How many mozzarellas have you eaten in your life? It’s likely few of them were the real, EU-protected thing. That comes only from the Campania region of Italy, where 30 top chefs will gather next week to celebrate the best mozzarella in the country – and therefore in the world. It’s made from buffalo milk, which is said to result in a tastier cheese than cow’s milk.
The strong flavour is bittersweet. It oozes milk at each bite, is denser when you chew it than ordinary mozzarella, and has a smooth, brilliant porcelain-white (rather than yellowish) surface. It’s best eaten the day you buy it, as it doesn’t stay fresh for too long. There are three vital ingredients to proper mozzarella di bufala: a warm climate that produces great grass to graze on, free-ranging buffalo, and dairy skills handed down over generations.
“It’s in our DNA: we transform the milk as no one else does,” says Domenico Raimondo, head of the Consortium for the Protection of Buffalo Mozzarella, who will chair the two-day event, near Paestum.
Mozzarella has been made in Campania since at least the 12th century: monks at Capua’s San Lorenzo monastery served it to pilgrims. Today, many cheesemakers (caseifici) on Campania’s coastal plans are open to visitors, who can watch the production process and buy mozzarella in shapes including braids, beads and knots. The bigger the mozzarella – they can weigh up to 3kg – the tastier it is.
“We never sit down for a meal without mozzarella. It’s our daily bread,” says Raimondo. “The best way to eat it is pure: no salt, pepper or oil, just fresh tomatoes.”
