Mozzarella

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Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox cheese

MozzarellaTemplate:Efn is a semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared using the Template:Lang ('stretched-curd') method. It originated in southern Italy.

Varieties of mozzarella are distinguished by the milk used: Template:Lang when prepared with cow's milk and buffalo mozzarella (Template:Lang in Italian) when the milk of the Italian buffalo is used. Genetic research suggest buffalo came to Italy by migration of river buffalo from India in the 7th century CE.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp

Fresh mozzarella is generally white but may be light yellow depending on the animal's diet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fresh mozzarella makes a distinct squeaky sound when chewed or rubbed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day after it is made<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> but can be kept in brine for up to a week or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can be kept refrigerated for up to a month,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> although some shredded low-moisture mozzarella is sold with a shelf life of up to six months.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mozzarella is used for most types of pizza and several pasta dishes or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Caprese salad.

Etymology

Template:Lang, derived from the southern Italian dialects spoken in Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, Basilicata, Lazio, and Marche, is the diminutive form of Template:Lang, 'cut', or Template:Lang, 'to cut off', derived from the method of working.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The term is first mentioned in 1570, cited in a cookbook by Bartolomeo Scappi, reading "milk cream, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk".<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Subscription required</ref> An earlier reference of Monsignor Alicandri is also often cited as describing mozzarella, which states that in the 12th century the Monastery of San Lorenzo, in Capua, Campania, Alicandri offered pilgrims a piece of bread with Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Types

Fresh mozzarella has been recognised as a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) since 1996 in the European Union.<ref>Regolamento (CE) N. 2527/98 della commissione del 25 novembre 1998 registrando una denominazione - Mozzarella - nell'albo delle attestazioni di specificità. Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee L 317/14 del 26/11/1998.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is usually sold rolled into a ball that weighs around Template:Convert and measures about Template:Convert in diameter, although they may be as large as Template:Convert and have a diameter around Template:Convert. It is soaked in salt water (brine) or whey.

In Italy, the cheese is produced nationwide using Italian buffalo's milk under the government's official name Template:Lang, because Italian buffalo are present in all regions. Only selected Template:Lang PDO is a style made from the milk of Italian buffalo raised in designated areas of Campania, Lazio, Apulia, and Molise. Unlike other mozzarellas—50% of whose production derives from non-Italian and often semi-coagulated milk<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>—it holds the status of a protected designation of origin (PDO: 1996) under European Union law<ref name="ojec2008">Template:Cite journal</ref> and UK law.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A more dense mozzarella is made by adding citric acid and partly drying (desiccated). This is often used to prepare baked dishes, such as lasagna and pizza.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sizes and shapes

File:Bocconcini gobeirne.jpg
Bocconcini with a sprig of basil

Fresh mozzarella balls are made in multiple sizes for various uses; often the name refers to the size.

Template:Lang are about the size of a hen's egg, and may be served whole as part of a composed salad or sliced for topping a small sandwich such as a slider.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Lang ('small cherries') are cherry-sized.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Lang are the smallest commercially produced and are often added to salads or hot soups and pasta dishes just before serving.<ref name=":0" /> These balls are packaged in whey or water, have a spongy texture, and absorb flavours.

Bocconcini ('small mouthful'), sometimes called Template:Lang ('buffalo eggs'), are approximately bite-sized; a common use is alternating them with cherry tomatoes on a skewer for an appetiser.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="TEFC">The Essential Fingerfood Cookbook, p. 40.</ref> Bocconcini of water buffalo's milk are still produced in the provinces of Naples, Caserta, and Salerno, as Template:Lang, in a process that involves mixing freshly produced Template:Lang PDO with fresh cream. A Template:Lang PDO is also made, which is simply Template:Lang PDO, produced in the egg-sized format.

When twisted to form a plait, mozzarella is called Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Low-moisture

Several variants have been specifically formulated and prepared for use on pizza, such as low-moisture mozzarella cheese.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite book Template:ISBN</ref> The International Dictionary of Food and Cooking defines this cheese as "a soft spun-curd cheese similar to mozzarella made from cow's milk" that is "[u]sed particularly for pizzas and [that] contains somewhat less water than real mozzarella".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, widely used in the food service industry, has a low galactose content, per some consumers' preference for cheese on pizza to have low or moderate browning.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Efn Some pizza cheeses derived from skim mozzarella variants were designed not to require aging or the use of starter.<ref name="McMahon">Template:Cite web</ref> Others can be made through the direct acidification of milk.<ref name="McMahon" />

Other

Mozzarella of sheep milk, sometimes called Template:Lang, is typical of Sardinia, Lazio, and Abruzzo, where it is also called Template:Lang. It is worked with the addition of the rennet of lamb.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Abruzzo qualityTemplate:Dead link</ref> Goat milk mozzarella was invented recently, and is produced in small quantities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mozzarella is also sold smoked (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Çaycuma and Kandıra mozzarella cheeses are Turkish cheeses made of buffalo's milk.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Production

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After the curd heals, it is further cut into Template:Convert pieces. The curds are stirred and heated to separate the curds from the whey. The whey is then drained from the curds and the curds are placed in a hoop to form a solid mass. The curd mass is left until the pH is at around 5.2–5.5, which is the point when the cheese can be stretched and kneaded to produce a delicate consistency—this process is generally known as Template:Lang. According to the Template:Lang trade association, "The cheese-maker kneads it with his hands... until he obtains a smooth, shiny paste, a strand of which he pulls out and lops off, forming individual mozzarella."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Large quantities of mozzarella are exported internationally.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref>

Storage

Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day it is made,<ref name=":1" /> and food writer Arthur Schwartz describes that a Neapolitan will not eat day-old mozzarella without further processing—frying or baking into a casserole or pasta. Despite this, manufacturers market the cheese as having a week-long shelf life. As mozzarella is kept, it develops a sour flavour and softens, a process which is slower for larger cheeses.<ref name=":4" />

Within the city of Naples, there is a belief among part of the populace that the best mozzarella has "relaxed"; softened in the hours after being made. Schwartz reports that this does not seem to be believed by Campanians who live in the country, closer to dairy farms where the cheese is produced, where the cheese can be easily purchased while still firm.<ref name=":4" />

Low-moisture mozzarella can be kept refrigerated for up to a month,<ref name=":2" /> although some shredded low-moisture mozzarella is sold with a shelf life of up to six months.<ref name=":3" />

Recognitions and regulations

Mozzarella received a traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG) certification from the European Union in 1998, and in 2022 the product specification was updated for the name Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> This protection scheme requires that Template:Lang sold in the European Union is produced according to a traditional recipe. The TSG certification does not specify the source of the milk, so any type of milk can be used, but it is speculated that it is normally made from whole milk.<ref name=ojec1998 />

Different variants of this dairy product are included in the list of Template:Lang (PAT) of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF), with the following denominations:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

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Notes

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References

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<ref name=ojec1998>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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