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Cheese from Italy, Puglia

Mozzarella o Fior di latte

The traditional cow milk mozzarella of Puglia, also called fior di latte. Raw milk is soured with a natural whey or milk starter, set with liquid calf rennet at about 36–37 °C, and the curd rests under whey until it can stretch. It is stretched by hand in water at 85–95 °C, shaped into balls, bocconcini or plaits, firmed in cold water and salted.

Fully documentedCheese1.3 h – 11 hPAT (Regione Puglia)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives the method but no amounts. A ball weighs 100–300 g; a plait 400–500 g.
Raw cow milk, filtered through fine cotton cloth or a mesh strainer[pat-sheet]
Starter (one of three)Natural whey starter from the previous day kept at room temperature; naturally soured milk starter; or a selected milk starter of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus[pat-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Coarse salt (brine or in the stretching water)[pat-sheet]
Starternatural whey or milk starter, or selected milk starter (Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus)

Total time across the recorded steps: 1.3 h – 11 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactobacillus bulgaricusS. thermophilus36–37 °C

What changes: The starter goes into raw milk warmed to about 36–37 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk and add the starter
Time
30 min – 2 h
Reported
Temperature
36–37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
S. thermophilus
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

The traditional cow milk mozzarella of Puglia, also called fior di latte. Raw milk is soured with a natural whey or milk starter, set with liquid calf rennet at about 36–37 °C, and the curd rests under whey until it can stretch. It is stretched by hand in water at 85–95 °C, shaped into balls, bocconcini or plaits, firmed in cold water and salted. Made in 7 steps over 1.3 h – 11 h. The longest step, rest the curd under whey, takes 10 min – 7 h (Regione Puglia) and runs at 32–36 °C (Regione Puglia). Lactobacillus bulgaricus (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus), in the selected milk starter and Streptococcus thermophilus, in the selected milk starter do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step10 min – 7 hReported[pat-sheet]Rest the curd under whey
Temperature32–36 °CReported[pat-sheet]Rest the curd under whey

What makes this one different

The general Apulian cow milk mozzarella, made from raw milk with a choice of natural whey, natural milk or selected milk starter, and stretched by hand. The PDO Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle is a separate, protected mozzarella of the Murge plateau.

Rind
None; a very thin white skin
Size
Round, 7–20 cm across, 100–300 g; smaller ones are bocconcini; plaits up to 20 cm, 400–500 g
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is used raw and must come from herds free of infectious disease; the regional sheet allows boiling it at about 72 °C if the bacterial count is very high. The curd is stretched at 85–95 °C. The sheet asks for an exemption from hygiene rules for the wooden and copper tools. The US CDC says people at higher risk of Listeria infection, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid cheese made with raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The ONAF sheet dates its origins to the Middle Ages and says cow and buffalo milk were often worked mixed. It says the cow milk type centred on the Apulian 'Masserie delle vacche' of the Murgia plateau, where Podolica cattle were kept, and that today it is centred around Gioia del Colle. The regional sheet records the method as unchanged for longer than the 25 years the traditional-product rules require.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Puglia, Scheda identificativa per l'Elenco dei Prodotti Tradizionali, 'Mozzarella o fior di latte' (schede A and B; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Mozzarella o fior di latte'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Mozzarella o Fior di latte' (id 863)web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov