time for cheese.
The squidge factor
Pull-apart, oozy-smooshy – that’s how a good mozzarella or burrata should be, says cheese expert Patrick McGuigan. He separates the pillowy winners from the bouncy-ball losers
FOOD PHOTOGRAPH: SAM FOLAN.
Italians love mozzarella so much they queue outside their local latteria to get it fresh from the vat. It’s not so easy in Britain, where shelves are filled with long-life imitations so rubbery you could bounce them round the kitchen. But with some know-how, it’s possible to find the real fresh formaggi.
SPIN DOCTORS
Mozzarella is part of the ‘pasta filata’ (spun paste) family of cheeses, which includes everything from burrata to provolone. These cheeses are made by stretching curd in hot water until it’s silky and elastic. It’s then twisted into various shapes, most famously balls of mozzarella. The same method is used for bocconcini (bite-size balls), ciliegine (cherry-size) and treccia (braided).