CHEESE CATEGORIES

Pasta Filata

Fresh Mozzarella | Mozzarella | Provolone

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh mozzarella is porcelain white in appearance​ with a mild, milky flavor​. Cheese makers produce fresh mozzarella by kneading the curds, stretching them and forming them into spheres or logs. The softest and most flavorful mozzarella is produced from the milk of water buffalo. Cow’s milk mozzarella, the predominant variety, packs a less powerful taste than buffalo’s milk but nonetheless is a good ingredient in recipes for adding texture or absorbing oils and juices. Fresh mozzarella is available in many sizes and shapes​ including Ciliegine (one-third ounce), Bocconcini (1 ¾ ounces) and Ovoline (4 ounces or 1-pound log)​. A fresh and unripened cheese, fresh mozzarella should be eaten within a few days of purchasing.

Delicious bruschetta topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil on toasted bread.
Caprese Salad With Peaches, Mozzarella Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Onions And Basil Close Up In A Plate. Horizontal

Recommended Applications

  • Bake homemade Margherita Pizza, a Neapolitan pizza consisting of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil and garlic.
  • Cut into half-inch strips, then wrap inside slices of Prosciutto, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano and pepper.
  • Season with salt, ground pepper and an extra virgin olive oil dressing and serve as a table cheese. Top bruschetta or a Caprese salad.
  • Complete a cold cut platter.
  • Goes well with tomatoes, cured meats, black olives, pesto and roasted red peppers.

Mozzarella

Dating back to 16th century Italy, Mozzarella cheese is part of the pasta filata family, which encompasses curds that are heated and then pulled or stretched. Mozzarella products traditionally possess a delicate, milky flavor with a smooth, plastic texture. While the original mozzarella is produced with water buffalo milk, cow’s milk mozzarella surpassed the former in popularity because it can better meet worldwide demand. (Mozzarella is the most used pizza cheese.)

Mozzarella cheese includes the following standards:

  • Part-skim milk​: 53-60% moisture​, 30-45% milkfat in solids​
  • Low-moisture part-skim milk​:45-52% moisture​, 30-45% milkfat in solids​
  • Whole milk​: 52-60% moisture​, 45% milkfat in solids​
  • Low-moisture whole milk​: 45-52% moisture​, 45% milkfat in solids

The primary differences between part-skim and whole milk mozzarella are the meltability and the browning​. Whole milk mozzarella is richer in taste, melts better​ and provides the stretch consumers associate with pizza​. Part-skim mozzarella browns evenly at a faster​ pace than whole-milk mozzarella.

Delicious pepperoni pizza on a metal tray, surrounded by fresh vegetables, inviting and flavorful.
Chicken Parmigiana And Pasta With Tomatoes Close Up

Recommended Applications

  • Top a homemade pizza with shredded mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan.
  • Complete chicken parmigianas, lasagnas and casseroles with shredded mozzarella.
  • Give an Italian flair to traditional meatloaf.
  • Create homemade cheese curds by dipping sticks or cubes of mozzarella into beaten egg and herbed bread crumbs with grated Parmesan cheese, then frying until golden.
  • String cheese, a low-moisture mozzarella, can be melted on an English muffin, peeled and mixed into a salad or eaten as a to-go snack.

Provolone

Originating in southern Italy and enjoyed by the ancient Romans, Provolone is an uncooked full-flavor cheese that intensifies and sharpens with age. This cheese is produced using whole cows’ milk coagulated with different types of rennet depending on the flavor profile. For the mild variety, which is soft and smooth, cheese makers add calf’s rennet and hang the cheese to cure for two to three months. This is often eaten as a table cheese. To make the sharp variety, which is darker, tougher and spicier, cheese makers use lamb’s or kid goat’s rennet and age the cheese for seven months to two years. Consumers tend to grate the piquant Provolone and use it as a topping. Provolone is produced in Wisconsin smoked or unsmoked.

Tasty Beef Steak Sandwich With Onions, Mushroom And Melted Provolone Cheese In A Ciabatta
Italian Cheese, Provolone Dolce Cow Cheese From Cremona Served With Olive Bread And Tomatoes

Recommended Applications

  • Melt Provolone atop a roast pork sandwich and serve with horseradish sauce.
  • Make a soup with bacon, onion, cabbage and Provolone cheese.
  • Bake a vegetable casserole with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes.
  • Fill beef rolls with Provolone cheese and bacon and serve with a side of mashed potatoe
  • Top a pizza with Provolone and mozzarella cheeses.
  • Serve Provolone cheese with salami, bologna, boiled ham, prosciutto or mortadella.
Cheese Categories
Hard-Style

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