At my grocery store, itās a long walk from one end where the soft, downy-white balls of fresh mozzarella are to the opposite end where bags of shredded mozzarella hang.
The chasm between the two cheeses goes beyond store walls. Fresh mozzarella is delicate and creamy, a great excuse to splurge on fancy olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You canāt say the same for the shredded stuff, but it gets props for its high meltability, thanks to food science.
Truth is, thereās room for both types of mozzarella, and not just in Caprese salad and pizza. I called Cathy Strange, global cheese buyer for Whole Foods Market, to find out more about the mozzarella-making process, the different types, and how best to store this versatile cheese at home.
Fresh mozzarella is made with milk, salt, and coagulants that curdle the milk, specifically citric acid and enzymes. After the liquid whey is drained off, the curds are formed into cheeseāpretty standard cheese-making steps up to this point.
But that curd-shaping process (which is actually not that hard to do at home), called pasta filata, sets mozzarella apart from other cheeses, giving it its characteristic stretchiness. The curds are kneaded and pulled, akin to how saltwater taffy is made. (Other pasta filata cheeses include provolone and Mexican cheeses such as queso Oaxaca.)
Picture a water balloon being filled and tied off. Thatās how mozzarella ends up as balls of varying sizes after all that stretching. Theyāre typically sold packed in water.
The largest are ovoline, which are good for slicing and topping pizza, sandwiches, casseroles, and toast. Bocconcini are about the size of golf balls, ciliegine are cherry-sized, and perline arenāt much bigger than pearls. Use these in salads and pastas.
The main difference between fresh mozzarella and whatās labeled low-moisture mozzarella is, you guessed it, the moisture content.
āAll the same processes are followed but at a much more mechanized or industrial level, and thereās a lot more moisture driven out,ā Strange says.
The result is a firmer, less creamy cheese with a longer shelf life. āPart-skimā means it was made with skim milk. It comes wrapped in logs or blocksāknown as āloaf mozzarellaā in cheese lingoāor shredded.
Shredded mozzarella typically contains additional ingredients to keep it from clumping together and to prevent mold growth.
While most mozzarella is made with cowās milk, historically in Italy it was made with the milk of water buffaloes, which is more acidic.
True Mozzarella di Bufala has a protected designation, meaning itās made only in specific regions of Italy and is certified by the Italian government. Itāll be labeled as such. Buffalo mozzarella made elsewhereāthere are some American and Latin American producers churning out high-quality product, Strange saysācanāt be called āMozzarella di Bufala,ā but the label will list buffalo milk.
Thereās no mistaking the flavor of buffalo mozzarella. It has a sour tang that regular mozzarella doesnāt.
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Burrata is mozzarella thatās been stretched around a filling of heavy cream and soft, unprocessed curds. In other words, itās a three-forms-of-dairy-in-one ball of fun.
āThe curd binds a little bit inside to create this unique texture so that when you cut into it, it basically rolls out,ā Strange says.
Burrata is sold in water like fresh mozzarella.
In addition to giving it a deep, smoky flavor, smoking mozzarella makes it last longer and firms it up. Scamorza is mozzarella thatās tied into a pear shape (cheesemakers in Italy get even more intricate with the shapes), lightly dried, and smoked.
Donāt buy more fresh mozzarella than you can use in a week. āCheese is alive. Once itās exposed to oxygen, it attracts bacteria,ā Strange says.
Once you open it, fresh mozzarella or burrata will keep refrigerated for five days. Same goes for shredded mozzarella, despite whatever date is stamped on the package.
Loaf mozzarella has a 21-day refrigerator shelf life once opened, and smoked mozzarella will keep for 28 days, according to Strange. Keep these tightly wrapped in the crisper drawer, replacing the wrap each time you unwrap and cut them.
And keep an eye on the water level of fresh mozzarella, adding a tablespoon or two more if itās low. (Or marinate it in a jar of good olive oil.) Better yet, just eat it.
