Mozzarella di Bufala Campana

Buffalo mozzarella is a soft cheese produced exclusively with milk from buffalo raised in the Campania region. The term mozzarella derives from "mozzare" ("cut off"), an action still practiced in many dairies, which consists of cutting natural spun paste, made with the thumb and index finger ("mozzatura") to shape the product.

Along with pizza, buffalo mozzarella is clearly a world-wide symbol of Italy and one of the main ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. Some trace the origins of this cheese to Hannibal, who crossed the Alps with his famous elephants and with the less famous buffaloes. Other historians place the arrival of these cattle in Italy around the year 1000 with the Normans. The fact is that this animal, initially used for work in the fields because of its rustic constitution, soon became also valuable for milk production and its spun paste which have sensory properties that still today are much appreciated.

Mozzarella has a white porcelain color and a thin rind with a smooth, shiny surface. The paste, with a structure of thin leaves that tend to disappear in the layers below the first, must be cut to release a little of the whitish, serous aroma of lactic acid. The weight varies from 20 to 800 grams and the shape can be round, but also in small pieces, braids, or knots. Because of its perishability, mozzarella was produced in very small quantities and consumed locally. To maintain freshness it was kept in sheets of cane and transported in amphorae. Even today, it needs to be consumed it in a short amount of time and stored in a cool place, immersed in its own liquid. A fresh and authentic product, it can be served as an appetizer, accompanying tomatoes, salads, or prosciutto, or used to complement dishes such as baked pasta, meat, or vegetable tarts.