The most delicate Italian dishes would not be so tasty if it were not for mozzarella. This magnificent one milk product complements perfectly classic cuisine. However, its charm is not only in its unique taste qualities, but in a rich composition and dietary qualities. Soft cheese is a welcome guest on any table. If store-bought options do not suit you, the product is easy to prepare yourself. This will make the treat even healthier.
What is mozzarella cheese
A gourmet favorite, mozzarella is an Italian soft, unsalted dairy product that is best consumed young. The flowering of taste occurs in the first 12 hours. It was originally made from buffalo milk. This is a classic that has now become exclusive. Over time, cow's milk began to be used. The product turns out no less tasty, but true experts advise trying it at least once real cheese By old recipes.
The soft structure allows you to give mozzarella different shapes. The main types of product are:
- bocconcini - cheese in the form of large balls;
- Ciliegini - mozzarella in the form of small round balls, the size of a small cherry plum;
- perlini - small balls of cheese resembling peas;
- traccia - mozzarella woven into delicious braid. There is a smoked version.
Composition, calorie content and beneficial properties of the product
You can enjoy delicious soft cheese balls even if you follow dietary ration. The nutritional value cheese is 240 kcal with a complete absence of carbohydrates. The specific gravity of fat does not exceed 20-25%. The protein part occupies 18-20%. With this composition, mozzarella gracefully complements daily menu as desserts, appetizers, and components of main courses.
Cheese is different beneficial properties:
- improves heart function thanks to potassium;
- strengthens bones and nail plates thanks to calcium;
- maintains water balance with sodium content;
- preserves vision and improves skin thanks to vitamin A;
- promotes the regeneration of bones and muscles with the help of phosphorus;
- normalizes cholesterol levels, because contains choline.
How to make mozzarella cheese at home
Since mozzarella is recommended to be consumed young, it is useful to master the skill of preparing it yourself. This can be done at home without any special equipment; the process will not cause difficulties even for novice kitchen queens. But the dishes will be decorated with the elegant taste of soft cheese, fresh and as healthy as possible. The less mozzarella was in the refrigerator, the more nutrients she is saturated.
Recipe
To make mozzarella cheese you will need:
- 1.5 liters of medium fat milk. If you can get buffalo, take it without hesitation.
- 250 ml distilled water. You should absolutely not take it directly from the tap.
- 2 packs rennet enzyme. Pepsin, acidin-pepsin will do. Used for curdling milk. Without such an enzyme, cheese production is impossible.
- 1/3 tsp. citric acid.
- 1 tsp. kitchen salt.
Step-by-step recipe for making mozzarella cheese at home:
- Pour the milk into the pan, let it heat to 25-28 degrees.
- Dissolve in half a cup of water citric acid and slowly whisk the liquid into the milk. Don't forget to constantly stir the mixture. Bring it to 30-35 degrees.
- Dissolve in half a cup of water rennet extract, pour into the pan with the cooking cheese. Bring the mixture to 40 degrees, cover with a lid and remove from the stove.
- Leave the pan with the milk mixture for 15-20 minutes to allow the enzyme to allow the milk to curdle.
- After the required time has passed, the product will separate. You will get a dense cheese mass and transparent whey with a yellowish tint. Stir the future mozzarella until it breaks into small pieces.
- Scoop the resulting mass with a spoon and place on a fine sieve. Press down well so that all the whey comes out.
- Be careful not to let the cheese ooze out. The result is a dense cheese mass that does not fall apart.
- Transfer the cheese to a heatproof bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Make sure that the future mozzarella does not boil. After half a minute, turn it over.
- After microwave oven get viscous cheese, as in the photo. Remember the product well, like plasticine. Remove any escaping whey.
- Salt the mozzarella and mash well again. Add basil if desired. Additional heating and stretching is allowed. This will give the cheese its signature structure. If you want something more tender and soft product, eliminate the stage of repeated heating.
- Shape cooked mozzarella into desired shape. Store cheese in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
What can you cook with mozzarella?
Tender cheese balls fits easily into any dish. They are used for salads, appetizers, pizza, pasta, baked warm dishes. The beauty of mozzarella is its dense consistency - it melts, but does not spread. They make excellent hot dishes with stretchy cheese. Such sandwiches are very popular with children who need a playful element to absorb food.
We offer several light and delicious recipes:
- Caprese salad is a classic of the genre. It looks elegant, is easy to prepare, and is absorbed instantly. Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella into thick slices and place them alternately. Sprinkle basil on top and pour over olive oil.
- Salad with mozzarella and shrimp. Place on a plate halved tomatoes, cubes of cheese, chopped green onions. Season with basil, salt, and olive oil as desired. Place boiled shrimp on top.
