mozzarella sticks
{{Short description|Fried breaded or battered mozzarella}}
{{Redirect|Cheese sticks|the individually packaged lunch or snack item|string cheese|the Filipino appetizer|lumpiang keso}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Mozzarella sticks
| image = File:Fried_Mozzarella_Sticks_at_Millers_Pub_(301456962).jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce
| alternate_name = Hot Cheese Sticks
| country =
| region =
| creator =
| course = Hors d'oeuvre
| type =
| served = Hot
| main_ingredient = Mozzarella, batter or breading
| variations =
| calories =
| other =
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}}
Mozzarella sticks are elongated pieces of battered or breaded mozzarella, usually served as hors d'oeuvre.
Origins
{{further|Fried cheese}}
The history of frying cheese in a batter dates back to at least 1393 in medieval France, when a recipe for fried cheese sticks appeared in Le Ménagier de Paris.{{cite web|last1=Friedman|first1=David|title=Le Menagier de Paris (Translated by Janet Hinson)|url=http://daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier.html#OTHER%20SIDE-DISHES|access-date=13 November 2015|quote=PIPEFARCES. Take egg yolks and flour and salt, and a little wine, and beat together strongly, and cheese chopped in thin slices, and then roll the slices of cheese in the batter, and then fry in an iron skillet with oil in it. This can also be made using beef marrow.}} However, food historians believe that medieval French fried cheeses had little in common with the preparation and development of modern mozzarella sticks.{{Cite web|title=The Mozzarella Stick's Origins Are Actually Fiercely Debated|url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/who-invented-mozzarella-sticks-recipe|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Thrillist|date=February 2017 |language=en}}
Mozzarella sticks most likely have their origins in the United States during the 1970s, through a combination of two factors, as per historian Joel Jensen: "the increasing availability of mass-produced mozzarella cheese beginning in the 1960s", and the development of new efficient frying technologies to be used in fast-paced food-serving businesses (such as bowling alleys and sports bars).{{cite web|last1=Claeson|first1=Hanna|title=The Surprising Origin Of Mozzarella Sticks|url=https://www.mashed.com/232384/the-surprising-origin-of-mozzarella-sticks/|access-date=26 March 2021|website=Mashed|date=August 2020 }}
Preparation
Mozzarella sticks are prepared by coating cheese strings in breadcrumbs or batter. They may be baked or fried in oil. Mozzarella sticks are often served with tomato sauce or marinara sauce. However, they may be served with other dipping sauces such as plum sauce, jalapeño jelly, ketchup, barbecue sauce, honey mustard sauce, and ranch dressing. Restaurants often serve fried mozzarella sticks with a marinara sauce.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
Variations
Popular fried cheeses other than mozzarella include provolone, Edam, cheddar, and American. Mozzarella sticks with raspberry sauce are part of the regional cuisine of New York's Capital District.{{cite web|title=New York State food regions map|url=http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/02/06/new-york-state-food-regions-map|work=All Over Albany|access-date=17 July 2013|date=6 February 2012}}
In many public schools throughout the United States, Bosco pizza sticks filled with mozzarella have become a popular staple.{{cite web | url=https://www.eater.com/2015/7/16/8928807/bosco-sticks-school-cafeteria-midwest | title=How Bosco Sticks Became the Secret Weapon of Midwestern Cafeterias | date=16 July 2015 }}
It is a menu item Thailand McDonalds.