If you’ve never tried Burrata, you’re in for an incredible culinary treat. In the Puglia region of Italy, EVERYTHING was used when making fresh mozzarella, including the leftover whey drained off the fresh ball. This attempt at frugality ultimately results in the ultimate in creamy cheese.
In order to get to Burrata, one must first make mozzarella. Granted, if you wanted to, you COULD buy fresh mozzarella, and just cut the curds into small pieces, put it in a bowl, add water heated to a temperature of 160 degrees, kneed the cheese, and then wrap it around a heavy cream and cheese curd filling. But what’s the fun in that? When you make it yourself you get to experience firsthand the joy of watching the milk casein proteins coagulate into a curds, ferment at the hand of citric acid, and then ultimately be transformed into a glossy stringy ball of fresh cheese. If you’re going to be doing that ANYWAY, why not tak.e an extra step and turn your already creamy ball of mozzarella into the ultimate in creaminess?
This recipe is not for the faint of heart, but I promise you, the incredible taste and texture far outweighs the challenges.
Ingredients:
1 recipe for Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (see previous post.) Stop before you place the balls of curd into hot water.
Alternately, 1 lbs of store bought fresh mozzarella cheese.
2 Tbs heavy cream.
While you’ve got your balls of fresh curds strained, you’re ultimately going to have a few extra curds that didn’t make it into the ball. Gather roughly 1/4 cup of those curds and combine them with the heavy cream. Using a fork, mash/mix/stir the curds until you get a reasonably smooth consistency. Set aside. If you’re using store bought mozzarella cut a small portion of the cheese off, and dice it into 1/2″ cubes. Cut enough off to get 1/4th cup.
For the next step, grab a cereal bowl and have it at the ready, you’re going to use it as your burrata form.
Add 3 quarts water and 3/4 cup salt to a saucepan, and bring to 160 degree Fahrenheit.
Homemade Mozzarella Instructions:
In a separate bowl, place one of your 3 parts curd and pour hot/salty water over the curd. Wearing rubber kitchen gloves (not latex), grab your curd ball and knead it until it develops a shiny/stringy texture. Be careful, even with gloves on the cheese gets REALLY hot. Keep your hands out of the water as much as possible to save burning your hands. You may have to put the cheese back into the hot water to help melt the curd. Once the cheese starts to become stringy/shiny, flatten the cheese into a circle and place it in the cereal bowl.
Spoon 1/3 of your cream/curd mixture on to the cheese circle and then fold the edges over the top, sealing the cheese as you go. Once the cheese is completely sealed, place it in a bowl filled with ice and water to cool. Repeat process on the remaining two balls of curd.
You can store it in cold water in the fridge, but you must consume it within 48 hours of making.
Store bought mozzarella instructions:
Split your mozzarella into 3 equal portions and flatten. In a separate bowl, place one of your 3 parts mozzarella and pour hot/salty water over the cheese. Wearing rubber kitchen gloves (not latex), grab your cheese ball and knead it until it develops a consistent melted texture. Keep your hands out of the water as much as possible to save burning your hands. You may have to put the cheese back into the hot water to get a consistent texture. Once the cheese starts to become stringy/shiny, flatten the cheese into a circle and place it in the cereal bowl.
Spoon 1/3 of your cream/curd mixture on to the cheese circle and then fold the edges over the top, sealing the cheese as you go. Once the cheese is completely sealed, place it in a bowl filled with ice and water to cool. Repeat process on the remaining two balls of curd.
You can store it in cold water in the fridge, but you must consume it within 48 hours of making.
