Does U.S. Bufala Cheese Have a Future?

I hope I live long enough to see American-made water buffalo cheese at every cheese counter, but it’s not looking good. One step forward, two steps back. Someone starts a water buffalo dairy, another fails. I dream of homegrown mozzarella di bufala, of course. But Italian cheesemakers do so much more with this super-rich milk. The gorgeous, slumpy cheese pictured above demonstrates what water buffalo milk can do in skilled hands. Will we ever get there?

A water buffalo is nothing like a Holstein cow. The bufala is much bigger—1,700 pounds or more versus about 1,200. Water buffalo are harder to milk, slower to breed and much stingier with their output. A Holstein might give 36 liters of milk a day compared to 6 or 7 liters for water buffalo.

So why bother? Because the milk is so high in fat and protein, so flavorful and consequently so desirable for cheesemaking. Mark Thompson, a Texas dairy-goat farmer now working with water buffalo milk, says it’s “like going from a Volkswagen to a Cadillac.”

Water buffalo milk has roughly twice the fat of cow’s or goat’s milk, and more protein, too. It’s so concentrated, with so little water, that you get significantly more cheese from every liter.

What’s more, water buffalo milk is A2 milk, meaning that its casein—the main protein—is a type that’s easier for some people to digest. People with a sensitivity to cow’s milk may find they can tolerate water buffalo cheese because of this variation in the protein.

Large but lovable: Water buffalo at Ramini Mozzarella

Several entrepreneurs have tried their luck at raising water buffalo in the U.S. Most have failed. Double 8 Dairy in Northern California, which used the rich milk for gelato, sold its operations late last year. Ramini, a 15-year-old Northern California producer of buffalo-milk mozzarella, is hanging in there, but struggling. Owner Audrey Hitchcock is seeking investors. Brian and Courtney Foley, water-buffalo pioneers, produce cheese and other bufala dairy products at their 14-year-old Riverine Ranch in New Jersey, a rare survivor in this tough niche.

Phil Giglio, a former New York corporate lawyer who bought a ranch in the Texas Hill Country in 2018, is the latest dreamer betting on water buffalo. Giglio discovered mozzarella di bufala while studying for the bar exam in Italy and now has a 200-head herd; a creamery producing gelato, mozzarella and other cheeses; and multiple retail outlets for his OroBianco Italian Creamery dairy products.

“The economics of water buffalo in the U.S. are terrible,” says Giglio. “Our buffalo produce as much milk as a goat but eat 60 percent more than a cow. We simply do not have the genetics like in Italy and India.” Compared to a cow, the females need an additional year of maturity before they will breed and produce milk—a year of care and feeding with no return.

Maybe Giglio will hit on a successful model that inspires others to get into this game. If they do, I hope they’ll broaden their cheesemaking beyond mozzarella.

Bergamino di bufala, pictured above, is just one of the many modern recipes that Italian cheesemakers have devised for this exceptional milk. Made in Lombardy, it’s a pudgy Taleggio-like square with a thin, tender bloomy rind; a delicate mushroom aroma; a soft, supple texture and a milky flavor. Such a dreamy cheese. The producer is 3B Latte and the importer is Fresca Italia. Ask your local shops for it.

Look for Bergamino di Bufala at these California and Nevada locations:

Andy’s Produce (Sebastopol)
Bianchini’s Market (San Carlos and Portola Valley)
Big John’s (Healdsburg)
Cheese Board (Berkeley)
Cheese Plus (San Francisco)
East Bay Natural Grocery (Castro Valley)
Eataly (Los Angeles and Silicon Valley)
Oliver’s Markets (multiple locations)
Market Hall Foods (Oakland and Berkeley)
Monsieur Marcel (Los Angeles)
New Leaf (Aptos)
Sacramento Natural Foods
Sonoma Cheese Factory (Sonoma)
Star Grocery (Berkeley)
Sunshine Foods (St. Helena)
Whole Foods (Oakland and Reno)