The term mozzarella derives from the procedure called mozzare which means "cutting by hand", separating from the curd, and serving in individual pieces, that is, the process of separation of the curd into small balls.[citation needed] It is appreciated for its versatility and elastic texture and often called "the queen of the Mediterranean cuisine", "white gold" or "the pearl of the table".[citation needed]
In Italy, the cheese is produced nationwide using Italian buffalo milk under the government's official name mozzarella di latte di bufala because Italian buffalo are found in all Italian regions. Only the specific type mozzarella di bufala campana PDO is produced in the area reaching from Rome in Lazio to Paestum near Salerno in Campania, and there are also production areas in the province of Foggia, in Puglia, and in Venafro, Molise.[4] 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.[5]
Apart from in Italy, its birthplace, buffalo mozzarella is manufactured in many other countries around the world. There are producers in Switzerland,[6] the United States,[7][8][9][10] Australia,[11] Mexico, Brazil, Canada, China,[12] Japan, Venezuela, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Sweden,[13] Colombia,[14] Thailand,[15] Israel, Egypt,[16] India[17] and South Africa,[18] all using milk from their own herds of water buffaloes.
Mozzarella di bufala campana
Buffalo mozzarella from Campania bears the trademark "mozzarella di bufala campana". In 1993, it was granted denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status, and in 1996, the trademark received the registry number 1107/96[19] and in 2008 the European Union granted protected geographical status and the DOP designation.[20] 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 that, under Italian law, is responsible for the "protection, surveillance, promotion and marketing" of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.[21][22] The mozzarella industry in Italy resulted from 34,990 recorded females of the Italian Mediterranean breed, which account for ≈30% of the total dairy buffalo population (this percentage does not exist in any other country) and have a mean production of 2,356kg milk in 270 days of lactation, with 8% fat and 4.63% protein.[23]
History in Italy
The history of water buffalo in Italy is not settled. One theory is that Asian water buffalo were brought to Italy by Goths during the migrations of the early medieval period.[24] However, according to the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, the "most likely hypothesis" is that they were introduced by Normans from Sicily in 1000, and that Arabs had introduced them into Sicily.[25] The Consorzio per la Tutela also refers to fossil evidence (the prehistoric European Water Buffalo, Bubalus murrensis) suggesting that water buffalo may have originated in Italy.[26] A fourth theory is that water buffalo were brought from Mesopotamia into the Near East by Arabs and then introduced into Europe by pilgrims and returning crusaders.[16]
"In ancient times, the buffalo was a familiar sight in the countryside, since it was widely used as a draught animal in ploughing compact and watery terrains, both because of its strength and the size of its hooves, which do not sink too deeply into moist soils."[27]
References to cheese products made from water buffalo milk appeared for the first time at the beginning of the twelfth century.[27] Buffalo mozzarella became widespread throughout the south of Italy from the second half of the eighteenth century, before which it had been produced only in small quantities.[28]
Production in and around Naples was briefly interrupted during World War II, when retreating German troops slaughtered the area's water buffalo herds, and recommenced a few years after the armistice was signed.[29][30][31][32]
2008 dioxin scare
On March 21, 2008, The New York Times published an article which reported the difficulties encountered by the Campania producers of mozzarella in avoiding the contamination of dioxins of dairy products, especially in the Caserta area,[33] and managing the resulting crisis in local sales. The article, later referenced by blogs and other publications,[34] referred to the Naples waste management issue and referred to other pieces published by the International Herald Tribune and various other national and international newspapers.[35]
These articles marked the beginning of an international media attention that raised the threshold of collective attention on the potential harmfulness of buffalo mozzarella from Campania. In particular, they pointed out to varying degrees a relationship between the fires of garbage heaps and the release of dioxins and other cancerous substances, which would end up in the pastures of dairy animals. Alarmed by some positive findings in the dioxin test, the South Korean government was among the first to prohibit the importation of Italian buffalo mozzarella, promising to remove the ban only when the findings confirmed the possible contamination and identification of responsible producers.
