Cheesy Thursday #6. Mozzarella! Yum!
This week's suspect may not be a real cheese, it is a dairy product, but still will fit good in my weekly series for Cheesy Thursday. I'm talking about the Mozzarella! Do you know what milk is used for Mozzarella production? Do you know how it's made? Let's find out.
Mozzarella cheese is a traditional Southern Italian dairy product, which is made by the "pasta filata" method. This method is used for making the stretched curd cheeses, which are typically manufactured from the pasta filata technique and undergo a plasticising and kneading treatment of the fresh ingredient in hot water in order to give the cheese its fibrous structure.
And do you know what kind of milk is traditionally used to make Mozzarella?
The Italians make their Mozzarella from Italian Buffalo's milk, and more specifically the milk from a Italian Water Buffalo. The TSG certification does not specify the source of the milk, so you can use literally any type of milk, but the original Italian Buffalo one stands as an example for the finest Mozzarella cheeses.
It's often eaten young and immature, because it cannot be stored for a long time, due its way of production. Ideally these cheeses should be eaten within a matter of a few days, and if you want to store them longer, they should undergo additional treatment.
Maybe the best-known salad combination of Mozzarella is the one with fresh basil and tomatoes, but there are a varieties including basil pesto in the preparation ingredients. All of you have heard the salad Caprese, right? Its very fresh one and I like it very much as a summer salad.
Other usages of the Mozzarella cheese is as an additive for Pasta and more specifically some Pizzas. Of course, you can enjoy it in various dishes, which are cooked, but I myself prefer it raw in salads. Just don't like at all when its being baked.
How about you? Do you eat Mozzarella often and how is your favorite way of its consumption?
Source of the images: https://www.google.com