preservatives.
Fresh mozzarella is usually served on the day it is made as it does not keep beyond 12 or 24 hours. Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza (more compact lower water content kinds), lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese (ideally fresh di bufala).
Types
The mozzarella di bufala campana (Dop 1996) is a particular type of mozzarella; it is the best for flavour or quality and it is protected by European DOP. It is a raw material in proper, original neapolitan Pizza - rather than mozzarella made with pasteurized cow's milk.
Mozzarella is available fresh; it is usually rolled in the shape of a ball of 80 to 100 grams (6 cm diameter), sometimes up to 1 kilogram (about 12 cm diameter), and soaked in salted water, sometimes with added citric acid, until sold.
Fior di latte (written also as fiordilatte) is used to distinguish the mozzarella made from cow's milk from that made from buffalo's milk. Another difference is that fior di latte has more fats and less water. This makes it more suitable as a basic component for pizza, while mozzarella would almost completely melt into whey when baked.
When slightly desiccated (partially dried), the structure becomes more compact; then it is better used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven, for example lasagne.
When twisted to form a plait it is called treccia.
It is also available in smoked (called provola) and reduced-moisture packaged varieties. To preserve a natural consistency (for no more than a couple of days), fresh mozzarella is delivered in its own liquid (whey).
There are now offered a number of variations, such as "stuffed mozzarella", filled with olives and cooked or raw ham, as well as small tomatoes (pomodorini).
Production
The production of mozzarella involves the mixture of curd with heated whey, followed by stretching and kneading to produce a delicate consistency -- this process is generally known as pasta filata. According to the Mozzarella di Bufala trade association, "The cheesemaker kneads it with his hands, like a baker making bread, until he obtains a smooth, shiny paste, a strand of which he pulls out and lops off, forming the individual mozzarella." Mozzarella di Bufala Campana trade organization (Retrieved May 8, 2005) It is then typically formed into ball shapes or in plait. In Italy, a "rubbery" consistency is generally considered not satisfactory; the cheese is expected to be softer.
The origin of the name
It has been said that the name "mozzarella", which is clearly derived from southern Italian dialects, was the diminutive form of mozza (cut), or mozzare (to cut off) derived from the method of working.[3] Other theories describe its origins as a minor preparation of "scamozza" (Scamorza cheese), which in its turn probably derives from "scamozzata" ("without a shirt"), with allusion to the fact that these cheeses have no hard surface covering typical of a dry cured cheese.
The term mozzarella is first found definitively mentioned in 1570, cited in a cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi, reading "…milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk…"
An earlier reference is also often cited as describing mozzarella. Historian Monsignor Alicandri, in "Chiesa Metropolitana di Capua", states that in the 12th century the Monastery of Saint Lorenzo, in Capua, offered pilgrims a piece of bread with mozza or provatura. These are locations rather than products and mozza is taken by some to be mozzarella. |
