Before I learned to ride a bike, I was slicing prosciutto at my father's Italian deli. At the time, kids my age spent their Saturdays on the field at a little league game or dancing around in a tutu at a ballet studio. I, on the other hand, grew up in an Italian deli – a wonderland of sights and smells, known as Luigi's Italian Food Center. I was surrounded by large vessels of pungent imported provolone which hung across the deli counter; hunky-greasy slabs of prosciutto, mortadella, and soppressata that hung from the ceiling; loaves of crusty Arthur Avenue bread stacked neatly on the shelf; the aroma of tomatoes and meat sauce bubbling on the hot food counter; the strong scent of broccoli rabe and garlic (enough to kill off a vampire); pastas; olive oils; jarred olives and peppers – all packed tightly along the shelves with other imported Italian specialty items, which kids my age had never even heard of.
But what kept me most entertained for hours at a time in the back of the deli’s kitchen was watching my father plunge his strong giant hands into boiling hot water and somehow magically transform spongey, gooey bits of cheese curd into silky, soft large balls of fresh mozzarella.
Daniela's father at Luigi's Italian Food Center (ph courtesy Daniela Savone)
My dad was a one-man wrecking crew and every week, he would make at least 500 lbs of fresh mozzarella. Every day since the deli opened up its doors over 40 years ago, my father continued the tradition of making fresh mozzarella, which quickly became the star of every dish on the menu. Over the years, the menu began to expand and people from all over traveled to Luigi's Italian Food Center – just for the drool-worthy fresh homemade mozzarella. Whether it was a quart of marinated bocconcini drenched in extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, and crushed red chili pepper flakes; a creamy smoked mozzarella, which he would smoke right outside behind the deli; a log of mozzarella rolled and stuffed with imported Prosciutto di Parma; fresh mozzarella sliced and melted on top of a chicken cutlet sandwich with roasted peppers; or a whole giant ball of salted mozzarella, people would come to our deli and buy full pounds of mozzarella cheese at a time, to cook with at home.
My dad had his recipe down to a science – so after years and years of watching him knead, stretch, and pull the cheese curd magically into mozzarella, I have mastered the art of making fresh mozzarella myself. Just like all the other recipes and products found in my dad's deli, the secret to making it exactly the way my dad did isn't just using the finest and freshest quality ingredients, it must also be made with plenty of love and care.
Freshly made mozzarella is unlike any other cheese you’ve ever had before. Of course, we all know it as the most famous cheese to put on pizza, but it can also be used for more than cooking – you can put it on sandwiches, use it as a table cheese or as part of an antipasto. No matter how you use it, you’ll enjoy it.
So – how do you get that delicious, stretchy, chewy, delicate, soft, moist, creamy, consistency that’s just oozing with milk?
(ph Daniela Savone)
Mozzarella was first made in Southern Italy near Naples and the name ‘mozzarella’ comes from the Italian word ‘mazzare,’ meaning ‘to separate’ in English. There truly is an art to making fresh mozzarella by hand. The simplest, most convenient way I know of doesn't require measuring PH levels of raw milk that’s pasteurized and coagulated to form curds. Instead, you can more easily buy fresh mozzarella curd from your local chef store – like the one shown in the recipe below. I used all-natural whole milk fresh mozzarella curd, which is simply cut into small pieces, immersed in hot water and then kneaded, stretched, and pulled until long ropes of cheese form. This process of ‘stringing the curd' is known as ‘pasta filata’ in Italian. When the proper smooth elastic consistency is reached, the curds are shaped by hand into balls, which are then tossed into salted cold ice water, so they maintain their shape while cooling.
The stringy curds can be formed into balls of varying sizes, like bocconcini, which are small bite-sized knots; treccia, which are long ropes of mozzarella braided together; or even rolled into logs stuffed with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto and other Italian delicacies. Mozzarella can be smoked or marinated and mixed with fresh herbs or chili peppers to flavor it. The possibilities are endless! And you too can easily try making magic in your very own kitchen! By simply following this easy step-by-step recipe, you too can experiment with the endless unique possibilities of making drool-worthy fresh mozzarella at home.
Homemade Mozzarella with Daniela Savone
Ingredients and Materials Needed:
A large clean work surface
5 lbs fresh all-natural whole milk mozzarella cheese curd
Large 4-gallon pot
Extra-large mixing bowl
Large wooden spatula
Large bowl filled with ice water & 2 tablespoons of Himalayan pink salt
Large wooden cutting board
Large chef’s knife
Method:
Bring 4 gallons of water to just below a boil (190°F) over medium heat.
In the meantime, open one package of mozzarella curd into a colander & drain excess water.
Place 5 lbs mozzarella curd onto a wooden cutting board and cut the curd into 1-inch checkered patterns with a large chef’s knife. (Make several vertical, parallel cuts through the curds, followed by several more horizontal parallel cuts to create a grid-like pattern.)
Add the chopped curd to an extra-large mixing bowl.
Fill a large bowl with cold ice water, and add 2 tbsp Himalayan pink salt. Stir to combine.
Once the water has come to just below a boil, transfer the water into the bowl of curd, filling it slightly to the top. (Keep the remainder of hot water in the pot on the burner over medium-low heat for later.) Allow the curd to sit for 5 minutes submerged in the hot water, which should turn to a milk-white color.
Once the curd begins to melt and stick together, gently push and press the curd together and drain out all the milky water using a large wooden spatula.
Add more of the remaining hot water left in the pot, filling the bowl almost to the top, keeping the bundle of melted curd submerged.
(ph Daniela Savone)
Using both hands, stretch and fold the curds together under the water repeatedly. Continue to stretch and knead the curd submerged in the hot water. (It should be soft and pliable enough to stretch, like taffy.)
Using the spatula, scoop up the now dough-like mozzarella and allow it to sit gently on the flat surface of the spatula. Gently press on the dough with one hand, allowing it to stretch and fall on both ends into the hot water, and continue gently pressing against the spatula so it can stretch and fall slowly into the water.
Once again submerged in hot water, continue to stretch the mozzarella with both hands until you have a long rope. This rope should start to tighten and become firm, taking on a glassy shine: When this happens, it’s time to start shaping the mozzarella. Try not to overwork it!
Knead a large ball of mozzarella, about the size of your fist, until shiny and smooth. Then quickly transfer the cheese ball to a bowl of salted ice water, or continue stretching the mozzarella into thinner, longer ropes to make small knots, which you’ll quickly cut and drop in the salted ice water to maintain its shape. (This is where you can experiment and try various shapes.)
(ph Daniela Savone)
*To make a log of mozzarella that’s rolled and filled with Italian delicacies as mentioned above, stretch the mozzarella into a frisbee shape, and continue to gently stretch from every side, as if you were stretching out a pizza dough. Transfer to a flat surface and fill the center. Then roll into a log. (This version does not need to be submerged in salted ice water.)
Tips and tricks
The key is to keep the curd under the hot water as much as possible while you’re kneading, stretching and pulling it before the mozzarella starts to become firm.
If the mozzarella becomes too tight and firm because the water cooled off too soon and you’re having trouble stretching it, just drain the water and quickly add more (just below boiling) hot water. Once the mozzarella has set and cooled in the bowl of ice water, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate. It will last several days, but it's best when eaten fresh!
Watch Daniela Savone making mozzarella on our Instagram account @lacucinaitalianausa - Highlights section #HomeCookingLCI