To find someone who hasn’t had a taste of any Italian cuisine is rarity these days.; rather you will many a people who would happily trade their regional meals for a bowl of pasta or a well made pizza. Italy with its rich culinary tradition has a wide range of delicacies to offer – which include staples like pasta , pizza , a wide range of cured meats , authentic sauces , traditional vegetables and of course a whole range of traditional cheeses.

Like many an European nation , Italy produces few of the best cheeses in the world with a diverse variation in their texture , taste and consumption traditions. Though its rather tricky to rate them against each other , the buffalo mozzarella can indeed be considered as a crown jewel of the wide range of cheeses that Italy has to offer. This special cheese is traditionally produced in and around Naples from the fresh milk of water buffaloes and its unique rubbery texture ,freshness and high nutritional values differentiate it from the crowd.

Buffalo mozzarella is traditionally produced in small factories in and around Naples using techniques that are unique and have prospered in that region for centuries. There are two primary reasons for which the production of buffalo mozzarella cannot be easily migrated to other places. Firstly this cheese requires a steady supply of fresh buffalo milk and secondly the artisanal production technique that has been mastered by these small factories , is hard to replicate . A manufacturing so unique is bound to draw attention and curiosity of the culinary minds. So let’s explore how it is that they make the buffalo mozzarella.

To start with and as mentioned earlier utmost care is taken to ensure that the buffalo milk used to make this cheese is of the highest quality. Once that has been sourced , two primary techniques are adopted to produce the buffalo mozzarella – one that involves the direct acidification to form curds while the other that involves the culture/rennet method. In either of the methods , the raw milk is processed and then coagulated to form curds. Regular checks are performed on the curd to assess its pH level and once it has reached a pH level of 5.2 , the curd is cut into smaller pieces and mixed with hot water. This is then followed by the process of “stringing the curd” – a feature that adds the flavour of tradition into the making of this cheese.

The pieces of curd that were treated with hot water are then strung and spun to form long strands or ropes of cheese. It can be assured that this process is much more complex than it sounds . A lot of care goes into the fact that the texture of the cheese is smoothened and at the same time these strands don’t tear away. When the accepted levels of smoothness and elasticity are reached these strands of cheese are then cut into small round structures and thrown into cold water so that they retain their shape. The cheese is then salted and packaged –ready to be dispatched to their destinations !

The buffalo mozzarella has a relatively short manufacturing period of around 8 hours . But as explained earlier the skilled manufacturers bring in all their experience to decide the optimal moment to start the stringing process as too long a wait can lead to a soft cheese while a premature start can lead to having a dry hard cheese.

Until and unless you happen to be living in and around Naples , where it gets produced, it can be a challenging task to source high quality buffalo mozzarella ! However , with the spread of online grocery and deli channels , it is possible to get authentic mozzarella delivered to you in as fresh a state as possible. You should only be careful about the credibility of your online retailer regarding the product authenticity and delivery lead time before you place your order. After all this Italian delicacy is best enjoyed in its most authentic form and the quickest it can be consumed after its production.

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