Part skim vs whole milk mozzarella

The fast-paced, thrilling world of fresh Italian cheeses is wildly delicious and, at times, daunting. What's the difference between burrata and fresh mozzarella? Fresh mozzarella and part-skim? What the heck does "bufala" mean? Is fiore di latte a Starbuck drink?

Mozzarella can be divided into two main categories: fresh and low-moisture mozzarella. Low-moisture mozzarella is an aged and dried version of fresh mozzarella. There are many different varieties within these two subgroups, all with their own strengths and best uses.

What Is Mozzarella Cheese?

All versions of mozzarella are a type of pasta filata cheese, Italian for "spun paste," which refers to a process of stretching, heating, and kneading curd cheeses. Mozzarella is usually made from cow's milk here in the states and can come fresh in brine or slightly dried and vacuum-packed. All mozzarella cheese varieties are considered soft cheeses and are not aged very long, if at all. You can usually find several different types at your local grocery store but for more variety, consider a cheesemonger or an Italian specialty food store if you have one near you.

Fresh Mozzarella

Fresh mozzarella is stored in water and has a much shorter shelf-life. Most types of fresh mozzarella can be 60% or more water, making it super soft and easy to cut or tear apart. Fresh mozzarella is best for eating plain, in Caprese or panzanella salads, on a Neapolitan-style pizza (or really any type of pizza cooked in a high-heat pizza oven), or simply alone as part of an antipasti spread.

Standard Shapes

Fresh mozzarella can come in a myriad of different shapes and sizes. They're all made from the same base and are the same cheese, they're just formed into different shapes. You are likely familiar with the tennis ball-sized sphere of fresh mozzarella, which is commonly carried in supermarket cheese cases.

Starting with the largest after the plain ball, we have ovaline — stemming from the word for "egg" in Italian; ovaline shaped servings of mozzarella are great for cutting or slicing into smaller pieces. The next smallest is bocconcini, A.K.A "bite-sized." These are about the size of a cherry tomato and are perfect for antipasti platters and dishes where you want a full bite of pure mozzarella. Finally, we have perline: the "small pearls." These teeny guys are great in salads or mixed into pasta when you want to get mozzarella and a little bit of something else on the fork at once. Another typical shape is a braid. Braids can come in all different sizes and are great to slice, but even more fun to tear pieces off of.

Fiore di Latte

This is the formal name for the "basic" fresh mozzarella that you find in grocery stores. It's made with cow's milk and is essentially the all-purpose fresh mozzarella. You can also find packages of marinated mozzarella (usually bocconcini or perline) submerged in olive oil with different herbs and sometimes chili flakes mixed in. Unless otherwise marked, all fresh mozzarella can be considered fiore di latte.

Bufala Mozzarella

OK, so first off, this is not mozzarella made from an American buffalo. It's actually made from a very specific type of domesticated water buffalo in the Campania region of Italy. That said, these water buffalo are much more similar to cows than the American buffalo we know. In the way that "Champagne" is sparkling wine that can only be made in the Champagne region of France, true bufala mozzarella can only be made with milk from this specific water buffalo in Campania. Bufala mozzarella has twice the fat of regular fiore di latte and an impossibly creamy and smooth texture. It's the mozzarella for authentic Neapolitan pizza and even has Protected Designation of Origin status in Italy, in order to determine how and where it's made. All of this has gained it the moniker "white gold." Bufala mozzarella is of such high quality, it's perfect for enjoying plain as-is. Because of the PDO regulations, it can't be produced here in America; accordingly, this variety of mozzarella can be challenging to find because true bufala must be imported. If you do happen to see bufala while shopping, I definitely suggest buying a ball or two and savoring it.

Stracciatella

Italian for "rags," stracciatella is a mixture of the scraps and shreds from mozzarella making, combined with cream. It's soft, almost liquidy, and perfect for spreading on crostini or finishing off a pizza just out of the oven. Because it's not firm mozzarella and is soaked in cream, stracciatella can become a bit watery when married with hot food, so make sure to save it until the very last second to avoid soggy pizza crust or mushy crackers.

Burrata

Italian for "buttery," burrata is a skin of fiore di latte filled with stracciatella. It usually comes in a large ball, and if you're looking to put out an effortless but impressive appetizer, this mozz variety is excellent served as the main event. Once you cut open the outer layer, the delicious creamy inside oozes out, and is ideal for scooping and dipping with bread. While burrata can for sure be the star of the show, it's also delightful when incorporated into panzanella or a plate of pasta. Burrata can make any meal into something exceptional.

Low-Moisture Mozzarella

Low-moisture mozzarella is not stored in water and has a drier, denser texture with a saltier flavor than fresh mozzarella. Low-moisture mozzarella is good for any dish that requires reliable, evenly distributed melting action: For example, American or New York-style pizza (or pizzas cooked in a standard home oven) and items where you want to create a "cheese pull," like a mozzarella stick.

Part-Skim vs. Whole Milk Mozzarella

With low-moisture mozzarella, it's more or less going to be about the same product regardless of whether it's labeled as "whole milk" or "part-skim." Whole milk mozzarella has more fat than part-skim, which lends slightly more richness. Generally speaking, part-skim mozzarella tends to brown and "leopard" a bit better, while whole milk has a silkier texture when melted. All in all, it's splitting hairs.

Types of Low-Moisture Mozzarella

Shredded Mozzarella

This is the type of low-moisture mozzarella that we are all probably most familiar with. Shredded mozzarella that comes in a bag is the most common type in the U.S. and is incredibly versatile due to its mild flavor and exceptional melting ability. As mentioned above, this is the cheese you should reach for when making an American-style or NY-style pizza. It bubbles and browns and gives you that quintessential cheese pull we all know and love.

String Cheese

Although we're not usually cooking with string cheese, it's really the best example of what low-moisture mozzarella really is: delicious and stretchy. String cheese gets its stringy nature from the stretching, pulling, and twisting of the cheese during the process of making low-moisture mozzarella. Plus, the mozzarella string cheese sticks we keep around for snacking are also the perfect ingredient to reach for when you want to make homemade cheese sticks.

Related:

• How to Make Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Why Do Some Cheeses Melt Better Than Others?
• 12 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes
• How Does Milk Become Cheese?

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