buffalo mozzarella

File:Bufala.JPG on a farm in Paestum]]

In Italy, the cheese is produced nationwide using Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk under the government's official name {{lang|it|mozzarella di latte di bufala}} because Italian buffalo are found in all Italian regions. Only the specific type of {{lang|it|mozzarella di bufala campana}} PDO is produced in the area reaching from Rome, Lazio, to Paestum, near Salerno, Campania, and there are also production areas in the province of Foggia, Apulia, and in Venafro, Molise.{{Cite web |title=The Product: Production Zone |url=http://www.mozzarelladop.it |website=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela |year=2008}} Buffalo mozzarella is a €300m ($330m) per year industry in Italy, which produces around 33,000 tonnes of it every year, with 16 percent sold abroad (mostly in the European Union). France and Germany are the main importers, but sales to Japan and Russia are growing.{{cite news |first=David |last=Charter |title=Buffalo mozzarella in crisis after pollution fears at Italian farms |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3643079.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829150322/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article3643079.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2008 |work=The Times |date=2008-03-29 |access-date=2008-10-16 | location=London}}

Apart from in Italy, its birthplace, buffalo mozzarella is manufactured in many other countries around the world. There are producers in Switzerland,{{cite news |first=John |last=Tagliabue |author2=Schangnau Journal |title=Buffalo Milk in Swiss Mozzarella Adds Italian Accent |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/world/europe/12swiss.html |work=The New York Times |date=2006-06-12 |access-date=2008-10-16}} the United States,{{cite web |url=http://www.cheeselicious.net |title=Bufalina AC real Mozzarella Cheese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109212253/http://www.cheeselicious.net/ |archive-date=2013-01-09 }}{{cite web |url=http://tavolatalk.com/2012/fresh-buffalo-mozzarella-really-fresh/ |title=Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella |work=Tavolatalk |date=2012-03-08 |publisher=Realmozzarella.com |access-date=2010-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207033059/http://tavolatalk.com/2012/fresh-buffalo-mozzarella-really-fresh/ |archive-date=2013-02-07 }}{{cite web|url=http://bufaladivermont.com |title=water buffalo cheese, yogurt, and specialty meats |publisher=Bufala di Vermont |access-date=2010-05-02}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cookography.com/2008/water-buffalo-mozzarella |title=Water Buffalo Mozzarella |work=Cookography |date=2008-06-07 |access-date=2008-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525073712/http://www.cookography.com/2008/water-buffalo-mozzarella |archive-date=2009-05-25 }} Australia,{{cite web|url=http://www.buffaloaustralia.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050623110111/http://buffaloaustralia.org/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 23, 2005 |title=Welcome to the Australian Buffalo Industry Council |publisher=Buffaloaustralia.org |access-date=2010-05-02}} Mexico, Brazil, Canada, China,{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/yunnan/cultureindustry/2013-12/13/content_17177218.htm|title=Thank you, Mr Buffalo|last=李齐|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}} Japan, Venezuela, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Sweden,{{Cite web|url=http://www.angsholmensgardsmejeri.se/|title=Ängsholmens Gårdsmejeri {{!}} Producent av Svensk Buffelmozzarella|website=www.angsholmensgardsmejeri.se|access-date=2016-10-04}} Colombia,{{cite journal |first=L. O. |last=Seno |author2=V. L. Cardoso and H. Tonhati |title=Responses to selection for milk traits in dairy buffaloes |journal=Genetics and Molecular Research |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=790–6 |year=2006 |pmid=17183486 |url=http://www.funpecrp.com.br/gmr/year2006/vol4-5/gmr0227_abstract.htm |access-date=2008-10-19 |quote=Borghese and Mazzi (2005) presented a comprehensive review on the Buffalo populations and production systems in the world. According to these authors, Brazil has the largest buffalo herd size in South America, followed by Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia. Buffaloes were imported into Brazil between the 1940s and 1960s, where the ideal conditions such as thriving pastures, water, grazing space, and suitable temperatures were available. In the 1970s Brazilian buffalo breeders began to use these animals for dairy and meat production.}} Thailand,{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Janssen |title=Italian mountaineers cut the cheese in Thailand |url=http://www.expatica.com/fr/life_in/leisure/Italian-mountaineers-cut-the-cheese-in-Thailand.html |work=Expatica.com |date=2008-08-11 |access-date=2008-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012051525/http://www.expatica.com/fr/life_in/leisure/Italian-mountaineers-cut-the-cheese-in-Thailand.html |archive-date=2008-10-12 }} Israel, Egypt,{{cite book |author=National Research Council |title=The Water Buffalo: New Prospects for an Underutilized Animal |publisher=Books For Business |year=2002 |isbn=0-89499-193-0 |chapter=Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jo4EAAAACAAJ |oclc=56613238 |author-link=United States National Research Council }} India,{{cite news |first=Antoon |last=Cox |title=Italian cheese, sold in the US, made in India |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/italian-cheese-sold-in-the-us-made-in-india/260933/ |work=The Indian Express |date=2008-01-13 |access-date=2008-10-16}} and South Africa,{{cite news |title=South Africa's 1st Real Buffalo Mozzarella |url=http://slowfood.co.za/south-africas-1st-real-buffalo-mozzarella/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160703183842/http://slowfood.co.za/south-africas-1st-real-buffalo-mozzarella/ |archive-date=2016-07-03 |work=Slow Food (Johannesburg) |date=2010-02-10 |access-date=2015-07-08 }} all using milk from their own herds of water buffaloes.

Buffalo mozzarella from Campania bears the trademark {{lang|it|mozzarella di bufala campana}}. In 1993, it was granted {{lang|it|denominazione di origine controllata}} (DOC) status, in 1996 the trademark received the registry number 1107/96,{{Cite web |title=The Consortium: History of The Organization |url=http://www.mozzarelladop.it |website=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela |year=2008 |quote=The Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP trademark (Protected Name of Origin) was registered with the European Community Regulation no. 1107 of 1996, three years after it was given the DOC mark (D.P.C.M. of 10/05/1993).}} and in 2008 the European Union granted protected geographical status and the PDO designation.{{cite journal |author=European Commission |author-link=European Commission |date=2008-02-05 |title=Commission Regulation (EC) No 103/2008 of 4 February 2008 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications — Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (PDO) |journal=Official Journal of the European Union |volume=L 31 |page=31 |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32008R0103:EN:NOT |access-date=2008-10-23}} The Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio di Bufala Campana ({{literally|Consortium for the Protection of the Buffalo Cheese of Campania}}) is an organization of approximately 200 producers that, under Italian law, is responsible for the "protection, surveillance, promotion and marketing" of {{lang|it|mozzarella di bufala campana}}.{{Cite web |title=The Consortium: History of The Organization |url=http://www.mozzarelladop.it |website=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela |year=2008 |quote=The Consortium is the only organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies (MIPAF) for the protection, surveillance, promotion and marketing of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.}}

[http://www.viepiu.com/bufala/spedizioni.htm PDO] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602082755/http://www.viepiu.com/bufala/spedizioni.htm |date=2013-06-02 }} The mozzarella industry in Italy resulted from 34,990 recorded females of the Italian Mediterranean breed, which account for ≈30% of the total dairy buffalo population (this percentage does not exist in any other country) and have a mean production of 2,356 kg milk in 270 days of lactation, with 8% fat, and 4.63% protein.{{Cite journal|last1=Minervino|first1=Antonio Humberto Hamad|last2=Zava|first2=Marco|last3=Vecchio|first3=Domenico|last4=Borghese|first4=Antonio|date=2020|title=Bubalus bubalis: A Short Story|journal=Frontiers in Veterinary Science|language=en|volume=7|page=570413|doi=10.3389/fvets.2020.570413|pmid=33335917|pmc=7736047|issn=2297-1769|doi-access=free}}

The history of water buffalo in Italy is not settled. One theory is that Asian water buffalo were brought to Italy by Goths during the migrations of the early medieval period.{{cite web |url=http://www.fornobravo.com/brick_oven_cooking/pizza_ingredients/mozzarella/mozzarella1.html |title=Mozzarella di Bufala |access-date=2008-10-16 |work=Forno Bravo Cooking |publisher=Forno Bravo, LLC |quote=It all starts with the Asian Buffalo, brought to Italy by the Goths, as they migrated southwest during the waning years of the Roman empire. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920053136/http://www.fornobravo.com/brick_oven_cooking/pizza_ingredients/mozzarella/mozzarella1.html |archive-date=2008-09-20 }} However, according to the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, the "most likely hypothesis" is that they were introduced by Normans from Sicily in 1000, and that Arabs had introduced them into Sicily.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.mozzarelladop.it/ |website=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela |year=2008 |quote=There are many theories on their Italian beginnings: the most likely hypothesis is that the Norman kings, around the year 1000, brought them into southern Italy from Sicily, where they had been introduced by the Arabs.}} The Consorzio per la Tutela also refers to fossil evidence (the prehistoric European Water Buffalo, {{lang|la|Bubalus murrensis}}) suggesting that water buffalo may have originated in Italy.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.mozzarelladop.it/ |website=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Consorzio di Tutela |year=2008 |quote=However, others believe that the buffalo originated in Italy, a theory that is based on fossils found in the Roman countryside, as well as from results of recent studies that appear to demonstrate that Italian buffalos have a different phylogeny than Indian buffalos.}} A fourth theory is that water buffalo were brought from Mesopotamia into the Near East by Arabs and then introduced into Europe by pilgrims and returning crusaders.

