Buttery Burrata
By Carole Kotkin
We have all heard of the “super reds” from Tuscany, now the
“super mozzarella,” has arrived on our shores. A specialty of Puglia, it is
called “burrata” and pronounced boor-RAH-tah, and it is the celebrity cheese of
the year. Burrata, looks like a ball of mozzarella with a topknot, but there is
a surprise inside. Cut into the cheese, that has mozzarella's stretchy texture
outside, and you will find a creamy, soft, buttery center that slowly and
irresistibly oozes out onto your plate. It’s like eating heavy cream, only
better. No wonder the cheese derives its name from “burro,” Italian for butter.
It was during an Oldways Preservation and Trust (the food think tank out of
Boston) International Symposium, which took us on a fabulous gastronomic tour of
Puglia, where I ate it with a spoon while it was still warm, with sweet ripe
pears and salty prosciutto.
Wrapped in the protective and flavorful blades of Pugliese
asfodelo (an herb-like plant similar to leeks), burrata is filled with a mixture
of heavy cream and stracciatella, “little rags” of mozzarella curds surrounded
by a skin of fresh cow’s milk mozzarella that holds it intact until you cut into
it. Many cheese connoisseurs recognize burrata as one of the best fresh cheeses
in the world. Pure, sweet, fresh cheese is different from the rest of its cheese
cousins because it is not aged. Fresh cheeses are made today and off to market
tomorrow. Mozarella is one of the simplest and quickest cheeses to make. It can
take less than eight hours to go from milk to finished product. The method used
to make burrata is the same as mozzarella differing only in the stretching
technique used and the fact that burrata has a filling.
In Puglia, burrata is made today either from pasteurized
cow’s milk (fior di latte or “flower of the milk”) or that of the water buffalo
(mozzarella di bufala). The threat of harmful bacteria in young raw-milk cheese
outweighs the prospect of richer flavors achieved with unpasteurized milk. The
Food and Drug Administration bans the import of cheeses made with raw milk aged
less than 60 days, and burrata is a fresh cheese; so all imports must be made
with pasteurized milk. In 1996, mozzarella di bufala producers in the Campania
region around Naples won the right from the European Union to place a seal of
authenticity on their product. Burrata does not have this distinction at this
time. The fat content of the milk determines the richness of the cheese, while
the type of milk determines the flavor. Buffalo milk gives the cheese a
particular tanginess. Rennet (an enzyme) is added to warm milk to make the milk
coagulate and separate into curds and whey. The curds solidify into blocks and
they are then shredded into small pieces (either by hand or machine) and
immersed in very hot water. The heavy curds fall to the bottom and form a mass
that is lifted out, turned, and kneaded using a wooden paddle. At this point,
the process becomes an art form, as the cheese maker must know instinctively
when to stop the pulling or stretching. Too soon and the cheese will be crumbly.
Too long and the cheese will lose too much of its butterfat, and with it, the
texture and flavor. When the cheese forms a pliable mass, pieces are quickly
pinched off and shaped into mozzarella forms. This procedure gives mozzarella
its name—the Italian verb mozzare means to pinch off. For burrata, the still
hot cheese is stretched into 3-inch rectangles that are then filled with
leftover strands of mozzarella (straciatella) that have been left to soak in
fresh cream from the whey. After it is filled with the straciatella and some of
the clinging cream, the burrata is closed with a topknot. Finally, the burrata
is brined briefly to flavor it, then packaged and shipped that day. Some
producers wrap the burrata, which may weigh from one-half to one pound, with the
asphodel leaf. The leaves indicate the freshness of the cheese; as long as the
leaves stay green, the cheese is fresh.
