Source · dairy

Campania buffalo dairy

Aversa-Caserta plain, Campania, IT

Placeholder dairy entry — water-buffalo herds on the Campania flats produce milk year-round. Pasteurized milk is heated with whey starter, stretched in hot water, hand-formed into balls — pulled (mozzato) by hand, hence the name. Fresh mozzarella is at its best within 24 hours of being made.

The pizza margherita’s mozzarella, properly. Fior di latte (cow’s-milk mozzarella) is a daily compromise; mozzarella di bufala campana DOP is the original — richer, more fragile, slightly tangier, with a slick of milky liquid that pools when you cut into it.