From a caprese salad to a margherita pizza, mozzarella makes every meal better. If you love mozzarella, you’re not alone. More mozzarella is enjoyed every year than any other cheese. But what exactly makes mozzarella so special? Read on to learn all about this white, stringy, and delicious cheese that we couldn’t live without.
What is Mozzarella? Mild, refreshing and supple, this Mozzarella gets its flavors from either cow or buffalo milk. It has a springy and dense consistency with a light and barely discernible aroma of wholesome cream, making it a favorite among audiences with delicate palates.
How is mozzarella cheese made?
Mozzarella starts life like most other cheeses. Milk is heated with a whey starter (containing good bacteria) and rennet. This process creates curds, which are heated in water or whey until they form strings. (That’s right: this is the original string cheese.) These cheesy strings become elastic allowing cheesemakers to stretch, knead, and mold the mozzarella into round balls.
It’s hard work requiring a sense of the science but also the craftsmanship required to do this for just the right amount of time with just the right amount of pressure and pull to create the perfect mozzarella every time. Imagine kneading dough, but the dough is 150 degrees Fahrenheit. What cheesemakers sacrifice in comfort is made up for in outcome: fresh, milky, sweet mozzarella with delicate tendrils that form when pulled. Because mozzarella is a fresh cheese, it’s best eaten within days—if not hours—of being made.
How long is mozzarella aged?
Since mozzarella is a fresh cheese, it’s not aged at all. Typically, mozzarella is shipped as fast as logistics allow so it reaches eager cheese lovers as fresh as possible. For other varieties of mozzarella, like low-moisture blocks that we love to grate onto our pizzas, there is a short aging period of two to four weeks. This brief aging period allows the cheese to lose some of its moisture while simultaneously concentrating the flavor.
BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella: BelGioioso’s award-winning mozzarella is a classic example of what fresh mozzarella should be: soft, delicate, porcelain white, and delightfully milky. Whether you are enjoying it in a caprese salad or making a Neapolitan-style pizza, this mozzarella demands a spot in your cheese drawer.
Crave Brothers Marinated Mozzarella Ciliegine: Crave Brothers takes the meaning of fresh cheese to new heights by making their mozzarella with milk that comes from cows right across the road from their cheesemaking facility. While normal mozzarella balls are the size of a small orange, Crave Brothers Ciliegine are cherry-sized balls of adorableness. One bite equals one ball of cheese, just the way we like it. This mozzarella is also marinated in Crave Brothers’ signature blend of herbs mixed into olive and canola oils making it even more flavorful than other mozzarellas.
Henning Cheese Mozzarella: Craving a Pizza Night? Look no further than this low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella from Hennings Cheese. Henning’s mozzarella is slightly firmer than its fresher siblings, making it ideal for melting on top of a pizza. Since it is low moisture, your pizza won’t get soggy, and your cheese will get beautifully browned as it bakes.
How Mozzarella Is Made
FAQ
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