According to cheese experts, the quality of this “mother of
mozzarella” correlates directly to what the cows eat, where they graze, the
water they drink, the distances they travel and even the air they breathe. All
of these factors combine to make a unique and exquisite cheese. There is
historical documentation of mozzarella’s existence as far back as 1200, though
it didn’t become widespread in southern Italy until the 1700’s. Neapolitan pizza
was then introduced it to northern Italy and the world a century later, yet
people started eating the cheese on its own only after the Second World War. A
relatively modern specialty of Southern Italy, especially the regions of Puglia,
burrata, was created in 1920 by Lorenzo Bianchino Chieppa, on the Piana Padula
estate in the Puglian town of Andria. According to Luigi Di Palo, better known
as Lou, who co-owns Di Palo’s fine foods in Manhattan’s Little Italy, “burrata
was a way to utilize the ritagli (“scraps” or “rags”) of mozzarella that were
left over from the production. My grandfather always said “waste into wages.” Di
Palo’s, which was opened by Lou’s great-grandfather in 1910, is packed with
hundreds of Italian products. It's easy to see why people come from long
distances to wait their turn in line. The sights, the sounds, the aromas are
delightful. “Burrata is extremely hard to find because of its short shelf life.
It must be flown in from Italy the day after it is made and quickly sold to
consumers. We air freight it in on Friday and by Saturday, it’s gone,“ explains
Di Palo. “We always called burrata a “pregnant woman’s belly” because of its
round shape and also because it signifies the “essence of life,” he continues.
Margaret Cicogna, who sources the best of Italian cheeses
for food importer, Atalanta Corporation, one of Di Palo’s suppliers, says, “Our
burrata is imported from Bari in Puglia, during the fall, winter and spring
months. Its shelf life is 15 days from the day it is made. In Naples, they never
serve mozzarella made the day before—only, today’s cheese.” She also obtains
tenerella, a burrata-type cheese made with porcini mushrooms or black truffles
incorporated into the filling from Il Forteto Cooperatiiva Agricola in Tuscany,
the producers of the well-known Pecorino Toscano. “The best way to eat burrata
is with the famous Altamura bread and taralli cookies of Puglia. An ideal wine
is one that is soft and rich in flowery aroma and yellow fruit to go with the
richness of the cheese like a Donna Lisa, white Salice Salentino DOC.”
Gioia Cheese Co., an Italian cheese producer in southern California,
produces a domestic version. Vito Girardi, Gioia’s owner learned his craft in
the family cheese factory in Gioia del Colle in Puglia that his grandfather
started in 1932. In 1992, he, his wife and two children relocated to Los Angeles
where he began producing his handmade cheeses. He proudly boasts that he is the
man who introduced America to burrata. When I asked how his burrata differs from
that in Italy, he replied, “ the center of my cheese stays more solid because
the cream is coagulated, and it is made from pasteurized milk.” Every one pound
burrata that Gioia makes—all 2,000 pounds of it a day—is formed by hand then
shipped by FedEx overnight to restaurants around the country. Girardi eats it
with olive oil, salt and pepper as a “secondo” or main course, “after the pasta,
just like a steak.” “But it’s up to the chef’s fantasy to create something
unusual,” he says. Piero Selvaggio, owner of the celebrated Valentino’s in Santa
Monica (now in Las Vegas also) for the past thirty-four years, was the first to
introduce California diners in the 1970s and 1980s, to what have now become
staples: buffalo mozzarella, truffles and boutique olive oils. He discovered
burrata in Puglia fifteen years ago, “I was shocked such a wonderful cheese
existed. I had heard of artisan mozzarella and ricotta, but not this.I fell in
love with it, just like everyone else,” he says. He was “afraid to take a
chance” to import it because it needed to be eaten so quickly. Girardi had just
opened Gioia and he made a mozzarella sales call on Selvaggio who asked him if
he had ever heard of burrata. After a few test runs, the rest is history. “In
twelve to fourteen hours from the time it is made, I have it on a plate. As soon
as I put it on the menu it was a big hit. Today burrata is so popular I don’t
even need to translate it or even use the word “cheese,” he says. "In good
Italian cooking, it's the distinctiveness and quality of each ingredient that
counts. I like to serve burrata in a traditional way, on a bed of greens, with
greenish tomatoes, for crunch, and a sprinkle of olive oil. It is an incredible
combination with caviar; it just explodes in the mouth. We also use burrata as a
stuffing for tortellini and ravioli, or as a topping for grilled meat. The
burrata melts in the flesh and gives it a raw, pure flavor," said Selvaggio.
