Burrata: the Queen of Italian Cheeses

Heavenly, creamy, delicate burrata is the soft fresh Italian cheese that dreams are made of, and once tried, will leave you with little doubt as to why it is crowned the queen of Italian cheeses.

What is Burrata?

Burrata is an Italian cheese. Take the most exquisite mozzarella you’ve ever tried and imagine tearing it open with a fork (or even better, pulling it apart with your hands), and the smooth white outer skin revealing an oozing soft and creamy interior: the perfect combination of sfilacciata (or “un-pulled”) mozzarella (the root of whose name 'mozzata' means 'chopped off') and fresh cream.

What Does Burrata Mean?

Translated from Italian, burrata literally means buttery, a clue to the delicious melt-in-your-mouth heart that awaits inside the pillowy exterior.

Where is Burrata From?

Burrata cheese is one of unmissable traditional Italian foods from Puglia. Burrata originally hails from the city of Andria in Murgia, in the Puglia region of Southern Italy, where it was first made around 100 years ago, and is still made by hand with just three simple ingredients: cow’s milk, rennet and cream.

Photo: ©www.burratadiandria.it

How do you make Burrata? 

Take a look at the artisanal process of making burrata in its home town in this fascinating video below:

What is the difference between mozzarella and burrata?

Mozzarella and burrata are both types of Italian semi-soft cheeses. Mozzarella is traditionally made with cow's milk or water buffalo milk and has a denser texture and tangier flavour than burrata. If you want to try authentic mozzarella, look for products that say Mozzarella di Bufala Campana and have the authentic stamp.

Burrata is made from an outer shell of mozzarella made from cow's milk or water buffalo milk and filled with fresh cream and curds. Individual burrata are often sold wrapped in a green asphodel leaf. Its creamy texture is the greatest difference from mozzarella, in that it oozes out when sliced.

Types of Burrata cheese

There are several variations of burrata: the bufala burrata is a pulled-curd cheese in a rounded shape, and tied together with vegetal string, where a layer of cow/buffalo cheese hides a central filling of butter (burrata).

Throughout southern Italy, it’s traditional to fill Provola cheeses of various sizes with butter. Then there's also, burrino, which is in the Slow Food Ark of Taste, and has its origins in Calabria and Puglia. It's a very high-fat cheese that was created to conserve butter as long as possible.

How to Serve Burrata

Burrata is best eaten as fresh as possible - if you're wondering how long you can keep burrata, it should be ideally enjoyed within 24 hours of being made, and always at room temperature. 

What do you serve with Burrata?

The delicate creaminess balanced by mild acidity make burrata delicious served as a salad with fresh tomatoes, prosciutto crudo and good quality extra virgin olive oil.

Or for simplicity at its finest, try slices of burrino spread onto warm pieces of bread, accompanied by a full-bodied red wine. 

Burrata is also easy to cook with lending itself to antipasto as well as pasta dishes as well as with meat, fish and vegetables.

Burrata Recipes

How do you eat burrata? Try these recipes for burrata: Chopped Piedmontese Beef, Sweet and Sour Red Onion, Burrata cheese with Pink Pepper, Olive oil and Anchovy Dressing by Chef Giancarlo Morelli or Cherries and Burrata Salad.

If you love pizza you won't be able to resist this burrata and squash blossom topping. Get the recipe from Turntable Kitchen.

Feel like reading something else? Read the article on Naples street food, types of onions or learn how to make puffed rice.

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