Even though several other cheeses are gaining popularity as the choice of pizza cheese, mozzarella is still definitely considered “the” cheese for pizza. Even those pies that are sporting new and unique cheese combinations almost always include mozzarella as a must, and the processed designer cheese products that have been developed specifically as pizza cheeses are only meant to be “new and improved” versions of the traditional mozzarella (but why mess with a good thing?).
Even for those of you that prefer to Order Pizza On Your iPhone, it’s fun to know a little more about the history of the products that make it, starting with that all-important staple of the best pizza pie.
Mozzarella is the most popular choice of cheese in history. As with most cheeses, it is expected that mozzarella was most likely discovered by chance. Legend has it that mozzarella was only created when cheese curds accidently fell off a table into boiling hot water.
What mozzarella really is, is a mild cheese that undergoes a curing process not very different to dropping it into hot water off a table. Though we know little about its history, we do know that the first mozzarellas were made not from cow’s milk, as is the most widely accepted norm now, but was derived from the rich milk of native water buffaloes.
In fact, true water buffalo mozzarella is considered one of the most marvellous choices to make when cheese matters, however it is not that readily available for everyone; instead, most pizza and delivery outfits make do with the still excellent fresh cow’s mozzarella. Despite the scarcity of mozzarella from buffalo, there are still ways to get it and use real water buffalo mozzarella, including some areas of the mediterranian and from specialty food providers. Just don’t ask us who milks the buffalo!