Mozzarella

What is Mozzarella?

Mozzarella is a traditional Italian cheese that is widely popular around the world. It is a semi-soft cheese made using cow's milk or buffalo milk, but some variations are made from goat or sheep milk as well. 

Where Does Mozzarella Come From?

Mozzarella cheese originated in Italy, mainly in the region of Campania, which includes cities like Naples. It has been produced in this region for centuries, using traditional methods handed down through generations. Today, mozzarella is made in many parts of the world, but Italy remains renowned for its high-quality, authentic mozzarella cheese. Since 1996, mozzarella has been recognised as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG/STG) food product in the EU. 

How is Mozzarella Made?

Traditionally, cheese is made from Italian buffalo's milk by pasta filata method. Mozzarella is made by heating milk, adding rennet to coagulate it, then stretching and kneading the curds. The cheese is shaped, brined, and packaged, resulting in a slightly sweet taste and soft, stretchy and elastic texture.

It is available in the form of balls of different sizes. Fresh mozzarella is one of those easy-to-make-at-home cheeses used in salads, meats, seafood, and vegetables.

Mozzarella di Bufala, also known as 'buffalo mozzarella', is made from Italian water buffalo milk.

Mozzarella Fior di Latte is produced from fresh, pasteurised or unpasteurised cow's milk, while low-moisture mozzarella is made from whole or partly skimmed milk. And mozzarella affumicata is a smoked variety of mozzarella.

Ciliegine is a traditional Italian type of mozzarella made with pasteurized cow's milk or sometimes with water buffalo's milk and is available in small smooth white balls.

Mozzarella made from sheep's milk by adding lamb rennet is called mozzarella pecorella or mozzapecora, in Sardinia, Abruzzo, and Lazio.

Mozzarella is also produced from goat's milk.