What is mozzarella made from?
Mozzarella is made from milk, traditionally water buffalo milk in southern Italy, though most mozzarella today is made from cow's milk. The curd is stretched in hot water to make it smooth and stringy.
Mozzarella is a pasta filata, or stretched-curd, cheese. Milk is curdled with rennet, and the curds are cut and drained. The curds are then soaked in hot water or whey and stretched and kneaded until they become smooth and elastic. Finally, they are shaped into balls by hand and placed in brine or water.
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is made from the milk of water buffaloes in Campania and nearby regions of Italy. It is creamier and richer than cow's milk mozzarella, called fior di latte in Italy. The name mozzarella comes from mozzare, meaning to cut off, describing how the cheese is pinched into pieces.
Ways to eat it
Fresh mozzarella is best eaten within a few days. It is used in Caprese salad with tomatoes and basil and on pizza Margherita. Low-moisture mozzarella, which melts and browns well, is the type most used on pizzas in the United States.
Did You Know?
Burrata looks like mozzarella on the outside, but inside it is filled with stracciatella, a mix of soft cheese shreds and cream.