|
The buffalo's Mozzarella history
Typically from Campania, mozzarella owes its origins to the term “mozzatura” (cutting-off), meaning the phase when the cheese maker, by hand, cuts off little cheese forms from the big mass of spun paste. Became today a common food on our table, we can consider two kinds of mozzarella:
fiordilatte: made using only cow's milk;
and Mozzarella di bufala, which derives from buffalo's milk and, compared to “fiordilatte”, it has to be regarded as a quite different food, as its consistency, its colour and its taste are absolutely different.
Became now a dish for true connoisseurs, the buffalo's mozzarella is made using exclusively buffalo's milk; it is possible to find it only at home production dairy-farms in some resorts of South Italy.
You should have understood that we are not talking about common mozzarella, this one which can be found at the supermarket bearing the words “true buffalo's mozzarella of Campania”. As a matter of fact, the true buffalo's mozzarella has become, since 1996, a DOP (denomination of protected origin) product; a provision of law establishes that mozzarella must be produced compulsorily in Campania (Caserta, Benevento, Salerno, Napoli) and only with milk coming from this zones.
How the DOP Buffalo's Mozzarella of Campania is produced
Just after having been milked, the buffalo's milk is heated and charged with milk enzymes and a liquid coagulant. Once the curd has formed, it must stand for 1 hour, then it is reduced to hazelnut-sized grains and it is let stand again for 4 hours, time during which fermentation occurs.
Then the curd will be put into big wooden or metallic tubs and a quantity of hot water (at 80°C-90°C), equal to the weight of the curd itself, will be added to it.
The hot water will melt the mass, which afterward will be gathered and cut off by hand and immersed in cold water in order to stand.
Finally each mozzarella will be pickled for a variable time depending on the wished sapidity.
|
The mark of Association for Safeguarding you can find on the packaging, bearing details of the law and authorization number issued by the Association itself, is a guarantee of genuineness, both as for typicality and for geographical origin. The Association promotes every initiative meant to safeguard typicality,
peculiarity and use of the denomination, as well as to favour the steady improvement in production's techniques. It makes constant controls on production and trade of buffalo's mozzarella of Campania, in compliance with production provision both for DOC (denomination of controlled origin) (DPCM 10/05/1993) and for DOP (denomination of protected origin) (CEE regulation n.1107 dd. 12/06/1996). 
