by Maura Rice
If you read our newsletters religiously (and truly, bless you), you may be tired of hearing us harp on about our fresh mozzarella. We get it—we really do. We just can’t help ourselves when it comes to mozzarella season because the stuff is so dang special. And this summer, Austin (our resident pasta filata specialist—more on this term later), has expanded his repertoire to include fresh burrata too. You may even have accidentally picked up a ball of the delicate cheese by mistake, only to be surprised (and delighted, hopefully?) by the creamy filling. This brings me to our central question this week: just what is the difference between mozzarella and burrata?
We’re guessing you’re probably familiar with mozzarella at this point in your cheese-consuming career—it is, after all, the most popular cheese in America. And you’re willingly reading a cheese blog, so odds are you’ve probably encountered burrata in the wild too. Still, the nuances of these Italian softies can be tough to distinguish when you’re elbow deep in salad or pizza. Burrata? Fior di latte? Stracciatella? The Italians notoriously have a complicated term for every aspect of cheesemaking, not to mention the hundreds of formaggi in their bullpen. Case and point…
Pasta filata refers to a class of cheese encompassing mozzarella and burrata. It translates approximately to “spun thread” or “stretched curd” which is an apt description of the unique cheesemaking process used to create both. While most cheese is made by aging curd pressed into forms, pasta filata cheeses are formed by softening curd in near-boiling salty water until it becomes smooth and luscious. Our mozz-maker, Austin, does this by using a large wooden paddle to gently stretch the curd in the air until it reaches the proper temperature and texture. The process is exceedingly delicate (not to mention painful), which is why fresh-pulled mozzarella is such a rarified treat. Overwork the curd for just a few seconds and you may end up with a tough, toothsome product. Other cheeses made in this popular style include provolone, caciocavallo, and scamorza, which all share the stretchy, pull-apart structure created by the pasta filata process.
Mozzarella in true Italian tradition is made with water buffalo milk, which, being richer in fat than cow’s milk, makes for an exceptionally luxurious cheese. Sadly, water buffalo farming is quite rare in the States, so most mozzarella found here is made with cow’s milk, and is technically what the Italians call fior di latte. We use lovely cow’s milk curd from our friends at Liuzzi Angeloni in Connecticut. The curd itself is remarkably flavorless and bland, not at all like the cheese curds we Midwesterners know and love. It tastes purely of fresh, whole milk, which, of course, it is. Mozzarella is the most basic pasta filata cheese being formed by simply pinching off spheres of the stretched cheese. These alabaster globes are either wrapped immediately to preserve their shape or stored in brine for extended life. In any case, to witness the transformation of rubbery curds into rich, silken mozzarella in a matter of moments is to understand the true magic of cheesemaking.
On the surface, burrata appears identical to mozzarella (hence, the confusion). But the amount of work that goes into a ball of burrata is tenfold that of mozzarella. In the most basic sense, burrata is a thin layer of mozzarella housing a stracciatella filling. Stracciatella, in turn, is a combination of fresh cream and mozzarella shreds, likely a way for cheesemakers to utilize the scraps of the mozzarella-making process. Austin has adopted the Italian tradition of adding fresh seasonal fruit to the cream. As you might imagine, crafting these delicate spheres is incredibly challenging. First, the cheesemaker must form the hot curd into a flat sheet—the ‘skin’ of the burrata. With one hand, he must form a pouch from this sheet while using the other to pour in his stracciatella mixture. Finally, he must painstakingly seal the ball without spilling the liquid contents or puncturing the skin. The final product is much like a delicate water balloon or an extremely overripe tomato, and, as in either case, it’s best to just embrace the mess.
You may wonder, how could this laborious process possibly be worth it?! It does seem likely that the creator of pasta filata cheeses was probably a masoch*st. But to enjoy freshly-made mozzarella and burrata is to understand the mania. Stop in some weekend to pick up a still-warm ball of lactic magic, and see for yourself.
