Created in the 1920s in Apulia, burrata was born from the need to avoid food waste
The first time you see burrata on a plate, you might be perplexed. It is a cheese with a double structure, in the shape of a bundle, the size of a fist.
With a knife and fork, you poke at the bag, knowing something is hiding beneath the initial layer of cheese. With a firm blow, you cut it in half, and the filling made from strips of mozzarella and cream spreads across the plate.
You roll the strips of mozzarella with a fork like spaghetti, and with the cream running, take the first bite. Ready. An explosion of flavors.
Today you can find burrata all over the world, especially in food stores and high-end restaurants. But make no mistake: the real burrata comes from Apulia.
Italian immigrants took the recipe to several countries, and today burrata is produced in the United States, Argentina and, of course, Brazil.
The cheese is used to top pizza, to be served as an accompaniment to spaghetti pomodoro, or in green salads (arugula, the combination is incredible).
You can use burrata for everything, but you don't need anything. You just need to open and eat.
Burrata has become a global cheese, but its history originates from Murgia, part of the region of Apulia, on the tail of Apennines, the mountain range that runs through Italy like a spine.
Created under the shadow of Castel del Monte
Burrata was born in 1920 out of the need to avoid food waste, and has become a delightful example of human ingenuity.
Majestic oaks, wild olive trees and almond trees cover the hills that are now part of the National Park of Alta Murgi.
In the center of the park, overlooking the Apulian plains and the Adriatic Sea, is the Castel del Monte , a majestic castle built in the 13th century by Federico II di Svevia, emperor of Holy Roman Empire.
In the valleys surrounding the castle, hidden beneath the shadows of oak trees to shelter from the summer heat, grazing cows provide the milk that contributed to the birth of burrata.
According to a study carried out at the beginning of the 20th century by Michele Sinisi, professor of Agrarian Institute of Andria, when burrata was created, there were only a few hundred cows in the area. However, its milk, delicate and less fatty than sheep's milk, had the right chemistry to create the beloved cheese.
How to make burrata
The cheesemaker made the mozzarella, stretched it and some parts were left over. These pieces of cheese were shredded with your fingers, mixed into the cream and used as a filling for the burrata. The cream came from the dense layer of milk formed at the top of the morning milking.
At that time, the bag was made by blowing a piece of freshly produced, hot, malleable mozzarella into an inflatable balloon. The technique was abandoned a long time ago and today air compressors have taken over the role in favor of food safety.
As there was no refrigeration to keep the cheese fresh when it went to market, the invention overcame some chemical and logistical challenges: the cream acted as a preservative, preventing the mozzarella strips from becoming acidic; and a natural leaf wrapper protected the burrata from the heat of the scorching sun.
Nowadays, cheesemakers make burrata in modern machines and wrap it in plastic, which, due to European Union hygiene standards, replaces asphodel leaves. Instead of being transported by horse, cheese travels to all corners of the world by plane.
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