"In ancient times, the buffalo was a familiar sight in the countryside, since it was widely used as a draught animal in ploughing compact and watery terrains, both because of its strength and the size of its hooves, which do not sink too deeply into moist soils."{{Cite web|url=http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm|title=CAMPANA BUFFALO'S MOZZARELLA CHEESE|website=www.mozzarelladibufala.org|access-date=2006-12-23|archive-date=2008-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017165243/http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm|url-status=dead}}

References to cheese products made from water buffalo milk appeared for the first time at the beginning of the 12th century. Buffalo mozzarella became widespread throughout the south of Italy from the second half of the 18th century, before which it had been produced only in small quantities.{{cite web |url=http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm |title=Campana Buffalo's Mozzarella Cheese |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017165243/http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm |archive-date=2008-10-17 }}

Production in and around Naples was briefly interrupted during World War II, when retreating German troops slaughtered the area's water buffalo herds, and recommenced a few years after the armistice was signed.The Cheese Companion by Judy Ridgway (Running Press, 2004), p. 123.The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cheeses of the World by Steve Ehlers and Jeanette Hurt (Penguin, 2008), p. 96."Mozarella" by Laura Weiss in The Oxford companion to American food and drink, edited by Andrew F. Smith (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 394.Brooklyn: a state of mind by Michael W. Robbins and Wendy Palitz (Workman Publishing, 2000), p. 306.

On March 21, 2008, The New York Times published an article which reported the difficulties encountered by the Campania producers of mozzarella in avoiding the contamination of dairy products with dioxins, especially in the Caserta area,«So it was a blow when health authorities found high levels of dioxins, nasty byproducts of chemical manufacturing, in samples of buffalo milk from farms near Caserta, north of Naples, in recent weeks, and began a sweeping criminal investigation and the quarantine of dozens of herds of buffalo.», in The New York Times, Italy's Mozzarella Makers Fight Dioxin Scare, 21 March 2008 and managing the resulting crisis in local sales. The article, later referenced by blogs and other publications,{{cite news|url=https://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/italys-mozzarella-makers-fight-dioxin-scare/?hp|title=Italy's Mozzarella Makers Fight Dioxin Scare|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Patrick J.|last=Lyons|date=21 March 2008|access-date=13 July 2018}} referred to the Naples waste management issue and referred to other pieces published by the International Herald Tribune and various other national and international newspapers.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/03/21/europe/OUKWD-UK-ITALY-MOZZARELLA.php |title=Articolo di International Herald Tribune |access-date=2018-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201072113/http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/03/21/europe/OUKWD-UK-ITALY-MOZZARELLA.php |archive-date=2008-12-01 }}

A chain reaction followed, in which several countries including Japan, China, Russia, and Germany took various measures ranging from the mere raising of the attention threshold to the suspension of imports.[https://archive.today/20120908134627/http://www.positanonews.it/menu/default.asp?id=12290 Articoli vari] The Italian institutions activated almost immediately, even in response to pressing requests from the European Union, a series of checks and suspended, in some cases, the sale of dairy products from the incriminated provinces. Tests had shown levels of dioxins higher than normal in at least 14% of samples taken in the provinces of Naples, Caserta, and Avellino. In the provinces of Salerno and Benevento, no control indicated dioxins positivity.

In any case, the contamination has affected, in a limited defined manner, the farms used to produce buffalo mozzarella PDO.Vedi il comunicato {{cite web |url=http://www.salute.gov.it/dettaglio/pdPrimoPianoNew.jsp?id=145&sub=1&lang=it |title=Copia archiviata |access-date=23 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084802/http://www.salute.gov.it/dettaglio/pdPrimoPianoNew.jsp?id=145&sub=1&lang=it |archive-date=7 April 2014 |date=28 March 2008|work=Ministero della Salute}} The Italian General Confederation of Labour reported a 40% reduction of workforce in the Terra di Lavoro for 2013.{{Cite web |last=Palermo |first=Antonella |date=2013-12-19 |title=Terra dei fuochi, allarme Cgil: in agricoltura persi 4 posti su 10 |url=http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/napoli/notizie/cronaca/2013/19-dicembre-2013/terra-fuochi-allarme-cgil-agricoltura-persi-4-posti-10-2223819604044.shtml |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=Corriere del Mezzogiorno |language=it}} On 19 April, China definitively removed the ban on mozzarella, originally activated on 28 March 2008, and tests held in December 2013 in Germany on behalf of four Italian consumer associations have highlighted dioxin and heavy metal levels at least five times lower than the legal limit.[http://www.repubblica.it/ambiente/2013/12/13/news/mozzarella_bufala_campana_assolta-73512433/ I test tenuti in Germania assolvono la mozzarella bufala campana dop], Repubblica.it, 13-12-2013

To produce {{convert|1|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} of cheese, a cheese maker requires {{convert|8|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of cow milk but only {{convert|5|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of buffalo milk. Producing 1 kg of butter requires {{convert|14|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of cow milk but only {{convert|10|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} of buffalo milk.