A chain reaction followed, in which several countries including Japan, China, Russia and Germany took various measures ranging from the mere raising of the attention threshold to the suspension of imports.[36] The Italian institutions activated almost immediately, even in response to pressing requests from the European Union, a series of checks and suspended, in some cases, the sale of dairy products from the incriminated provinces. Tests had shown levels of dioxins higher than normal in at least 14% of samples taken in the provinces of Naples, Caserta and Avellino. In the provinces of Salerno and Benevento, no control indicated dioxins positivity.
In any case, the contamination has affected, in a limited defined manner, the farms used to produce buffalo mozzarella DOP.[37] The Italian General Confederation of Labour reported a 40% reduction of workforce in the Terra di Lavoro for 2013.[38] On 19 April, China definitively removed the ban on mozzarella, originally activated on 28 March 2008, and tests held in December 2013 in Germany on behalf of four Italian consumer associations have highlighted dioxin and heavy metal levels at least five times lower than the legal limit.[39]
Production stages
To produce 1kg (2lb 3oz) of cheese, a cheese maker requires 8kg (18lb) of cow milk but only 5kg (11lb) of buffalo milk. Producing 1kg of butter requires 14kg (31lb) of cow milk but only 10kg (22lb) of buffalo milk.[16]
The steps required to produce buffalo mozzarella are:[40][41]
Milk storage (raw buffalo milk stored in steel containers).
Milk heating (thermic treatment to the liquid, then poured into a cream separator).
Curdling (by introduction of natural whey).
Curd maturation (the curd lies in tubs to reduce the acidifying processes and reach a pH value of about 4.95).
Spinning (hot water is poured on the curd to soften it, obtaining pasta filata).
Shaping (with special rotating shaper machines).
Cooling (by immersion in cold water).
Pickling (by immersion in pickling tubs containing the original whey).
Packaging (in special films cut as bags or in small basins and plastic).
Nutrition
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.[42]
Generally, buffalo mozzarella is eaten with calzone, vegetable, salad (for example, insalata Caprese), on pizza (a low moisture content buffalo mozzarella is preferred), on grilled bread, with tomatoes, or by itself accompanied by olive oil.[43]
Mozzarella is a semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared by the pasta filata method with origins from southern Italy.
Parmesan is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows' milk and aged at least 12 months.
Gorgonzola is a veined PDO Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. Outside the EU and the countries recognizing the geographical origin protection, the name "Gorgonzola" can legally be used for similar cheeses, with only the full Italian name unambiguously referring to PDO Gorgonzola. It is a famously pungent cheese.
Asiago is a cow's milk cheese, first produced in Asiago in Italy, that can assume different textures according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago to a crumbly texture for the aged cheese. The aged cheese is often grated in salads, soups, pastas, and sauces while the fresh Asiago is sliced to prepare panini or sandwiches; it can also be melted on a variety of dishes and cantaloupe. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese, notably albumin and globulin.
Burrata is an Italian cow's milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer casing is solid cheese, while the inside contains stracciatella and clotted cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. It is typical of Apulia.
Bocconcini are small mozzarella cheese balls. Like other mozzarellas, they are semi-soft, white, and rindless unripened mild cheeses that originated in Naples and were once made only from the milk of Italian Mediterranean Buffalo. Nowadays, they are usually made from a combination of buffalo and cow's milk. Bocconcini are packaged in whey or water, have a spongy texture, and absorb flavors.
Scamorza is a Southern Italian cow's milk cheese. It can also be made from other milks, but that is less common. It is a stretched-curd cheese, in which the fresh curd matures in its own whey for several hours to allow acidity to develop through the conversion of lactose to lactic acid. Artisanal cheese makers generally form the cheese into a round shape, and then tie a string around the mass one third of the distance from the top, and hang it to dry. The resulting shape is pear-like. This is sometimes referred to as "strangling" the cheese. The cheese is usually white unless smoked. When smoked, the color is almond with a lighter interior.
Stracciatella di bufala is a cheese produced from Italian buffalo milk in the province of Foggia, located in the southern Italian region of Apulia, using a stretching and a shredding technique.
Pasta filata is a technique in the manufacture of a family of Italian cheeses also known in English as stretched-curd, pulled-curd, and plastic-curd cheeses. Stretched curd cheeses manufactured using the pasta filata technique undergo a plasticising and kneading treatment of the fresh curd in hot water, which gives the cheese its fibrous structure.
