What makes Italy's buffalo mozzarella so special?

DW (English)

The people of Italy's Campania region are proud of their specialty: mozzarella made from buffalo milk. We'll show you what makes this cheese unique.

Transcript

00:00Many consider this to be the best mozzarella cheese in the world.

00:05Its secret lies in the milk.

00:07It isn't made of cow's milk, but from buffalo milk.

00:11We're out to find out what makes buffalo mozzarella so special

00:15and why Italy has water buffalo in the first place.

00:23Making mozzarella is actually very simple and natural.

00:26Water buffalo do well here.

00:28They feel very comfortable because it's a marshy area.

00:31It's a special kind of pasture farming.

00:37Only buffalo mozzarella from this region

00:40may bear the protected designation of origin,

00:43mozzarella di bufala campana.

00:46The Lupara cheese dairy north of Naples

00:48is one of the world's largest manufacturers,

00:51producing around 5,000 kilos daily.

00:55We'll show you how in a moment,

00:57but first let's find out about its namesake.

01:00The Yama brothers at Lupara are the third generation

01:03to produce mozzarella from their own buffalo herds.

01:10The water buffalo is a very rustic, uncomplicated animal.

01:15It's much more resistant than the cow

01:17and produces milk with completely different properties

01:20compared to cow milk.

01:23It has much higher levels of fat and protein

01:26and is a more delicate milk,

01:28which reflects the animal's nature.

01:36The latest census listed over 260,000 water buffalo in Campania.

01:41But why are the buffalo even here?

01:44Their exact origin is unclear,

01:46but they have been native to Italy since ancient times.

01:49One probable theory is that the animals arrived

01:51in the Mediterranean region from Asia.

01:57Each animal eats around 50 kilos of grass,

02:00alfalfa hay and homegrown maize per day.

02:03The farmers only raise enough calves to maintain the herd,

02:06around 3,600 buffalo in total.

02:12The water buffalo are milked early in the morning

02:14and in the afternoon.

02:16They give 8 litres of milk a day.

02:18Each cow yields 2 kilos of mozzarella,

02:21four times as much as dairy cattle.

02:28Buffalo milk is different from cow's milk.

02:31It has a higher acidity.

02:33The healthier the animals,

02:35the better the quality of the milk

02:37and so the better the product.

02:40The texture of buffalo mozzarella is creamier and softer

02:43than cheese made from cow's milk,

02:45which is usually mass-produced in larger quantities,

02:48making it cheaper.

02:50At Lupara, the cheesemakers process

02:52the previous day's buffalo milk in the morning.

02:55It is first heated, acidified and curdled.

03:00The pasta filata process is crucial for mozzarella.

03:03The curd is dipped in hot water and pulled.

03:06Luigi Giannuzzi only has a few minutes

03:09to catch the perfect moment.

03:14The curd is separated.

03:16I've set the water to 97 degrees Celsius

03:19and that's the moment when the curd can be pulled into strings.

03:23It's important to find the right moment

03:25when you can start pulling the cheese into strings.

03:37The name mozzarella derives from the word mozzare,

03:40which means to separate.

03:42Which means to separate or cut.

03:46The finished balls are cooled,

03:48placed in brine and immediately packaged for sale.

03:57In Italy, mozzarella is best consumed on the same day

04:00or within the next few days at the latest.

04:04Buffalo mozzarella has a stronger,

04:06more acidic flavor than fiordilatte,

04:09which is mozzarella produced from cow's milk.

04:11The Gemma family serves their products daily.

04:18I don't want to say that I'm a mozzarella ball,

04:20but I'm becoming one.

04:24No longer is it produced exclusively here,

04:27but only in Campania does every mozzarella ball

04:30contain the ancient relationship between man and buffalo.

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