Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella
Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella is a type of mozzarella cheese made from the milk that comes from Italian Mediterranean buffaloes. It is a dairy product traditionally produced in Campania, particularly in the provinces of Caserta and Salerno.
Background
Mozzarella is one of the only few cheese variants you will encounter on a regular basis that’s made from the milk of water buffalo. In fact, most people who encounter buffalo milk mozzarella don’t even recognize that what they are consuming is actually made from buffalo milk. Usually, people assume it’s as closely related to buffalo as Buffalo wings are. But in fact, the highest, premium-quality mozzarella in the world is in fact made from the milk that comes from water buffaloes, and it’s a hands-down, truly superior product, compared to mozzarella made from cow milk.
History
The word "mozzarella" stems from the old method called "mozzare," which means "cutting by hand," which is still the preferred method practiced by mozzarella cheese producers today. By cutting a piece of curd with your hands, detaching the individual mozzarella with your index fingers and thumbs. This is how the standard rounded shape of the mozzarella is obtained. Like most mozzarella variants, Buffalo Milk Mozzarella is prepared the same way. Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella is recognized for its versatility and elastic texture. Moreover, it is often called "the queen of the Mediterranean cuisine," "white gold," or "the pearl of the table."
Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella from Campania bears the "Mozzarella di Bufala Campana" trademark. Back in 1993, Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella was granted Denominazione di Origine controllata (DOC) status. And, in 1996, the trademark received registry number 1107/96. Then, in 2008, the European Union granted Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Protected Geographical Status and PDO indicator.
The Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio di Bufala Campana ("Consortium for the Protection of the Buffalo Cheese of Campania") is an organization of approximately 200 producers. And under Italian law, they are responsible for the "protection, surveillance, promotion, and marketing" of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.
Buffalo mozzarella is a €300m ($330m) per year industry in Italy, which produces around 33,000 tonnes of it every year, with 16 percent sold abroad (mostly in the European Union). France and Germany are the main importers, but sales to Japan and Russia are growing.
Nutrition
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is an easily digestible cheese, with reduced lactose and cholesterol content. It is an excellent source of protein with a high biological value, accompanied by a moderate intake of fats. In addition, the cheese supplies high quantities of calcium, phosphorus and water-soluble vitamins such as B1, B2, B6, and Niacin.
The digestive system of water buffaloes permits them to turn low-grade vegetation into rich milk which, due to its higher percentage of solids, provides higher levels of protein, fat, and minerals than cow milk.
Contents for 100 g (3.5 oz) Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella
Production Stages
To generate 1 kg (2.2 lb) of Buffalo Milk Mozzarella cheese, a cheese maker needs 8 kg (18 lb) of cow's milk but only 5 kg (11 lb) of buffalo's milk.
The required steps to follow to produce Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella are:
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Milk storage (raw buffalo milk kept in air-tight steel containers).
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Milk heating (thermic treatment, then emptied into a cream separator).
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Curdling (by the introduction of natural whey).
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Curd maturation (the curd rests in tanks to lessen the acidifying processes and attain a pH value of about roughly 4.95).
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Spinning (hot water is introduced on the curd to soften it, obtaining pasta filata).
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Shaping (with special rotating shaper machines).
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Cooling (by immersion in cold water).
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Pickling (by immersion in pickling tubs containing the original whey).
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Packaging (in special films cut as bags or in small basins and plastic).
Sample Recipe
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Sorrento style Dumplings
Ingredients (Serving of 4):
16 oz. Of “fresh” Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella
1 lb of Gnocchi
(potato dumplings)
Tomato sauce or Peeled
Tomatoes
1 clove of Garlic
Extra Virgin olive oil
Basil leafs
Procedure:
Slice the Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella in 1-inch cubes, chop or blend the peel tomatoes, chop the Basil. Place the
diced garlic on a pan with EVO and a
hot pepper, toss the tomato and let it go for
15 minutes.
Boil water with enough salt, toss the “dumplings' until they'll float, drain and mix with the drizzling sauce.
Top the pan with the cubed Bocconcini Buffalo Milk Mozzarella and basil, and cook for 5 more minutes until melted. Alternatively, you can put the pan in the oven (broil) and top with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bocconcini of 100% Buffalo Milk Mozzarella Cheese
Price per 8 piece by 20gr each