The steps required to produce buffalo mozzarella are:{{cite web |url=http://www.formaggio.it/italiaDOP/mozzarellabufalacampana.htm |title=Mozzarella di Bufala Campana |access-date=2008-10-21 |publisher=Formaggio.it |language=it}}{{cite video |people=Anuttama |date=2007-03-12 |title=How to turn milk into mozzarella cheese |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgB-pmwOhbw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/FgB-pmwOhbw |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|publisher=YouTube |access-date=2008-10-16}}{{cbignore}}

1. Milk storage (raw buffalo milk stored in steel containers).
2. Milk heating (thermic treatment to the liquid, then poured into a cream separator).
3. Curdling (by introduction of natural whey).
4. Curd maturation (the curd lies in tubs to reduce the acidifying processes and reach a pH value of about 4.95).
5. Spinning (hot water is poured on the curd to soften it, obtaining {{lang|it|pasta filata}}).
6. Shaping (with special rotating shaper machines).
7. Cooling (by immersion in cold water).
8. Pickling (by immersion in pickling tubs containing the original whey).
9. Packaging (in special films cut as bags or in small basins and plastic).

File:Filatura Mozzarella Bufala.jpg

The digestive system of water buffaloes permits them to turn low grade vegetation into rich milk which, owing to its higher percentage of solids, provides higher levels of protein, fat, and minerals than cow milk.{{cite journal |first=Susie |last=Caramanica |date=May 2005 |title=Buffalo Mozzarella: An Italian Original |journal=TED Case Studies |volume=776 |publisher=Trade Environment Database |url=http://www.american.edu/ted/mozzarella.htm |access-date=2008-10-20}}

Contents for {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=on}} buffalo milk:

• proteins 3.72–4.2%{{efn|name=fn1}}
• fat 7.5%{{efn|name=fn1}}
• vitamin A 0.15 mg
• vitamin B 0.003 mg
• vitamin B₁ 0.3 mg
• calcium 169 mg{{efn|name=fn1}}
• phosphorus 380 mg
• sodium 0.4 mg
• iron 0.7 mg
• energy content 270 Kcal

{{notelist|notes=

{{efn|name=fn1|Source: National Dairy Council, 1993}}

}}

File:Buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad in savour cafe.jpg

Generally, buffalo mozzarella is eaten with calzone, vegetable, salad (for example, Caprese salad), on pizza (a low moisture content buffalo mozzarella is preferred), on grilled bread, with tomatoes, or by itself accompanied by olive oil.{{cite web |url=http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm |title=Campana Buffalo's Mozzarella Cheese: How To Enjoy |access-date=2008-10-22 |publisher=MozzarelladiBufal.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017165243/http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org/allestimento.htm |archive-date=2008-10-17 }}

{{Portal|Italy|Food}}

• List of Italian PDO cheeses
• List of Italian cheeses
• List of stretch-curd cheeses
• List of water buffalo cheeses

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite journal |title=Amendment Application Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52007XC0425%2802%29 |journal=Official Journal of the European Communities |volume=50 |pages=C 90/5–9 |publisher=European Commission |date=25 March 2007 |access-date=28 July 2014}}

{{cite journal |title=Commission Regulation (EC) No 103/2008 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/door/registeredName.html?denominationId=474 |journal=Official Journal of the European Communities |volume=51 |page=L 31/31 |publisher=European Commission |date=5 February 2008 |access-date=28 July 2014}}

}}

• {{cite book |first=Scott A. |last=Rankin |author2=Carol M. Chen |author3=Dean Sommer |chapter=Mozzarella and Scamorza Cheese |editor=Yiu H. Hui |title=Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2006 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8STobgpiP6oC 150–2] |isbn=0-8493-9849-5 |oclc=60550736}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.mozzarelladop.it/ Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP official website]
• [http://www.formaggio.it/italiaDOP/mozzarellabufalacampana.htm Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (Italian)] – history and detailed technical process definition
• [http://www.mozzarelladibufala.org Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (trade association)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090807041807/http://www.fornobravo.com/brick_oven_cooking/pizza_ingredients/mozzarella/mozzarella1.html History and photos]
• [http://www.webvisionitaly.com/category.php?id=10&ref_genre=&ref_item=205 Video: Water Buffalo of Campania Italy]

{{Italian cheeses}}

Category:Stretched-curd cheeses

Category:Water buffalo's-milk cheeses

Category:Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union

Category:Italian cheeses

Category:Italian products with protected designation of origin

Category:Cuisine of Campania