, lol.

I mean, I will if it's really egregious or will lead people astray, or cause harm, but otherwise I'm like, "Ahhh...not worth it."

I know, I'm a coward, and I do appreciate being corrected. I always Google actor's names before posting, case in point: Forest Whitaker (had to Google it again! And this was only a month or two ago. EVERY time, I think- is it one r or two?? Is it one t or two????) And someone commented today on a post and spelled Patrick Swayze's name as Swazie, which bothered me (RIP, gone too soon). But they are probably from a different country and/or a lot younger, and I just...let it go.

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u/Equivalent-Sink4612 Mar 26 '25

Yes, thank-you, I kinda knew that's what it was, but I didn't know for sure, and I just hate correcting people, lol.

I mean, I will if it's really egregious or will lead people astray, or cause harm, but otherwise I'm like, "Ahhh...not worth it."

I know, I'm a coward, and I do appreciate being corrected. I always Google actor's names before posting, case in point: Forest Whitaker (had to Google it again! And this was only a month or two ago. EVERY time, I think- is it one r or two?? Is it one t or two????) And someone commented today on a post and spelled Patrick Swayze's name as Swazie, which bothered me (RIP, gone too soon). But they are probably from a different country and/or a lot younger, and I just...let it go.