Mozzarella Silana

Mozzarella Silana was first made when cheese curds accidentally fell into a pail of hot water and now it has become a typical fresh cheese of the Souther Italy, in particular of Calabria and Sila plateau.

The raw milk is heated to 32°C, added with rennet and let set for 30-60 minutes. Once the milk has set, is cut into 1 cm cubes and let it cook at 32.5 C for another half hour. The curd is then collected in a colander container to let drain the whey. The curd will get mature in about 2-3 days. Once the curd reach a right pH (4.8-4.9), is cut into small pieces and then mixed with hot water and “strung” or “spun” until long ropes of cheese form.

The process of making mozzarella is called pasta filata, which means the curds are heated in water or whey until they form strings (hence the term “string cheese”) and become elastic in texture. The curds are stretched, kneaded until smooth, and then formed into round balls to make fresh mozzarella cheese. When the proper smooth, elastic consistency is reached, the curds are formed by hand into balls which are then put into cold water so that they maintain their shapes while they cool. They are then salted and packaged. The critical moment is determining exactly when the cheese is mature and ready to be strung. The size of each mozzarella can be 100/120 gr. This cheese is not aged like most cheeses and is actually best when eaten within hours of its making.