- Pizza Margherita - prepared without meat. Place on the dough garlic tomato sauce, a few basil leaves, sprinkle with oregano. After 5-7 minutes of baking, sprinkle finely chopped cheese on top. Return to the oven for a couple more minutes to melt the mozzarella.
- Grilled cheese breaded - delicious hot snack. Cut the mozzarella into 1.5 cm thick pieces. Dip in the egg and roll in breading. Fry on hot frying pan on both sides for a few minutes so that the cheese has time to melt.
What cheese can replace mozzarella?
Soft Italian mozzarella is not always easy to come by. However, in some recipes it is replaced with other cheeses, which will reveal the taste of the dish and give it new notes. If you don't find the packaging you need on the shelf, look nearby. Adyghe cheese or Suluguni. Some housewives recommend using feta cheese or homemade cheese“Health”, but they have a more curd-like structure, so they are not always suitable. If you need to bake it, take unsmoked suluguni. It melts and stretches beautifully. Classical hard cheese will also do.
Video: how to make mozzarella cheese at home?
Making mozzarella in the kitchen is easy. The main thing is to get the rennet and take the milk that curdles. The first time it is better to do it according to clear instructions so as not to miss the most important thing. Follow all the directions and tips, then the mozzarella will be no worse than store-bought. Strictly adhere to all technological nuances. This is especially true for temperature; the future structure and flavor notes of the cheese depend on it.
The video instruction below about making mozzarella at home has text tips. It's easier to understand this way. We recommend using fewer products the first time to master all the intricacies. Prepare all utensils in advance and necessary ingredients. Don't forget about a kitchen thermometer, since production is based on precise technology. Watch the video before you start cooking. This way you will have an idea of the sequence of actions. You can make small notes for yourself so that you don’t have to rewind the video.
Any product has a specific culture of consumption. We want to talk about Mozzarella cheese. Evgeny Kusraev, head of the sales department of the Foodland Company, which is one of the largest distributors in Russia, shared with us some of the subtleties of using this cheese. various types cheeses and butter.
There are several types of mozzarella. In Russia now in almost any large supermarket you can see at least two varieties of this cheese: fresh Mozzarella in balls, which is sold in brine, and mature. The latter is often called “pizza cheese” by professionals, literally “pizza cheese”. It turns out, We say “pizza”, we mean “Mozzarella”. To others popular dish The place where this particular cheese is used is lasagna. Fresh Mozzarella is used mainly for salads. For example, Capresa salad: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, salt and ground black pepper. Fast and tasty. Many housewives use any cheese they can get their hands on to make pizza or hot sandwiches. Most often, what is in the refrigerator. But it is Mozzarella (ripe) that is ideal for making pizza, hot sandwiches, and lasagna. With what?
Firstly, Mozzarella melts perfectly, does not release fat, does not “dry out” and retains its characteristic viscousness even after the dish has cooled. Remember the delicious advertising pictures where the cheese on the pizza stretches beautifully - they use Mozzarella. What happens when you use regular cheeses- everyone knows very well: the dish is covered with a crust, which, moreover, can burn when reheated.
Secondly, Mozzarella is very delicate milky taste, without any harsh notes. That is, it does not overwhelm the taste of the main ingredients that were used to prepare the dish itself. For example, pepperoni will retain its flavor on any pizza if we omit the use of Gouda or Russian cheese in favor of Mozzarella. This way, the taste of the ingredients will only be emphasized.
This cheese itself is specific. He is young, i.e. ripens in just a few days, unlike most cheeses, which ripen from a month to a month and a half, or, say, Parmesan, which can ripen up to six months or more. Mozzarella has a characteristic fibrous structure. At room temperature Mozzarella becomes soft very quickly. Therefore, before preparing the dish, it is better to cool it slightly, then grating the cheese will be much easier. Another feature of Mozzarella is that, unlike most cheeses, it is not afraid low temperatures. If frozen Mozzarella is placed in the main compartment of the refrigerator, then after defrosting it will not lose its properties at all.
Mozzarella) is a soft young cheese from southern Italy. In local cuisine, mozzarella is most often used in pizza, fresh salads, appetizers (caprese), casseroles, lasagne and pasta.
Many dishes are unthinkable without this cheese. Italian cuisine and first of all pizza. It is mozzarella that has an ideal neutral taste and a specific structure, due to which the cheese stretches slightly when you take a ready-made portion. hot pizza. Closed thanks to mozzarella italian pie calzone so tasty and signature Italian appetizer caprese It just wouldn't have been born. But the main thank you should be given to the black buffaloes, whose milk the hardworking Italians used as the basis for this wonderful, tasty cheese.
History of mozzarella
The first written mention of mozzarella can be seen in cookbook Bartolomeo Scappi, the famous Italian chef of the Renaissance. In his book Opera, published in 1570 and including more than 1000 recipes, there is a line: “cream, fresh oil, ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella and milk.” We must assume that Bartolomeo wrote about mozzarella as regular product of their own days, which means that cheese was invented much earlier.