Valentino's 40,000 bottle wine collection, one of the best in the world, was
largely destroyed in the Northridge quake, but it's been replenished. Selvaggio
prefers a young Chianti or Barbera with the uncooked cheese. “I like Nero
D’avola from Southern Italy with many burrata dishes. Something fruity and
supple, like an Argentine Malbec, a soft Merlot, a California Pinot Noir, or
even a Dolcetto pairs well. I just avoid wines with a high alcohol content,” he
explains.
Top chefs are discovering the potential for great, simple
dishes using burrata. Its just make flavor, the essence of fresh milk, makes it
perfect for pairing with flavorful ingredients like olives, tomatoes, prosciutto
and herbs. Nancy Silverton, made her name and fortune with breads and desserts
at Los Angeles’s La Brea Bakery and Campanile, and now she has a new obsession:
mozzarella cheese. She is opening Mozza, a mozzarella bar in Los Angeles with
New York celebrity chef Mario Batali and his business partner, Joe Bastianich.
“Two years ago at my little house in Umbria, (noted chef) Jeremiah Tower visited
me and we ate burrata and traditional mozzarella that I bought from my favorite
cheese shop. He told me about the Obika Mozzarella Bar in Rome (the name sounds
Japanese, but it means 'here it is' in the Neapolitan dialect).” Rome’s Obika, a
restaurant entirely devoted to mozzarella, has expanded to Milan and London, and
the owners have plans for New York and Tokyo. After going to Obika Mozzarella
Bar herself she was taken with this “sushi bar of cheese.” Silverton continues,
“Everybody loves mozzarella and with its mild flavor it’s adaptable to so many
applications. So why not do this in LA?” She’s been preparing by serving
mozzarella specialties once a week at Jar, a Los Angeles restaurant owned by
Campanile veteran chef Suzanne Tract, that has "Mozzarella Mondays." Silverton
orders individual serving size mozzarella and burrata in 4 ounce balls (ovalini)
from Gioa who delivers to Jar within hours of being made by hand. Mozzarella
Monday’s feature burrata served with roasted asparagus, hazelnuts and guaniciale
(salted and cured pig’s jowl and cheek) on the side. Also popular is burricotti
(burrata filled with ricotta) served with braised artichoke hearts, pine nuts,
and currants. Burrata with pesto, tapendade, salsa romesco, and caper-berry
relish also has its share of devotees.
Fresh burrata should be served at room temperature. If it
is too cold, the cream in the filling becomes solid and you lose that essential
lusciousness. Its spectacular gushing center can be scooped up with slices of
crusty bread, and is excellent when enjoyed in the company of a bottle of
Montepulciano. Try tossing Burrata into pasta, such as drained penne or
spaghetti. For a truly rich caprese salad, encircle fresh Burrata with slices of
ripe red tomatoes and torn basil leaves, and drizzle with olive oil. Because of
its short shelf life it’s only in recent years that burrata has traveled outside
of Puglia to other regions of Italy, although it is said that the Shah of Iran
was so addicted to burrata cheese that he had it flown over on a regular basis.
In Milan wedges of burrata garnished a shaved fennel salad flavored with lemon
juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil at lunch. At a trattoria just
outside Folina in the Veneto a waitress brought a platter of hot creamy polenta
with burrata enticingly melting on top. Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of Flavors
of Puglia (now out of print) and Cucina de Sole to be published this spring by
Morrow Books, who first tasted burrata in the late 70’s in the Campo di Fiore
market in Rome, says, “I like it naked on the plate at the beginning of a meal
with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of the best
darned Puglian olive oil I can find, and, a glass of Severino Garofano’s Salice
Salentino wine. The cheese is so rich that only light dishes should follow.” She
continues, “the best way to eat burrata is to hop on a plane and go straight to
Puglia.”
As many American chefs shift their focus to regions of
Italy south of Rome, like Puglia, burrata is showing up on more and more
restaurant menus. These chefs are discovering the exquisite foods of rustic
relatively unknown “heel of the boot”—Puglia along with their intense and
inexpensive Primitivo and Negroamaro wines. |
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