La Burrata

Burrata is a dairy preparation typical of Puglia, made with raw cow's milk. Its shape is reminiscent of a small sack  of soft spun dough, which contains within it a heart of mozzarella frayed by hand in thin threads (stracciatella di burrata) mixed with fresh cream. The name Burrata, contrary to popular belief, alludes to the taste of the buttery, rich, and tasty filling typical of cheese and not to the fact that it may have been enriched with a certain amount of butter during the manufacturing process.

 Being a fresh spun paste cheese, its characterization is given by the pleasantness of the sweet tendency and olfactory sensations but above all to its percentage of fat and light aromaticity. The shape is roundish, with a characteristic apical closure and variable weight between 300 and 500 grams. Crust-free, the Burrata casing is shiny, with a nice white porcelain color, depending on the season and the feeding of the cattle. The flavor is reminiscent of milk but is more delicate on the superficial part of the product and increasingly marked and buttery as you approach the center, which has a vague hint of lactic ferments. The dough is compact and smooth on the outside and pasty and soft inside, surrounded by a slightly opaque, white, semi-fluid liquid.

 Of a shape ranging from 150 to 500 grams, it is sold wrapped and tied together with stems of vizzo, an herb that transmits an aromatic and pungent note to pasta. ground pepper. [RS7] There are those who maintain that the best time to fully savor its freshness is to wait a couple of days, when the dairy has taken the right consistency, and cream and stracciatella inside it have now merged into a single body.

 Geographical area

 The area of origin of the milk used for the production of Burrata includes the territory of the Murge plateau, although today this cheese is produced in many other areas of the Puglia region.

 Technology

 The production process of the Burrata stracciatella involves the use of raw and refrigerated cow's milk, coming from one or two daily milkings. The milk is poured into the appropriate steel containers, and, after having been acidified (ph 6.1-6.2) with the addition of natural whey, it is heated until it reaches a temperature of 35-36 °C, and liquid calf rennet is added. After about 20-25 minutes of coagulation, the cheese mass has obtained the right consistency to be broken with an instrument called 'lira' or 'onion' into granules similar in size to a grain of rice. Once the break is complete, the curd, extracted from the excess whey, is placed on stainless steel tables and left to mature at room temperature for about five hours after the rennet has been added, which can vary depending on the amount of lactic acid bacteria present in the added natural serum. The complete maturation of the curd is the most delicate moment of the whole process, followed by the spinning, whose beginning is established by the cheesemaker on the basis of a "spinning essay".

Credit: Latte news