Fun Facts about Homemade Mozzarella for Pizza dan Where to Buy ?

Mozzarella, what is its long history like? Why is it one of the most popular cheeses besides gouda cheese from the Netherlands? The public’s high interest in enjoying real cheese makes them want to know where to find information on online workshop and information on homemade mozzarella for pizza in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Manado, Semarang  and other cities in Indonesia.

Homemade mozzarella for pizza is a very famous fresh cheese, made from goat’s milk but usually from cow’s milk through a complex process called the pasta filata method. Hailing from southern Italy, the name is fairly generic for a variety of Italian cheeses that are made by “spinning” and then “cutting” the original paste that comes from that milk. 

Types of Homemade Mozzarella for Pizza dan Where to Find Recipe ?

Some of the common and well-known types are:

– Buffalo mozzarella is made from domesticated buffalo milk.

– Mozzarella fior di latte (or simply Fiordilatte) is made from fresh, pasteurized or unpasteurized cow’s milk.

– Mozzarella with low water content, made from whole or part skim milk, and widely used in the food service industry.

– Smoked mozzarella (affumicata) is so called for the treatment it receives which gives it a very special smell and taste.

– Fresh mozzarella is usually white in its general visual appearance, but this color can vary seasonally to a very light yellow depending on the specific food used to feed the animal.

Homemade mozzarella for pizza is a semi-soft cheese and is traditionally served the day after production, but can be stored in the brine for as long as a week, or even more if sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. It is also used for many types of pizza and many very famous and delicious pasta dishes, but can also be served with sliced tomatoes and basil in the very distinctive “insalata caprese”.

Etymology of the Name and  The best Homemade Mozzarella for Pizza 

The name “mozzarella” is mentioned in a cookbook written by Bartolomeo Scappi in 1570: Cream of milk, fresh butter, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk.

The name comes from the Neapolitan dialect (from Naples, the capital of Campania) and is a diminutive form of “mozza”, as we can see, meaning “to cut” or, if you want from the verb “mozzare” (to cut) and it describes the technique processing pasta derived from milk.

A very similar cheese is “scamorza” which probably comes from scamozzata which literally means “without shirt”, referring to its appearance “without” the hard surface covering characteristic of many other dry cheeses.

Type

Mozzarella di bufala campana as mentioned before is a special quality made from buffalo milk. It is made in certain areas of the Lazio and Campania regions of Italy.

Unlike other types, which can be derived from non-Italian milk and often semi-coagulated milk, buffalo mozzarella holds the status of “Denominazione di Origine Protetta” (designation of protected origin – PDO 1996) under the European Union, While in 1996 mozzarella was recognized as Specialità Tradizionale Garantita (STG) which translated means “Guaranteed Traditional Specialties”.

Fior di latte or simply Fiordilatte is mozzarella made only from cow’s milk (not from buffalo’s milk). The quality of this product is lower compared to products made from buffalo milk and as a result the price of this type of mozzarella is also cheaper. For this reason, label certification is always important because, especially abroad, it is not uncommon to find mozzarella that is not clearly labeled because it comes from buffalo milk which is made from cow’s milk.

Composition

You can find two types of mozzarella: Fresh or partially dried. Fresh ones are usually in the form of balls weighing 80-100 grams, with a diameter that is usually no more than 5-6 centimeters. Certain brands can still make balls that can be up to 1 kilogram and about 10-12 centimeters in diameter. The fresh version is usually soaked in brine or whey, rarely with added citric acid.

Partially drained homemade mozzarella for pizza is denser, usually used to prepare dishes cooked in the oven, such as pasta al forno and pizza. It is possible to roll the pasta filante so that the final shape is a plait. This type of mozzarella is called treccia and can be any length you want. Sunday 13 June 2006 after 6 hours of work, Avellino won the Guinness World Record with the longest treccia mozzarella in the world, which is 106.16 meters. But usually the dimensions are from a few centimeters to several decimeters.

Another interesting and very distinctive type is homemade mozzarella fpr pizza affumicata which is a smoked variety, very tasty and brown in color. t young because of the smoke on the surface of the cheese.

Nodini is another type of mozzarella. The term means a small knot and is actually a shape made by weaving filante paste and is usually around 3-4 cm in size. Similar to bocconcini, but with a unique knot shape, this cheese provides a nicer texture and the ability to expose more surface area for nearly the same volume.

Mozzarella sfoglia, literally mozzarella sheet is a cheese inspired by traditional puff pastry; especially in Puglia, it is the traditional base for the preparation of sweet and savory recipes, making hot and cold dishes.

Some mozzarella variants are specially formulated for pizza: cooking mozzarella is a low water content mozzarella cheese as you understand, it contains less water than the real thing.

Mozzarella can be formed in very special ways and artistic forms like elephants, pigs, dolls, which are mostly produced in Southern Italy. The aim of this idea is to distract possible children from eating junk food/candy and so on for snacks and focus on high calcium and healthy cheeses instead, but keep the fun and interest high.

Burrata which means butter: This is a fresh cheese consisting of mozzarella pockets, not balls, filled with a soft milk mousse. When you take a bite, the filling flows out gently, it’s so delicious.

Production

Mozzarella di bufala is traditionally made exclusively from the milk of domestic buffalo. The core process starts with whey starter added from the previous batch containing thermophilic bacteria. The milk is allowed to ripen so that the bacteria multiply.

After this process we add rennet which is as a rule special for curdling milk. When coagulation is complete, the curd is cut into large pieces and left to stand, in this way the curd hardens.

This process is usually called curing, then the curd is cut into other large pieces, stirred and heated to separate the curd itself from the whey. The drained whey and curd are placed in characteristic circles to form a solid mass and allowed to cool to about 5.5 pH. This is an indicator that the cheese can be stretched and kneaded to create a creamy consistency for making filata pasta.

The cheese maker kneads it with his hands, like a baker making bread, until he gets a smooth, shiny paste, the strands of which he pulls out and cuts, forming individual mozzarella. This is information about the history of mozzarella and if interested you can look for information on online workshop for homemade mozzarella for pizza  and one of the best one in Indonesia is De Grunteman.