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?
Read moreGive That Cheese a Bath
Mozzarella is a flavor sponge. It readily soaks up good stuff like extra virgin olive oil and garlic, so why not give it a little bath on Labor Day? Ciliegine, the cherry-size balls, are perfect for marinating. They’re bite sized, you can serve them whole so they don’t release whey, and it doesn’t take long to infuse them with seasonings. (Say chili-eh-GEE-neh.) I add dried oregano, parsley, Aleppo pepper and capers, but you do you. Taken to a potluck or at your own backyard barbecue, these juicy, garlicky one-bite wonders will vanish before the burgers are done.
Read moreThe True (Maybe) Origin Story of Insalata Caprese
This summer marks the 96th birthday of the insalata caprese. A near-century of mozzarella, tomatoes and basil—the salad that sends fresh mozzarella sales spiking in summer. Someone had to invent this beloved combination, and if you believe the story I’m about to recount, the dish was conceived as an act of rebellion.
Read moreSpring Look for Insalata Caprese
My friend Joanne Weir, the television personality, came up with this genius idea for a spring riff on tomato and mozzarella salad. After all, it’s not tomato season. It’s asparagus, fava bean and pea season. So leave those mealy, flavorless red orbs for someone else and give your Caprese salad a fresh look for spring. What a light, simple salad for Easter and spring dinner parties to come. Thank you, Joanne!
Read moreRisotto Meets Burrata
I have been making zucchini risotto forever but had never thought to plop a piece of burrata on top until I saw such a dish on Principato di Lucedio’s Instagram. This historic farm in Piemonte grows fabulous Carnaroli rice—I visited years ago—so the Lucedio Instagram is a rich source of risotto ideas. The zucchini risotto was photographed at Balin a restaurant near the farm, and the chef used stracciatella, not burrata. But stracciatella is the creamy filling inside burrata, and burrata is easier to find. It’s zucchini season. It’s cherry tomato season. What are you waiting for?
Read moreBurrata Grand Slam
© Meg Smith Photography
It’s a good thing the Clif Family’s Bruschetteria is not closer to my house or I would have to hit the rowing machine even harder. Anything served on oil-rubbed garlic toast is already a home run. If burrata’s involved, that’s a grand slam. In spring, Bruschetteria chef John McConnell tops the burrata with peas and tender roasted broccoli florets, stems and leaves. I can’t imagine a more tempting lunch or antipasto with a glass of rosé.
Read moreCheese Judging in Covid Times
No Summer Olympics. No James Beard Awards, at least not for chefs. No American Cheese Society conference. Not even a Miss America pageant. We’re becoming so accustomed to events being canceled that’s its noteworthy when they aren’t. When the Good Food Awards Foundation announced that it was moving forward with its annual competition and awards, I was pretty skeptical, because…well…tasting. In groups. But they figured it out. I was a Good Foods Awards cheese judge last weekend and the crazy scheme worked.
Read moreCheese Takes a Beating
Travel woes: (clockwise from upper left) Camembert au Calvados; Clochette; Burrata; French ashed cheeses
Maybe cheese wasn’t the first thing you thought about when President Trump announced a 30-day ban on flights from Europe last week. But cheese is, indeed, a victim. It won’t be getting on planes, either. All those lovely soft spring goat cheeses from the Loire Valley…fresh mozzarella and burrata from Campania…delicate robiolas from Piemonte…these cheeses and many others have effectively had their passports revoked. “Trump said it’s not going to affect cargo, but it doesn’t work that way,” says Stephanie Ciano of World’s Best Cheese, a major importer.
Read moreSmall but Mighty
Italian tradition. Canadian milk. American persistence. Calabro Cheese’s ricotta di bufala required input from three countries and a decade of effort before the Connecticut company had a viable product. The cheese now has earned multiple ribbons from the American Cheese Society and is poised for takeoff. Like other water-buffalo cheeses, Calabro ricotta di bufala is not inexpensive (I paid $3.49 for a four-ounce basket), but if successful, it may persuade others to ponder the potential for water buffalo in the U.S. We can hope.
Read moreBlockbuster Cheese
You’re not imagining it. Burrata is everywhere. A cheese that almost nobody knew 20 years ago (even in Italy) is now summer’s blockbuster. Retailers struggle to keep it in stock, and chefs have taken it well beyond the predictable insalata caprese. What else can you do with this dreamy dairy queen?
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