Mozzarella Magic: This Is What Cheese Dreams Are Made Of

Mozzarella’s stretchy texture and mild, sour flavour makes it the gateway cheese for most people. Perfect for culinary experimentation, it works with almost everything - pizzas, pastas, salads; you name it, and Mozzarella is there. But did you know that the cheese that we know as Mozzarella today was originally called ‘mozza’? Dig into this piece to know all about this classic cheese variety.

Origins in Italy:

Mozzarella's roots trace back to southern Italy, where it was initially crafted from the milk of water buffaloes and sheep’s milk. In the Province of Caserta in Italy, the monks at San Lorenzo Monastery in Capua would offer bread and a cheese called mozza to worshippers.It is a fresh cheese, which means it has to be consumed fairly quickly after production. This made it impossible for the cheese to be transported out of the region for the longest time. At Least till modern refrigeration and transportation systems allowed all of Italy to savour it.

However, if you ask a true-blue Italian, they would tell you that the best buffalo mozzarella is still available in the south of Naples, where small factories use age-old tradition to make this delicacy. Artisanal cheese makers employ time-honoured techniques, curdling the milk with natural whey and stretching the curds to achieve the characteristic elastic texture. These traditional methods imparted a distinctive flavour profile to the cheese.

With pizza making its way to the modern dictionary and our tables, the demand for the cheese grew exponentially. This is when cheese made from cow’s milk (called fior di latte, or ‘flower of the milk’) started being produced.

It also gained popularity worldwide after WWII, when the cheese became a staple in Europe and America. It is, in fact, the most popular cheese in the USA, and the second most popular across the world. Today, mozzarella is produced and enjoyed globally, with each region adding its own twist to the classic cheese. Whether it's the fresh and creamy buffalo mozzarella from Italy or the low-moisture, shredded version commonly found on pizzas in the United States, mozzarella has transcended cultural boundaries.

In the ‘90s, the European Union granted mozzarella a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, acknowledging its deep connection to specific geographic regions and traditional production methods. Authentic mozzarella di bufala campana, made from buffalo milk in designated areas of Italy, carries this prestigious designation.

What sets an exceptional fresh mozzarella apart from the crowd? Primarily, it's the taste. It should be fresh, milky and only slightly sour. If the cheese is too tight and sour, it is most likely past its prime. The ideal colour for fresh mozzarella is white, however sometimes it's slightly yellow.