Would you like some mozzarella with your mozzarella?

Fishing for mozzarella



This Saturday we went on a day trip to a small, family-run buffalo mozzarella farm about three hours from Rome in the beautiful region of Campania. Due to the fact that I consider cheese a food group, I was in heaven! We arrived at the farm around noon and went right to the facility where the family makes the cheese. Dr. Dawson and the owner of the farm gave a brief description of the mozzarella process, explaining that buffalo milk produces exceptional cheese because it is much thicker and richer than both cow's milk and sheep's milk. After the brief lesson, the real fun started...the tasting! I must admit that upon entering the processing building, I was a bit skeptical about trying the mozzarella. I knew that mozzarella was kept in water, but cheese balls floating in large vats full of cloudy water was not pleasing to the senses. I learned right then that ignorance is bliss when it comes to cheese-making, and although it did not look or smell appetizing, but I forced myself to try it. The owner got a strainer and dipped it into one of the vats, fishing out the biggest mountain of cheese I could ever imagine. The mozzarella balls were the size of baseballs! I bit into it, and it was incredibly fresh and delicious. This was the freshest mozzarella I will ever have in my life, as it was made an hour before I ate it. The owner yelled, "Who wants seconds?!" and chaos ensued. When we all scrambled to get seconds and thirds, Dr. Dawson reminded us that we were in fact eating lunch there, and looking back, we all wish we had listened. Little did I know that lunch at the mozzarella farm would be the biggest and best meal I've ever had!

The delicious antipasti course

After petting the buffalo, which were very stinky but surprisingly friendly, we all sat down for a four course meal at the farm's little trattoria, and thus began the marathon eating! The epic lunch started with an antipasti course that consisted of bread, a ball-sized mozzarella, pecorino cheese, salami and prosciutto. It turns out that the antipasti had courses in itself! While we were still working on the meat and cheese, the servers brought out a mashed-potato, quiche-like casserole, and breaded, pan-fried zucchini and gorgonzola. Finally, to top it all off, was the cheese course of the antipasti: a tray of mozzarella balls in olive oil and a mountain of fresh ricotta with honey. The antipasti course alone was amazing, but then came the pasta! The first type was linguine in creamy tomato sauce with lots of parmesan cheese. The next was rotini in a creamy mushroom sauce with peas, both absolutely delicious.

A side of mozzarella

At first, the amount of food was overwhelming, but then it became comical, as the waiters kept bringing out new dishes and we kept preparing ourselves in between courses by stretching, downing lots of water, and doing breathing exercises. The meat course consisted of grilled sausage with potato wedges. Although we thought it was impossible, we decided to give it a shot. I am glad I tried it, because it was delicious. Alas, three large courses and over a liter of water later, the dessert course arrived, and was a large sampling of many different desserts: pieces of pies, brownies, and cookies. It was a tasty and simple end to the largest meal I have ever had in my life. After a brisk walk in an attempt to aid digestion, we boarded the bus and headed for Rome, each of us happily entering into food comas.

Ciao buffalo!

The mozzarella is almost ready