The tomato salad mozza : a classic of our summer recipes. Mozzarella is also the second best-selling cheese in the world after cheddar, but cons the most consumed. And France is no exception, it's one of our favorite cheeses, we would be the biggest consumers in the world. Italians call it the white pearl. At home, we find a dozen reference mozzarella but not all are equal.
But, all mozzarellas are not equal. There are 3 main varieties: mozzarella di bufala Campana , mozzarella bufala and mozzarella with cow's milk . Nothing to do with the small ball of hard cheese and tasteless that we buy for a few euros only in our supermarkets. Decoding with Alessandra Pierini of the Italian grocery store RAP *.
The mozzarella di Bufala Campana
Italians will tell you that this is the real Mozzarella. "Di Bufala Campana" means the AOC appellation qualifying true mozzarella. Made in Italy, in the region of Naples (where mozzarella was born) and with buffalo milk, a rich and protein-rich milk . For the record, the buffalo is a cow of Asian origin. The sunny climate of the hot and humid Naples region and the vegetation of this region give buffalo milk the creamy and unctuous taste found in this mozzarella. The envelope of this mozzarella is slightly hard on the outside and inside, its heart is soft.
In the region, only 1,800 farms are authorized to supply the manufacturers of this mozzarella with buffalo milk. Quality requires, the mozzarella di Bufala Campana is the most expensive on the market: between 24 and 28 € per kilo.
Note that there is a circuit of fake mozzarella di Bufala Campana.
The mozzarella di Bufala
If this mozzarella is also made with buffalo milk , it does not come exclusively from Campania. No appellation AOC frames it. Many Italian cheese masters produce this mozzarella, especially in the Venice region. Depending on the methods used in its manufacture, this mozzarella can also be excellent to taste. It still slightly less creamy than the mozzarella di Bufala Campana but the price is equivalent, between 24 and 28 € per kilo.
Mozzarella with cow's milk
Made everywhere and not only in Italy, this mozzarella is commonly known as "baby's milk" or "little mouthful" . Mozzarella with cow's milk is certainly less tasty than mozzarella made with buffalo milk, but it is financially more affordable, between 18 and 20 € per kilo.
But beware, there is everything and anything in this variety of mozza. It includes industrial mozzarella balls made from milk powder, those that are bought at 2 or 3 € in supermarkets and have no taste.
And the burrata in all this?
Do not be confused, mozzarella and burrata . This cheese, derived from the mozzie is from Apulia and much more creamy. It is simply a mozzarella stuffed with cream. We do not eat it with tomatoes, but rather with a spoon!
* Alessandra Pierini, Italian grocery store RAP, 4 rue Flechier 75009 Paris, https://www.rapparis.fr .
