text: Mozzarella di
  Bufala and Stracciatella di Bufala | The Oldways Table
  tags: Campania, cheese, Italy, Mozzarella di Bufala, Puglia, Stracciatella di bufala
  Italy produces a vast abundance of unique, deliziosa foods, which is why food aficionados regularly swarm to local restaurantsserving Italian cucina and rarely turn down an overseas trip to Italy's home-country pantheons.
  Among these gastro-stars are Mozzarella di
  Bufala and Stracciatella di Bufala, cheeses made from the very rich milk of water buffaloes. These huge buffaloes (twice the size of your average American cow) are native to India, and were wallowing around in water holes in southern Italy by the time of the Roman Empire. No one is sure exactly sure how they got to the Mediterranean (or even when), but everyone is glad they did.
  Water buffaloes are farmed today in Italy's southwest, in Lazio and Campania, where the lush Mozzarella di
  Bufala is traditionally made from their milk. They are also farmed in Puglia in Italy's southeast, where the equally-lush Burrata and Stracciatella di Bufala are made.
  Milk from water buffaloes has a different protein structure than that from cow's milk, which gives the cheeses made from it a signature chewy-ness, while its high butterfat gives it unusual sweetness.
  The Burrata of Puglia is a hollow ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, a bit larger than a tennis ball, filled with stracciatella (stracciare in Italian means "to shred".) Mozzarella cheese is shredded and frayed into thin threads, making stracciatella. This is then mixed with fresh cream, and stuffed inside a mozzarella, making a burrata.
  The other day we learned that Gran Gusto (a favorite Cambridge, Mass. neighborhood restaurant) had managed to get their hands on some stracciatella and burrata, so we rushed over for dinner. We had a wonderful fish entrée, and one of our favorite wines, Donafugata from Sicily. But the real highlight was the stracciatella, served with speck (for Dun) and with arugula (for Sara).
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  Hello, thank you for the beautiful photo……..when purchasing fresh mozarella how do
  I know if I am getting the cow or the buffalo……….my digestive system does not do well
  with cow but I have had buffalo mozarella and I know I can tolerate that (thank God!).
  So do I specifically ask for Buffalo mozarlla or buffalo stracciatella?
  Stracciatella is very hard to get in most stores, so I would make sure to ask for buffalo mozarella. That way, you know that you're getting it from the buffalo. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!
  Thank you………much appreciated.
  ? Does anyone know how to make pickeled eggplant??? My mom used to jar eggplant when
  we were kids and I have a beautiful memory of the taste and a very vague memory of the
  actual process…….I know she peeled the eggplant, sliced it in thin circles then put it in a
  colander, salted the eggplant and put a plate on top with a heavy weight (brick) and left it until the water drained. Then she sliced the circles into thin strips and quickly boiled them
  in a mixture of boiling water and white vinegar (I think)…….. par boiled for just a few minutes……..took them out, squeezed them and……….the next step was jaring them but I am not exactly what she did to the jars before filling them and I think she put olive oil into the jars with seasoning……garlic and hot pepper. Anyone out there have the details of how to do this???? Thanks Joann
  Pickled eggplant is delicious. Sounds like you have a great start on making it from what you remember. You can cut it into circles, or spears, or cubes. Sort of depends on how big the eggplant is. It's really important to peel, salt and drain it so it won't be bitter. It helps to press down on it gently with a spoon after it drains to get as much juice out as possible. Use about 3/4 cup olive oil to 1/4 cup vinegar when packing it in jars, and then top it off with olive oil before sealing. You can add all sorts of things: red and green peppers, herbs such as fresh dill or parsley, sliced garlic. Let the pickles sit for 3 or 4 weeks before eating them.
  If you're new to canning, go to http://www.freshpreserving.com for some good basic info on sealing the jars, etc.
  Thank you so much for the recipe of "pickeled" eggplant……..yummmmmm!
  Let me just make sure I have this correctly………..no need to par boil( the peeled,sliced
  eggplant) in vinegar and water??? My sister (younger) seems to think that this is a necessary
  step……..however, I am going to try your recipe. Thanks again.
  Actually, I believe Stracciatella mean something like old rags, or strings, and refers to the appearance of the shredded Mozz and the stringiness of the egg which is sort of whipped into the broth in the Stracciatella soup.