Neapolitan pizza, also known as Naples-style pizza, is a style of pizza made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes must be either San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius. The cheese must be mozzarella di bufala campana, a protected designation of origin cheese made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state, or fior di latte, a cow's milk mozzarella created according to the procedure for which it was registered as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). Pizza napoletana is a TSG product in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the art of its making is included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
The triangle of death is an area approximately 25 km northeast of the city of Naples in the Province of Naples, Campania, Italy, that comprises the comuni of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano. This area contains the largest illegal waste dump in Europe due to a waste management crisis in the 1990s and 2000s.
Bitto is an Italian DOP cheese produced in the Valtelline Valley, in Lombardy. It owes its name to the Bitto River. Bitto is produced only in the summer months, when the cows feed on the high alpine meadows.
The Italian Mediterranean Buffalo or Bufala Mediterranea Italiana is an Italian breed of water buffalo. It is of the River sub-type of water buffalo and is similar to the buffalo breeds of Hungary, Romania and the Balkan countries. It is the only indigenous water buffalo breed in Italy. A herd-book was opened in 1980, and the breed was officially recognised in 2000.
Silter is an Italian hard cheese made within the Alpine Lombardy region around Province of Brescia and surrounding areas and traditionally produced with unpasteurised cows milk during summer months and September, is brined, and aged for a minimum of 6 months.
Quartirolo Lombardo is a soft cheese made with cow's milk, which has a Protected designation of origin (PDO) status.
Cacioricotta is a typical southern Italian cheese produced in the regions of Basilicata, Apulia, and Calabria.
↑ Seno, L. O.; V. L. Cardoso and H. Tonhati (2006). "Responses to selection for milk traits in dairy buffaloes". Genetics and Molecular Research. 5 (4): 790–6. PMID17183486. Retrieved 2008-10-19. Borghese and Mazzi (2005) presented a comprehensive review on the Buffalo populations and production systems in the world. According to these authors, Brazil has the largest buffalo herd size in South America, followed by Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia. Buffaloes were imported into Brazil between the 1940s and 1960s, where the ideal conditions such as thriving pastures, water, grazing space, and suitable temperatures were available. In the 1970s Brazilian buffalo breeders began to use these animals for dairy and meat production.
↑ "The Consortium: History of The Organization". Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela. 2008. The Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP trademark (Protected Name of Origin) was registered with the European Community Regulation no. 1107 of 1996, three years after it was given the DOC mark (D.P.C.M. of 10/05/1993).
↑ "The Consortium: History of The Organization". Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela. 2008. The Consortium is the only organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies (MIPAF) for the protection, surveillance, promotion and marketing of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.
↑ "Mozzarella di Bufala". Forno Bravo Cooking. Forno Bravo, LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2008-10-16. It all starts with the Asian Buffalo, brought to Italy by the Goths, as they migrated southwest during the waning years of the Roman empire.
↑ "History". Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela. 2008. There are many theories on their Italian beginnings: the most likely hypothesis is that the Norman kings, around the year 1000, brought them into southern Italy from Sicily, where they had been introduced by the Arabs.
↑ "History". Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela. 2008. However, others believe that the buffalo originated in Italy, a theory that is based on fossils found in the Roman countryside, as well as from results of recent studies that appear to demonstrate that Italian buffalos have a different phylogeny than Indian buffalos.
↑ The Cheese Companion by Judy Ridgway (Running Press, 2004,) 123
↑ The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheeses of the World by Steve Ehlers and Jeanette Hurt (Penguin, 2008), 96
↑ "Mozarella" by Laura Weiss in The Oxford companion to American food and drink edited by Andrew F. Smith (Oxford University Press 2007), 394
↑ Brooklyn: a state of mind by Michael W. Robbins and Wendy Palitz (Workman Publishing 2000), 306
↑ «So it was a blow when health authorities found high levels of dioxins, nasty byproducts of chemical manufacturing, in samples of buffalo milk from farms near Caserta, north of Naples, in recent weeks, and began a sweeping criminal investigation and the quarantine of dozens of herds of buffalo.», in The New York Times, Italy's Mozzarella Makers Fight Dioxin Scare, 21 March 2008
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