Traveling with taste in Italy. Production of mozzarella and ricotta

Editor Ovkuse.ru - Elena, had a vacation in Italy and wrote a note about his journey.

Italians with an amazing thrill treated as the most food and its preparation! Each house, pizzeria, restaurant believes that he keeps in his original recipe and manufactures strictly in accordance with it a particular dish. And they do not hide it! Therefore, walking through the streets of the cities of southern Italy, everywhere you can see them lured inscriptions! Not far behind them and factories for the production of various food products.

Some of them have a whole generation of workers who keep the old recipes, observe the original cooking and give the world is not the first dozen years of really high-quality, tasty and healthy product! It is of such proceedings, I would like to tell my article devoted to the preparation of mozzarella cheese.

History of mozzarella cheese

The origin of the mozzarella is closely linked with the history of the settlement of black buffalo on the Apennine Peninsula more than 1,000 years ago. At first buffalo used as powerful and enduring draft power, and later they began to appreciate for extremely tasty and healthy milk. Fat buffalo milk, usually 7-8%, in milk lack the enzyme conferring it a yellowish tinge due to this mozzarella is white porcelain. Such color purity can not be achieved if making cheese from cow's milk.

In hot climates, the province of Salerno, in marshy meadows near rivers and irrigation canals surrounded by mountains and forests of black buffalo feel very comfortable. Since 1694 it was founded here and farm breeding buffaloes FIlippo Morese Via Abate Conforti (Via Abate Conforti). Not the first century descendants of Geronimo Morez grown black buffalo and provide them with the best conditions to every morning fresh buffalo milk fell on the dairies for the manufacture of the king of cheeses - mozzarella!

Title cheese "Mozzarella" derives from the Italian term пїЅmozzareпїЅ (tear or cut) and describes one of the cheese is made that "off" from the main body and the workpiece is formed by hand.
This cheese has been known since ancient times, and in the process of making mozzarella cheese factories remained virtually unchanged. And on the dairy MAIL (Via delle Industrie 81) Dominica Raimondo 1968 made cheese "Mozzarella" according to an old Italian recipe, handed down from generation to generation.

Production of mozzarella and ricotta

We had a tour of the enterprises producing these cheeses.

Cheese production begins with the fact that every morning fresh buffalo milk, brought from the farm within 12 hours after milking, are pre-tested at the level of acidity, protein and lactose, etc. Further, it is filtered and poured into the tank. To add milk whey from the previous day and left at +4 пїЅ C for trained to clot. The process of coagulation is the separation of curd from the whey, which will be the basis for future mozzarella. Milk from the tank is heated with steam to a temperature of 36-38 пїЅ C, and then add a special liquid enzyme obtained from calf gastric juice - sychuk. Curl occurs in milk for 30 minutes, then stirred curds using a long wooden stick with iron at the end of the spiral.

Describing the process of cheese making Mozzarella is impossible not to mention the Ricotta.

Ricotta (ricotta) - it's not cheese, and cottage cheese, a special traditional Italian dairy product. It is made from serum in step rennet coagulation of milk. When curdling milk precipitated complex protein casein. It is again heated (from this comes the name of the product: cotta - пїЅCookingпїЅ, ri - prefix meaning repetition) to a temperature of 80-90 пїЅ C. Top flakes float clotted masses that collect on the surface and spread out on a basket. Italians loved the ricotta for its delicate sweet taste. It goes well with berries, fruits, tomatoes, vegetable salad, it is added to the stuffing cakes and pizza, is used for cooking different recipes!

Let's go back to the production of mozzarella

Next, the resulting mass of curdled lumps are separated into portions and allow a little "rest" on the table for about 30 minutes under the supervision of master cheesemakers. This seemingly simple operation requires him to experience and masterly skill to cheese "Mozzarella" was at the zenith of his maturity. It is in these moments it becomes a matchless sour taste that is so prized by Italians! Optimal maturity cheese at this stage is determined empirically: the master takes 100 grams of cheese, it melts in boiling water, then pulls and stretches in a long string of 1 meter. If the mass stretches and does not break, it's time to move on to the next stage - drawing of cheese in the thread!

According to traditional recipes drawing done by hand.

To be placed in a special container pieces of curd is added to almost boiling water (about 95 пїЅ C), and re-master cheesemakers vigorously vorochat and pull weight up to such time as it may become homogeneous, smooth and shiny. Then detach it from small pieces. In the process involved two employees: one thumb and index fingers of both hands tears off pieces of mozzarella on a spherical piece weighing 2.3 kilograms, which keeps other workers. This action is called пїЅmozzaturaпїЅ. Detached from each part can be formed large balls - "bocconcini" balls smaller size of a large cherry - "chiledzhini" very small pea - "warps" and as pigtails - "trechcha." Formed mozzarella thrown into the icy water for a while.

Next, the finished mozzarella placed in saline and then packaged. At this stage, retained the excellent taste of cheese and increased storage time, so that not only the Italians can enjoy its unique taste.

Cooking cheese "Mozzarella" manually masters - cheesemakers in almost all stages of production - the main secret of the noble taste of the cheese. His recipe handed down from father to son, according to the best traditions of cooking, and today we are with you, we have the opportunity to enjoy the unique taste of cheese "Mozzarella".

Video of the manufacturing process of mozzarella cheese

Editor Ovkuse.ru
Helena