Too much of a good thing…

Hello Fellow Non-Travelers!

Photo courtesy of WBAY TV.

As I am entering my fourth week of “Shelter in Place”, I am reading around the country as both dairies and cheesemakers alike are struggling. Unlike a manufacturing plant or a small business, dairies do not have the ability of just “stopping” the milk from flowing. Dairy cows can produce up to 20 quarts of milk per day and they need to be milked. Many of these dairies are in contracts with cheesemakers, so again, it is hard to stop this locomotive, especially when you understand that this situation could turn around quickly and that the demand could then outweigh the supply. Not an easy (nor quick) fix. 

So both dairies and cheesemakers need your support!

On April 7th, I listened to a passionate plea from Rynn Cuputo, of Caputo Brothers Creamery, as she read through a timeline of how their business has been affected due to the virus. You can listen to her here. Simply heartbreaking.

Within these blog pages, I have shared some recipes from time to time. So, wondering what is for dinner on Saturday, April 25th?...Hopefully you will join me and many others across the country as we enjoy a cheeseboard for dinner, some nice accompaniments, and maybe even some wine!

I hope that you can join us on-line!

#supportourcheesemakers

Even though grocery shopping has been much more challenging in the last few weeks, I still always take the time to stop by the cheese counter to see what’s new. I am lucky to be living in between three very good retailers and each one has a very different style cheese case, and each has a very diverse offering. At my last visit to the smaller of these counters, I spotted something new in my area, and it gave me the idea to take this time and share the story of a cheese type that I am not sure too many know about….I speak of Burrata.

At this point, many of my Cheese Traveler followers would claim that they already know this cheese… Let’s discuss this amazing cheese and hopefully I can surprise some of you.

Burrata (Italian:“buttered”) is a cheese in the Pasta Filata (Italian:“spun paste”) category of cheeses. Pasta Filata curds are heated and stretched to give them their famous fibrous and stringy structure.

One of the most famous Pasta Filata cheeses is Mozzarella. Mozzarella cheese can trace its origins to Napoli, Campania region which lies on the Southwest coast of Italy back into the 1500’s (I will save the rest of that story for another time).

Burrata is relatively a “newer” cheese that started in the late 1920’s. It was originally produced the Southeastcoast on Italy in Andria, Apulia region (Italian: “Puglia region”). 

“According to oral tradition, Burrata di Andria was invented by Mr. Lorenzo Bianchino on an old estate in the first decades of the 20th century. It is said that due to heavy snowfall preventing him from delivering the milk to town, which meant that he had to process it in some way and most importantly use the cream that naturally formed on the surface. Mr. Bianchino tried using the same procedure that is used to make mantèche (casings made of aged pasta filata used to store butter) to make a fresh product. 

Mr. Bianchino followed the natural instinct of all peasant culture — to avoid waste and putting any surplus products to good use. He mixed the bits left over from pasta filata production and added cream (known as Stracciatella) and wrapped this concoction in a pouch made of pasta filata.”

Because of this long standing history, Burrata di Andria was registered as a PGI (Protected Geographic Indication – or IGP in Italian) on 21 Nov 2016.

Today there are many producers, both large and small all over the United States producing Burrata. You will find it being made from pasteurized cow’s milk.

There are even producers creating “Burrata Affumicata” (Smoked Burrata).

When serving Burrata, I like to keep it simple…I split the top, give it a drizzle of some good quality extra virgin olive oil, some fresh ground black pepper, and a pinch of salt. This is great with crackers, or even “buttered” on a crusty piece of French bread.

This is not an easy cheese to produce; it takes quality products and skill to make these, especially when the producer is making them by hand.

So, with that, my hungry reader, I hope that you have a little greater appreciation for this jewel of a cheese….and more importantly the hard working cheesemakers behind them. I hope that you will consider trying one of these.

Hope to see your cheeseboard on April 25th!

Until next week,

Trevor