What's in Our Mozzarella Selection
Mozzarella is one of those cheeses where fresh changes everything, and this is a selection of the fresh, Italian kind, not the rubbery block that grates over a frozen pizza. The everyday hero is fior di latte, cow's-milk mozzarella whose name means "flower of the milk," soft and gently sweet and made for a caprese. Next to it sits mozzarella di bufala, made from richer water-buffalo milk for a tangier, creamier bite, and then burrata, that magic trick of a cheese: a mozzarella pouch hiding a molten center of stracciatella and cream. If the center is the part you love, good news: that stracciatella, plain or laced with truffle, is sold on its own here too, both by Mamma's Cheese. There are also little ovolini for skewers and salads, a truffle burrata for showing off, and a smoked mozzarella with real depth.
Most of the fresh mozzarella here is made by Mamma's Cheese, pulled and shaped in small batches the way it is done in Italy, with the buffalo mozzarella coming from Villa Antica. None of it is meant to sit on a shelf for months; fresh mozzarella is best eaten within days of being made, which is exactly why a specialist who ships quickly matters. igourmet has sourced cheese this way, directly from makers who care, since 1997, and it shows in the texture: springy, milky, and nothing like the vacuum-packed stuff.
Fior di Latte, Buffalo, Burrata: Which to Choose
Start with what you are making. Fior di latte, the cow's-milk classic, is the all-rounder: clean and milky, firm enough to slice for a caprese, and the one that melts into long strands on a pizza without weeping. Mozzarella di bufala is the splurge, made from water-buffalo milk that is higher in fat and protein, so it is creamier and carries a faint tang. Italians tend to eat bufala on its own or barely dressed, with good oil and salt, where its texture and flavor get the spotlight they deserve.
Burrata is the showstopper: cut into the pouch and the stracciatella center, shredded mozzarella soaked in cream, spills out across the plate. Serve it at room temperature with tomatoes, grilled bread, or stone fruit, and let it be the centerpiece. Stracciatella is that same creamy center sold without the pouch, made for piling onto toast, swirling through hot pasta, or spooning over roasted vegetables, and the truffle version turns any of those into something special. The smaller ovolini are ideal two-bite mozzarella for skewers, antipasti, and pasta salads, and the smoked mozzarella brings a mellow, woodsy note that is lovely melted onto a pizza or eaten in slices with salami. The truffle burrata, for the record, needs nothing more than a fork.
How to Serve, Cook, and Store Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella rewards a light hand. For a caprese, slice fior di latte or tear buffalo mozzarella over ripe tomatoes, add basil, good olive oil, and flaky salt, and stop there. It is at its best at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge half an hour before serving, since cold mutes both texture and flavor. When you cook with it, fior di latte is the one to reach for on pizza and in baked pasta, because it melts and browns while holding together. One tip: because fresh mozzarella carries water, let it drain a few minutes on a towel before it goes on a pizza, so the crust stays crisp.
Storing it is simple but specific. Fresh mozzarella keeps in its own liquid in the fridge and is best eaten within a few days of opening, while it still tastes of milk. The firmer styles, like smoked mozzarella, and any cheese you have cut into and want to keep longer, do better wrapped in breathable cheese storage bags than in cling film, which suffocates cheese and traps moisture against the rind. Whatever you do, use fresh mozzarella sooner rather than later; it does not improve with age.
Also Worth Exploring
Mozzarella is the doorway to a much bigger Italian cheese board, so the Italian cheese collection is the natural next stop, from Parmigiano and pecorino to provolone and gorgonzola. To build an antipasto around it, the charcuterie collection has the prosciutto, soppressata, and salami that fresh mozzarella was born to share a plate with. And for a sweeter foil, the jams and spreads collection carries the fig preserves and honey that turn a ball of burrata into dessert.
Mozzarella: Frequently Asked Questions
Fior di latte is traditional Italian mozzarella made from cow's milk. The name means "flower of the milk," a nod to the quality of the milk it starts with, and it describes a soft, fresh cheese with a clean, gently sweet, milky flavor and a smooth, tender interior. In Italy, "fior di latte" is used specifically to distinguish cow's-milk mozzarella from mozzarella di bufala, which is made from water-buffalo milk. It is the everyday, all-purpose mozzarella: firm enough to slice for a caprese, mild enough for kids, and a reliable melter on pizza and in baked pasta.
They are closely related but distinct. Plain fresh mozzarella, or fior di latte, is made from cow's milk and is mild, milky, and firm enough to slice. Buffalo mozzarella, mozzarella di bufala, is made from richer water-buffalo milk, so it is creamier, softer, and a touch tangier, and it is prized in Italy as the more luxurious option. Burrata takes fresh mozzarella one step further: a thin pouch of mozzarella is filled with stracciatella, which is shredded mozzarella soaked in cream, so that cutting it open releases a soft, oozing center. Mozzarella is firm and sliceable; burrata is meant to spill. Stracciatella is that burrata filling sold on its own, the shredded mozzarella and cream without the outer pouch, made for spooning onto toast or pasta; here it comes plain or with truffle.
Yes, though it is a different product. "Hard" or low-moisture mozzarella is the drier, firmer, shreddable cheese sold in blocks and bags for pizza and baking; it has had much of its water removed, so it keeps longer and melts into a stretchy, browned layer. Fresh mozzarella, the kind in this collection, is high in moisture, soft, and stored in liquid, made to be eaten within days. Our selection is the fresh Italian style rather than the low-moisture block. If you want fresh mozzarella for pizza, fior di latte is the one to use; just let it drain on a towel first so it does not water down the crust.
Fresh mozzarella is at its best within a few days of opening, kept in its own liquid in the refrigerator. It does not improve with age the way a hard cheese does, so it is worth buying close to when you plan to use it. You can freeze fresh mozzarella, but it changes the texture: thawed mozzarella turns softer and a little crumbly, which is fine for cooking, pizza, and baked dishes, but not for a caprese where texture is the point. For the firmer smoked mozzarella, or any cheese you have already cut, breathable cheese storage bags will keep it fresher than plastic wrap.