From Southern Italy to Global Icon, the Cheese That Pulls at the Heartstrings
The Pull That Launched a Thousand Pizzas
No other cheese quite stretches the imagination—literally and figuratively—like mozzarella. Whether it’s draping over a bubbling Margherita pizza or torn into cool, porcelain-white hunks atop a summer caprese, mozzarella has an ability to feel both elemental and elevated. It is a cheese of texture, of immediacy, and of deceptively simple pleasures.
A Southern Italian Birthright
Mozzarella’s roots lie deep in the Campanian and Apulian countrysides of southern Italy, where buffalo once roamed (and still do). Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is the original and arguably still the finest expression of this cheese: made exclusively from water buffalo milk, it is DOP-protected and celebrated for its rich, tangy flavor and soft, elastic curd. The word “mozzarella” derives from mozzare, meaning “to cut off”—a nod to the traditional hand-pinching method used to shape the cheese.
Fior di Latte: The Cow’s-Milk Cousin
In contrast, fior di latte mozzarella is made from cow’s milk. It’s less intense, more accessible, and widely produced around the world. It lacks the luxurious fat content of buffalo milk, but when fresh and properly handled, offers a creamy, slightly sweet profile that’s a staple in pizzerias and kitchens alike.
Pasta Filata: The Technique Behind the Stretch
What sets mozzarella apart is the pasta filata process—a method of heating curds and stretching them into long, pliable threads. This kneading in hot water gives mozzarella its signature elasticity and meltability. Timing is crucial: too much stretching and the cheese becomes rubbery, too little and it weeps.
Fresh vs. Low-Moisture: A Culinary Fork in the Road
Fresh mozzarella, often sold in brine-filled tubs, is best eaten within days—its taste is clean, lactic, and fleeting. Low-moisture mozzarella, on the other hand, is aged slightly and designed for cooking. This is the mozzarella that browns beautifully on pizza, the kind you’ll find in New York slices with their charred edges and satisfying chew.
Preservation, Pairings, and Poetics
Mozzarella, particularly in its freshest form, does not age gracefully. It thrives on immediacy. Store it at room temperature if eaten the same day, and never refrigerate buffalo mozzarella if you can help it—it dulls the flavor and tightens the texture.
Pairings are best kept simple: ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, good olive oil. A glass of chilled Vermentino or a young Chianti doesn’t hurt. What matters most is context—mozzarella is not a cheese that demands ceremony, but it deserves attention.
The Cheese of the Present Moment
Mozzarella is a paradox: ancient yet omnipresent, modest yet sensuous, global yet deeply regional. It resists aging, refuses arrogance, and rewards immediacy. It is not just cheese—it is the now in dairy form.
