Mozzarella
Beginner
A springy, mild fresh cheese — the star of pizza and caprese.
TasteAlmost neutral with a gentle milky aroma, a touch of sweetness and salt. Cow's milk leads with sweetness; buffalo milk is far richer with a faint tang on the finish.
Intensity
TextureMoist and springy, pulling apart in strands. The curd is stretched and folded in hot whey — the 'pasta filata' step — which lines the grain up in one direction.
Similar cheeses
How it differsBurrata borrows mozzarella's shell but is filled with cream, which makes it a separate product. Ricotta comes from whey and never stretches at all. Even within the name there are two things: Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP is buffalo milk, richer and wetter, while fior di latte is cow's milk, milder and a little firmer.
Pairing
🍷 WineLight white, sparkling
🥂 DrinkSparkling water
🍽️ FoodTomato, basil, olive oil, pizza
How to enjoy
Fresh with tomato and basil (caprese) is the classic. Fresh mozzarella packed in water will weep onto a pizza and leave it soggy — slice it ahead and blot it dry, or use low-moisture pizza mozzarella instead. Straight from the fridge the flavor is closed; give it 20–30 minutes out.
What to look for
Fresh mozzarella is sold sitting in liquid — look for clear liquid and a smooth, unbroken ball. Bagged shredded mozzarella is a drier product made for melting, not the same thing. For pizza, fior di latte is usually the better choice: buffalo mozzarella carries more water and will make the base soggy unless you drain it first.
Storage
Keep it in its water in the fridge and eat within 2–3 days of opening — pour the water off and the surface dries and hardens. To freeze it you must drain it and vacuum-pack it first, and even then it breaks up and weeps on thawing — freeze only what you will melt, never what you will eat as it is.
⏳ AgingNone — eaten fresh (best the day it's made).
Good to know
'Mozzarella di Bufala Campana' (DOP) can only be made from buffalo milk in defined zones of Campania, Lazio, Puglia and Molise; the same method with cow's milk gets a different name, 'fior di latte'. The shredded bag of pizza cheese is low-moisture mozzarella — a different thing again.