Mozzarella) is a modified combination of words from the Neapolitan dialect. Mozza means to cut, and mozzare- cut off, which hints at technological process production of this cheese.
How to make mozzarella
The milk is fermented with a special cheese culture, and sometimes a rennet element is added. Then ready mass, similar to curdled milk, is heated and stirred until the whey separates, which is drained. The resulting elastic mass is kneaded by hand until it becomes a stiff dough and pieces of the desired size are cut off, placing them in a cold saline solution. By the way, whey, which remains in abundance after the production of mozzarella, is used to prepare other famous cheese Italy - ricotta.
Types and forms of mozzarella
Mozzarella is usually found in the form of irregular balls. Bocconcini are large balls the size of an egg, chilengi are balls the size of a large cherry, perlini are very small. Mozzarella is sometimes sold in the form of a braid (treccia) or large balls 7-10 cm in diameter. Traditionally, mozzarella is sold in a liquid in which balls of cheese float freely. The exception is mozzarella in a braid and hard mozzarella big ball.
It is believed that mozzarella in a large ball without brine is intended for baking, in fact, any mozzarella can be baked, but in brine the cheese is more tender and tastier, and large and dry cheese is simply lower class, which automatically narrows its use.
What to cook with mozzarella
First of all, we recommend preparing cold appetizers and salads with mozzarella. It requires no heat and cooks very quickly. The easiest way to prepare a salad is from fresh vegetables and herbs, adding a little mozzarella, olives and seasoning with olive oil lemon juice and salt. This classic of Mediterranean cuisine has not become outdated over the centuries and is very appropriate during the hot season. Be sure to try the caprese appetizer salad: this snack made from tomato slices, mozzarella pieces and basil leaves, seasoned with olive oil, black pepper and sea salt. Prepares in a minute and can be served for breakfast or with a glass of wine. Don't forget to add slices of fresh wheat bread to your caprese!
Mozzarella is one of the main cheeses used in traditional pizza. Naples as homeland and capital Italian pizza, this and main city region of Campania, where they began to produce mozzarella. It is not clear what was the root cause - either the pizzaoli always wanted cheese for pizza with such wonderful properties, or mozzarella made an ordinary flatbread with pizza filling in the usual sense, but the fact that mozzarella is ideal for pizza is an undeniable fact.
Try different styles of pizza: layer the cheese on top of the sauce but under the toppings to tie all the ingredients together, or layer mozzarella on top of the toppings to dress up the pizza. Don't forget that mozzarella is unleavened cheese, and if you didn't put salty ingredients, then you should add a little salt to the pizza before baking.
Classic Italian made with mozzarella closed pie calzone. This pie is somewhat reminiscent of a cheburek, but actually, it’s the same pizza, only folded in half. There are many types and styles of calzones, but mozzarella is the most commonly used cheese in calzones.
Lasagna is sometimes prepared with mozzarella. Lasagna is flat sheets of pasta, “pasta paper,” layered with filling (cheese, minced meat, vegetables, mushrooms), covered in sauce and baked in the oven or oven. Mozzarella plays the role of a connecting link here, connecting the tastes of all components. Extremely satisfying and tasty dish, which is easy to prepare, has a “signature” look and is included in the menu of many restaurants around the world.
With mozzarella you can prepare casseroles, various vegetable, meat, mushroom dishes“under cheese”, add to dishes “in pots”, to baked or fried vegetables. Here you need to follow one simple rule: if the cheese is part of the filling or is inside the dish, then you can add it along with the rest of the ingredients, and if the cheese is placed on top, then this should be done 5-10 minutes before it is ready. The fact is that mozzarella melts very quickly, and prolonged heat dries out the cheese and worsens its taste.
Recipes with mozzarella
Caprese
This is a light snack originally from the island of Capri. The combination of colors in this dish matches the colors of the Italian flag, and caprese is considered national Italian dish. Ideally, mozzarella should be made from buffalo milk, tomatoes of the " bull's heart", and olive oil should not be bitter. Capri is a kind of Mediterranean Eden for the Russian intelligentsia. IN different time Leonid Andreev, Ivan Bunin, Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Lenin, Anatoly Lunacharsky, Konstantin Paustovsky, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Ivan Turgenev and Pyotr Tchaikovsky lived on Capri. So the cuisine of Capri is dear to us, at least through the spirit of the works of Russian classics.
Ingredients:
Tomatoes,
Basil,
Olive oil,
Black pepper, salt.
Preparation:
Arrange tomato slices in a circle, top with a piece of mozzarella and cover each slice with a basil leaf. Drizzle with olive oil, pepper and salt. Caprese is perfect snack to light dry wine.
