Do you want to know one of the best food products that is made in Italy and that is famous all over the world for its quality? Well Italian Traditions takes you to the discovery of Mozzarella. In fact, here we will talk about this food of great quality and the way it is prepared. In addition we will present some of the most popular dishes of traditional Italian cuisine in which it is used as a main ingredient.
The history of one the most famous italian cheeses
This food is a spun paste cheese originally from the Campania region. To make it, different types of milk can be used. The main ones are:
- of buffalo
- of cow
- of sheep.
source Toma e Tomi
The first type is recognized as the one of superior quality. The buffalo mozzarella from Campania is in fact known all over the world. It can derive from only one of these types or even mixing them. In this case the producer must state it on the food label.
Its name derives from the operation that is normally performed to separate the various pieces from the mixture. This is also proven by its ancient name.
Its birth is uncertain but the first written testimonies of this cheese can be found in the treatise Naturalis historia by Pliny the Elder dating back to 77-78 A.D. the term Mozza appears for the first time in a writing dating back to the twelfth century and preserved in the Episcopal archive of Capua. This refers to the cheese that the monks of the monastery of San Lorenzo in Capua distributed to the pilgrims.
Due to its nature, its diffusion was very limited until the beginning of the Risorgimento. This is due to the fact that it is a fresh dairy product and therefore easily perishable and more complex to preserve than other types. The exceptional quality of the mozzarella is underlined for the first time in the book by Giovan Battista Crisci and entitled La lucerna dei cortigiani. This was published in Naples in 1634 and is the first text of the history in which all the specialties and products of the regional cuisine of central and southern Italy are presented.
During the 1900s it became a widespread product. In fact, in the cities of central Italy, small dairies produce mozzarella and deliver it every day door-to-door along with fresh milk.
How to make mozzarella
As for all pasta filata cheeses, it is made by extracting the rennet and heating a part of the whey to 50 degrees. At this point it is poured on rennet. After about fifteen minutes the operation is repeated with the whey which must be heated this time to sixty degrees. After letting it rest, the curd is cut into thin, long slices. These are then immersed in water and shaped by hand with the processing to obtain the desired shape. Generally, 6 to 7 liters of milk are required to produce one kilogram of mozzarella.
How to eat one the most famous Italian cheeses
Its consumption is recommended on its own in particular if it is a high quality product. But it can also be accompanied with other products such as raw ham. It can also be used to make salads of various kinds. One of the best known in traditional Italian cuisine is the caprese for which it is served with tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil. It is also used a lot for pizza and aubergine parmigiana. Interestingly it is also prepared fried in oil this recipe is called mozzarella in a carriage fried in breadcrumbs.
As we said before and as you can see there are many exceptional qualities of this food that has a long history in traditional Italian cuisine. Now what are you waiting for? Run to buy a mozzarella and enjoy this cheese that represents the excellence of Made in Italy.
