L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2018 M ozzarella: an all- Italian delicacy. The name derives from the verb moz- zare, the act made by hand to give the cheese its ty- pical shape. In many Italian re- gions, mozzarella is produced fol- lowing ancient recipes, which are slightly different from one another. Not many know, however, that mozzarella has been produced in Puglia since the Middle Ages. It became a specialty, also called fior di latte, symbol of a territory where farming thrives and tradi- tions are respected. Each Italian area has different traditions, all determining the pro- duction techniques used to make a cheese, which is only apparently the same. When we talk about mozzarella, we immediately think about bocconcini or the classical mozzarella twist (treccia), and we assume they are all very much the same cheese: it will then come as a surprise to discover, then, that 23 varieties of mozzarella are pro- duced in the Bel Paese. For a start, let's give a general definition of this soft delicacy: it's a cow milk cheese, traditional of Italy, produced in all regions th- roughout the year. It's a fresh cheese, without any crust, but with a kind of smooth, shiny "skin." Its production involves neither food additives nor special technologies, but only thermal treatment, inocu- lation and veal rennet. Basically, we cannot consider it a vegetarian product, as it happens for the vast majority of cheeses. Mozzarella is a fatty, semi-hard, kneaded curd cheese with a relati- vely low aromatic intensity. It's usually round, with or without a peduncle, or shaped as a braid or twist; its weight goes from 0,02 to 250 grams. It must kept between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius. Mozzarella obtained the Spe- cialità Nazionale Garantita (STG) in 2001. Because of its delicate fla- vor, it's usually consumed on its own, or with light dressings that do not overpower it. For instance, both vinegar, even balsamic, and hot sauces are not recommended. We said there are 23 types of mozzarella. Among them, we should remember: • Mozzarella nella mortella PAT (Prodotti Agroalimentari Tra- dizionali, or traditional agrifood products), a kneaded curd cheese similar to stracciata, but with the peculiarity to be wrapped in myr- tle leaves, which determine its shape and aroma. • Mozzarella silana PAT, which is made with kid, not veal rennet. • Mozzarella di bufala Cam- pana DOC, produced especially in Campania, but also in Lazio, Molise and Puglia with Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk. Of course, it must be consumed fresh and it's particularly good with lo- cal Southern Italian food pro- ducts. • Provola affumicata di bufala PAT or di vacca (Campania), made with buffalo milk and typi- cal of the Cilento area, a moun- tainous subregion of Campania, in the province of Salerno. It's been produced for centuries, just like mozzarella, using similar te- chniques but, instead of being consumed fresh, it's left to mature for a short time. The word provola comes from the verb provare, that is, carrying out the action needed to understand whether it's time to knead the curd or not. Because it lasts longer, provola was used in the historical 17th century Nea- politan presepi. This cheese is usually smoked in specific rooms using damp straw, which gives it its peculiar aroma. • Stracciata PAT (Campania), it doesn't have a defined shape, as it's created by mixing together shreds of mozzarella with cream. Burrata is one of the many varieties of mozzarella cheeses produced in Italy © Katrinshine | Dreamstime.com VARINIA CAPPELLETTI It's usually eaten during formal dinners, along with quality ham. • Scamorza PAT (Campania) is also known as mozzarella pas- sita: it's usually smoked and eaten within 15 days from production. It's often stuffed and it is delicious barbecued. • Manteca PAT (Puglia) is a very special product, the making of which has been passed on th- rough generations. It consist of a kneaded curd external shell, filled with creamy butter, of a traditio- nally deep yellow color. Indeed, once upon a time butter was pre- served in kneaded curd shells, which would protect it from air. • Burrata di bufala PAT (La- zio) is made with buffalo milk, in limited quantities, in the province of Rome. It's filled with kneaded curd shreds (straccetti) and cream. It must be eaten fresh. • Burrata PAT (Puglia) is an exceptional product, obtained by creating kneaded curd - the same used for mozzarellas - round pockets filled with shreds of the same curd, mixed with cream. The cream is obtained by centrifuging the milk left over from mozzarella making. Burrata is, thus, a double cream cheese. It must be consu- med fresh. In ancient times, this method was used to preserve fresh dairy products such as cream, but it remains a cheese to be consu- med shortly after being purchased. In the past, Podolica cows' milk was commonly used, but it's been today substituted with Hol- stein's. Mozzarella in Carrozza This is a typical recipe made with buffalo mozzarella in Cam- pania and fiordilatte (cow mozza- rella) anchovies and ham in La- zio. Ingredients: 100 ml of milk, 3 eggs, flour, salt and pepper, 10- 12 anchovies, cleaned and without salt (for the Lazio version), 6 sli- ces of white bread, 200 grams of sliced buffalo mozzarella (slices of about 1/2 cm each in thickness, for the Campania version), 200 grams of thinly sliced fiordilatte (for the Lazio version), 4 or 5 thin slices of ham (for the Lazio ver- sion), peanut oil for frying. Recipe: remove the crust from the bread and cut each slice in triangles. Place the sliced mozza- rella on the bread. Add the ham or the anchovies if you're making the Lazio version. Cover with another slice of bread. Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper to- gether. Take the sandwiches, press them well, roll them in the flour and place them in the egg and milk mixture. Repeat the pro- cedure twice, to make sure the sandwiches are sealed. Heat up the oil to 170-180 degree Celsius. Fry the sandwiches one by one, making sure they get golden on both sides. Mozzarella in carrozza must be eaten hot! A delicate explosion of typically Italian flavor: mozzarella

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