HEALTH
Scientists identify the microbes that make buffalo mozzarella so tasty
WORDS EMILY COOKE
An analysis of buffalo mozzarella from two Italian dairies has revealed which bacteria define this beloved cheese
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Bubbling blobs of buffalo mozzarella seen steaming atop a pizza as it
comes out of the oven – it’s a scene tantalising enough to make almost anyone’s mouth water. But what makes this creamy white cheese so delicious? After studying samples of buffalo mozzarella from two dairies in Italy’s Campania region, where the beloved water buffalo-milk cheese originated, scientists revealed that despite subtle variations in how the cheeses were made, they were dominated by the same two groups of microbes: a genus of spherical, chain-forming bacteria known as
Streptococcus
and a genus of rod-shaped bacteria called
Lactobacillus.
And within these broad groups of bacteria, some species were specific to each dairy’s cheese.