Mozzarella is a popular cheese from southern Italy, made from buffalo milk and traditionally produced in the Battipugli and Caserta areas of Naples. The curd is made by adding rennet or an edible acid to cold milk, then heating and separating the solid cheese from the liquid whey. Fresh mozzarella can be eaten immediately, while preserved mozzarella can be stored in brine or vacuum-sealed plastic bags. Variations include bocconccini, treccia, smoked, and manteca mozzarella, and it is commonly used in Italian and international dishes.
Mozzarella is a cheese from southern Italy that has become a common cheese around the world. The cheese often comes in a packet containing a lump of cheese soaked in liquid. Mozzarella curds are solid and the liquid is whey, brine, or water. This curd is made in a milk curdling process and is used in a variety of Italian and international dishes, from Neapolitan pizza to Caesar salads. The word mozzarella comes from the Italian word mozzare which means “to cut”.
Local legend has it that mozzarella curds were first produced by accident. In legend, some cheese curds fell into a bucket of hot water in a Neapolitan dairy. There is no proof that this part is true, but one thing that is true is that the mozzarella comes from Naples. Traditional mozzarella is centered around the Battipugli and Caserta areas of southern Naples, but can be found throughout the greater Campania region. To qualify as a traditional mozzarella curd, it must also be made from buffalo milk, which has led to the cheese being called mozzarella di bufala Campana in Italian.
Traditional mozzarella curds are made with cold milk. First, rennet, an enzyme found in the stomach of mammals, or an edible acid such as citric acid or vinegar is added to the milk. This mixture is stirred and slowly heated in a pan or tub. As the heat spreads through the milk, it slowly coagulates and curdles into lumps of solid cheese. Once solid, the mozzarella is separated from the liquid whey and kneaded like bread dough.
Fresh mozzarella curds are edible as soon as they are made. When mozzarella was first invented, it would have been eaten the day it was made. It could be kept for up to a week if it was preserved in brine, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that it could be kept longer. The invention of vacuum-sealed plastic bags meant that mozzarella curds could be stored in an aqueous solution. That means it could be exported all over the world.
There are several variations of mozzarella curds. Bocconccini and treccia are different forms of the traditional mozzarella with the first balls and the second a braided mozzarella. Smoked mozzarella instead is smoked mozzarella and Manteca is mozzarella with a lump of butter in the middle. Mozzarella curds can also be filled with foods such as olives, tomatoes, ham, and ham. Cheese is often served as part of salads, as a topping on pizza, in pastas, or in simple meals alongside tomatoes or salmon and drizzled with olive oil and served with basil.
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