For today's Marriage Mondays, I decided to do something a little different...I will be placing our contestant Mademoiselle Mozzarella up against three classic preparations that utilize her and will be discussing why in my opinion one of these three is most successful and would lead to long term marriage. Also I will be offering as my recipe tomorrow, a recipe that is twist on the winner, something that keeps all of the original elements intact but makes them new and fresh.
Before we get to the three preparations that I am going to mention today, let's give you a few key facts about Mozzarella:
1. Mozzarella comes from the Neapolitan dialect's word, 'mozza' meaning cut or 'mozzare' meaning to cut.
2. The first time we see Mozzarella written about was in 1570 in an Italian cookbook.
3. Traditionally made with cow or water buffalo's milk. It is a semi soft cheese with a typically white color.
4. It is actually the umbrella term for a few different types of similar cheese: mozzarella di bufala (buffalo milk); mozzarella fior di latte; smoked mozzarella and of course low moisture or part skim mozzarella. You can also mozzarella rolled with cured meats, pestos, oven roasted tomatoes, and other veggies.
5. It is meant to be ingested very young and therefore has a very high moisture content. Obviously, the part-skim mozzarellas with lower moisture context can be preserved for a longer period of time.
6. It is said that mozzarella was first made by accident, lots of great discoveries happen by accident I think....In this case, apparently cheese curds ended up in a pot of hot water.
7. There are two distinct ways to make mozzarella either by utilizing rennet or a procedure of milk acidification to form the curds necessary to make the cheese. Once you have the curds, they are cut into small chunks and combined with hot water. Then, these chunks are "strung" or "spun" into long cheese ropes known as the stringing of the curd which is specific to pasta filata cheeses like scamorza, provolone, and of course mozzarella. Next step, is to form your long cheese strings into the classic and easily recognizable balls. Unlike certain cheeses, the entire production process of mozzarella takes less than a traditional work day of eight hours.
Ok so I'm sure you've probably guessed what I'm going to choose for the contestants, the more obvious the better here...and don't worry, I'll be armed with plenty of explanations come tomorrow.
Preparation / Contestant #1 : Served Cold as in say a Caprese Salad
Preparation / Contestant # 2 : Served Warm and on top of crust as in say pizzas
Preparation / Contestant # 3 : Served Baked with pastas as in say lasagnas.
Tonight, think about which is your favorite way of eating mozzarella and why! Check back tomorrow for my feedback.
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