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Mozzarella is a fresh, stringy Italian cheese made from buffalo milk. It's full name is Buffalo Milk Mozzarella, or "Mozzarella di Bufalo" in Italian.

Whole buffalo milk is pasteurized, then cooled to 90 F (32 C.) Rennet is added to curdle the milk, then the curd is cut. The curd is allowed to sink to the bottom, and rest for a bit in the whey, so that the acids can soften the curd. Then, it is washed with hot water (200 F / 93 C) flowing through it, then stirred with paddles. The really hot water and the agitation make the curd first coagulate into one lump, then spin out in strands which are stretched, cut off in pieces and rolled by hand into balls. Rolling by hand preserves the nature of the strands, giving the fresh Mozzarella its layered texture, and traps a bit of the whey still in the balls between the layers. The balls are then cooled, salted and sent off for sale.

The cheese is pure white. It has a creamy texture and a slight fresh tang to it, but otherwise little other taste.

The cheese is sold in soft, semi-spongy balls whose stringy texture is somewhat remiscent of a cooked chicken breast. The balls will have a very thin skin on them. You'll often see them in a tub of liquid, which some people think is water, but which is actually some of the cheese's own whey.

Mozzarella is a PDO protected cheese in Europe. It can be made in Italy in Apulia, Campania and Lazio. The cheese's logo is red and green, with the head of a water buffalo on it. Two of the better brands are considered to be Garofolo and Delizie Alburnine. This style of Mozzarella is also made in Romania and Bulgaria.

Buffalo milk is whiter than cow's milk It is also used to produce Indian paneer.

Fresh Mozzarella should taste tangy, but not sour.

Fiore di Latte

This is the Italian name for Mozzarella made from cow's milk instead of buffalo milk, as it is anywhere outside Apulia, Campania and Lazio in Italy.

It is almost as white as Buffalo Milk Mozzarella, but doesn't quite have the same texture. It is more rubbery. In making the cheese, the emphasis is more on its having a somewhat longer shelf life than in being eaten fresh.

In North America, any "fresh" Mozzarella you buy is almost certainly going to be made from cow's milk and therefore actually be "Fiore di Latte."

In North America, you may actually be better off buying Fiore di Latte (fresh cow's milk Mozzarella) rather than Buffalo Milk Mozzarella, simply because the Buffalo Milk Mozzarella will likely have travelled from Italy and therefore not be as fresh. When the Buffalo Milk Mozzarella is not absolutely fresh, it will have somewhat of a sour taste, whereas the Fiore di Latte's taste is stable for a bit longer.

Foodies, however, will have none of this, and chide you if you don't buy the Mozzarella made from buffalo milk.

Cooking Tips
Buffalo Milk Mozzarella is so moist and soft that it melts quickly -- the heat alone from just-drained pasta will melt it.

In North America, it may be better to use any fresh-style Mozzarella for eating fresh, rather than for cooking, as it is expensive and the flavour when served fresh is so good. Use the North American Style Mozzarella for cooking.

Nutrition
Fresh Mozzarella has 87 calories per ounce, and is 24% fat, as well as 51% water, 20% protein, 4% carbohydrate, and 2% ash. Why doesn’t anyone ever ask about the ash content? Calories and fat, calories and fat. All anyone ever cares about is calories and fat.

Storage
Store in fridge. If your fresh Mozzarella doesn't come in a tub of liquid (which is actually whey from the cheesemaking), store it in the fridge in fresh water and use within 2 to 3 days at the most. Change the water daily.

History
On a good day, the history of the Mozzarella stretches back to the Romans, and even to Egypt.

The real curiosity, though, is how on earth water buffalos got to Italy in the first place, and the truth is, no one knows for sure. The best stories involve Anthony and Cleopatra, with Anthony sending the water buffalo and the cheese recipe back to Caesar in Rome. By Fedex, no doubt. Other sources say the buffalo could have been introduced by any invader, or by the Romans, or could have just always been there. Some say the Crusaders brought them back to Italy (though there certainly must have been easier souvenirs to lug home.)

What is certain, however, is that Mozzarella originated in the southern Italian regions of Campania and Sicily.

In 2003, a farmer in Vermont started a herd of 50 water buffalo, to see if he could make a go of making the real thing there

Language Notes
The name probably comes "mozzare", meaning to cut off, referring to cutting off the strands of cheese. Mozzarella would mean something like "little cuttings".

Also called:

See Also:

Oaxaca Cheese

Other entries for:

Mozzarella Cheese
Blissful Buffalo Mozzarella, Bocconcini Cheese, Caciocavallo Cheese, Mozzarella (North American), Scamorza Cheese, Treccia Cheese

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Semi-Firm Cheeses
Appenzeller Cheese (Quarter Fat), Ardrahan Cheese, Asadero Cheese, Blue Cheeses, Botton Cheese, Brunost Cheese, Buxlow Paigle, Caerphilly Cheese, Cantal Cheese, Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese, Cheshire Cheese, Chèvre, Chihuahua Cheese, Cotherstone Cheese, Criollo Cheese, Danbo Cheese, Danish Fontina Cheese, Edam Cheese, Farmer's Cheese, Fontal Cheese, Gaperon Cheese, Grimbister Cheese, Huntsman Cheese, Jalapeño Cheese, Leerdammer Cheese, Liederkranz Cheese, Livarot Cheese, Maasdam Cheese, Manchego Cheese (Mexican), Monterey Jack Cheese, Morbier Cheese, Pavé d'Auge Cheese, Pavé d'Isigny Cheese, Pavé de Berry Cheese, Penyston Cheese, Quartirolo Cheese, Queso con Loroco, Ricotta Salata Cheese, Tetilla Cheese, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Wensleydale Cheese

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Cheese
Affinage, American Cheeses, Casu Marzu, Cheese Rinds, Creamery, Double/Triple-Cream Cheese, Extra-Hard Cheeses, Firm Cheeses, Goat's Milk Cheeses, Mexican Cheeses, Pate (of a Cheese), Processed Cheese, Queso Fundido, Rennet, Sheep's Milk Cheeses, Skim-Milk Cheeses, Smear-Ripened Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Surface-Ripened Cheeses, Sweet Curd Cheeses, The Crumblies, Truckle, Washed-Curd Cheeses, Washed-Rind Cheeses, Yak Cheese, Yeel Cheese

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Dairy
Butterfat, Butter, Milk, Nondairy Topping