OK, that title was supposed to say “Greetings from the land of mozzarella!”, but my mouth was full of, well, mozzarella. Mozzarella di bufala, to be precise, freshly made, right off the farm, never refrigerated… the way it’s supposed to be, but alas, rarely ever is, unless you happen to be hanging out in, say, the region of Campagna, Italy. Which I am. Mmmmmm.
For those of you (I’m looking at you, middle America) unfortunate enough to think mozzarella is a dry, rubbery cheese which comes in big bricks or pre-grated in your grocer’s refrigerated section, I’d like to introduce you to the real stuff. Mozzarella di bufala (literally buffalo mozzarella) is only produced in a couple regions of southern Italy, where the buffalo roam. The soft balls of goodness wait for you in giant tanks of whey. You take your purchase home in a plastic bag of liquid, kind of like when you you buy a goldfish. Except the mozzarella is much tastier. Soft, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth-y. It has to be eaten right away for optimal flavor, and never refrigerated, which explains why it’s so difficult to enjoy this delicacy to its fullest if you’re not directly at the source.
But don’t just take my word for it – come try for yourself. I mean, if there’s any left after I’m done here.
That looks so amazing! I was sometimes able to get the good stuff in the US, but not where we are in Brazil. They call it buffalo, but its nothing like that.
I can’t wait to hear more about your adventures in Italy!
The first time I went to Rome I was confused about why the English version of the menu at a pizzeria listed pizzas featuring “mozzarella cheese of cow.” It was only later that I learned there were buffalo in southern Italy. Which I still don’t entirely understand, but the cheese sure is good (as long as it’s not tainted by chemicals dumped by the local mafiosi, but I guess that’s a whole other story)…
i have always wondered what “kind” of buffalo do they milk – american bison or asian water buffalo?
i have a most interesting visual of a bison being in a restaining chute being milked – that would be an interesting photo…
Mmmmmmmm, I <3 cheese.
Hey there. I found your blog while surfing expat blogs, and I have been enjoying reading it.
So, I was wondering, would you mind if I added you to the blogrolls on two of my blogs? You can look at them at these links, if you want:
http://driftingfocus.wordpress.com/
http://jindowaygook.wordpress.com/
Again, good writing! Thanks for giving me something quality to read!
Lori – coming right up. 🙂
Kirk – I know, I kept thinking about the tainted mozzarella problems as we drove by the burning piles of trash in Naples… luckily all the stuff we ate seemed perfectly wonderful. And if I die from contamination, at least I will die happy.
Deborah – the Italian buffalo aren’t as cute as American bison, that’s for sure. I actually got to see some this trip – photos coming up in the next post.
Andrew – me too!
Antipeople – thanks for stopping by! I’d be honored to be added to your blog rolls.
Not to make you jealous, but I live in London and I have a delicious ball of buffalo mozzarella in the fridge right now that I bought at my local supermarket, although it is available in most grocery stores 🙂
We can get it in Munich, too, but like yours it’s refrigerated. Which, according to the Italians, ruins everything. (But I agree, it’s still pretty delicious even after refrigeration!)
During our stay at the Hotel am Viktualienamarkt in Munich (an adorable hotel, by the way), we had buffalo mozzarella each morning for breakfast. Oh my, it was divine!
I love mozzarella di bufala, thanks for the link! Looking forward to reading more…