This one is very tasty and simple Neapolitan pizza, according to legend, was prepared for the first time in honor of the wife of the King of Italy, Margaret of Savoy in 1889. The colors of the pizza symbolize the colors of the Italian flag. Margherita was very impressed by the look of the pizza, and since then, pizza has gone from poor man's food to national pride Italy.
Ingredients:
Pizza dough,
Tomato sauce,
Tomatoes,
Basil leaves,
Black pepper,
Salt.
Preparation:
Roll out thin pancake from yeast dough. Lubricate tomato sauce, place the tomato slices and scatter the mozzarella on top. Pepper and salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 230 degrees or 7-12 minutes at 270 degrees. Ready pizza garnish with green basil leaves.
Lasagna is thin sheets of pasta folded with a filling like a cake. The filling for lasagna can be anything, but the presence of cheese, sauce and sheets of pasta remains unchanged. You can supplement the vegetables minced meat or finely chopped pieces of chicken, change the composition of vegetables or replace the sauce with tomato.
Ingredients:
Ready-made lasagna sheets,
For the bechamel sauce:
50 g butter,
50 g flour,
500 ml milk.
For filling:
1-2 zucchini,
1 onion,
200 g minced meat,
200 g mozzarella,
150 g grated parmesan.
Preparation:
Preparing bechamel:
Let the milk warm up, but do not bring it to a boil!
Melt butter, add flour, stirring constantly.
Add milk to the butter and flour mixture in small portions, stirring constantly until smooth.
At this stage, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Preparing the filling:
Fry the diced onion.
Add minced meat and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the diced zucchini and fry everything for 5-7 minutes.
Assembling lasagna:
Grease the mold with butter.
Place a small layer of filling, a little bechamel sauce and cover with a sheet of pasta.
Again a layer of filling, pieces of mozzarella and grated parmesan, a little sauce. Cover with a sheet of pasta.
Another layer of filling, sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. And again a sheet of pasta.
Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Pour the remaining sauce around the edges.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 180 degrees.
Lasagna goes well with wine and is a hearty and delicious dish.
Mozzarella goes well with many foods. universal cheese, well suited for cold appetizers, salads, pizza and casseroles.
In recent years, our country has been gripped by real mozzarella mania. Fresh juicy balls put in salads with arugula, served with cherry tomatoes and olives, semi-hard mozzarella is used in lasagna and pizza, and smoked mozzarella is used to make amazingly tasty sandwiches.
However, some are still confused about the varieties fancy cheese and, unlike Italians, they don’t know how to choose in a store quality product: instead of tender, juicy mozzarella, they buy a bland product that tastes like cotton wool. Valentino Bontempi, chef and author of the book “Italian Cuisine,” talks about how to understand the intricacies of cheese.
Mozzarella di Bufala
Mozzarella is fresh soft cheeses rapid ripening. Its production is somewhat similar to the production of feta, feta cheese and other pickled varieties, but it is a completely different product. For proper mozzarella, only the freshest buffalo milk is used, which is transferred to the cheese factory no later than 12 hours after milking. It is thicker and fattier than cow's cheese, so it produces cheese with a bright, rich and slightly salty taste. First, rennet is added to the milk, then the starter is heated to +90 ° C and kneaded until the mixture turns into an elastic mass. After that, pieces are cut from it and the cheese is molded by hand. various shapes– balls and braids (by the way, Italians also use the remaining whey to make ricotta from it). If you want to buy this mozzarella, look for the inscription “Mozzarella di Bufala” (buffalo milk mozzarella) on the packaging. The place of production of this cheese can only be Italy, and the product must have the highest DOP category mark. It is assigned to mozzarella, which is made according to traditional technology in certain regions of the Apennines. Alas, try fresh the right product It will only work in his homeland. After all, the shelf life of such mozzarella is only one day (that’s what it’s called - one-day). To save longer and export soft cheese, it, together with the whey, is put into bags, sachets and boxes and taken to different countries. Sealed mozzarella can be stored for about a month.
"Milk Flower"
On our shelves they mainly sell cheese made from cow's milk, which the Italians call fior di latte (translated as “milk flower”). Unlike buffalo, it is fresher, but still very tasty and tender. In addition, it is cheaper and can be found in almost all supermarkets. The labels of such a product simply say “mozzarella”; it is sold in brine and can be different shapes. Large balls are called “bocconcini”, small ones, the size of cherries, are called “cigliegini”, and tiny ones, like candy, are called “perlini”. You can also find mozzarella braided - this is traccia. In addition, you have the right to choose more or less fatty cheese - information about this is on the label, and it must be translated into Russian.
Domestic mozzarella loses
Good fresh mozzarella should be snow-white, soft, elastic, slightly flaky on the inside and smooth on the outside, with a slightly noticeable lump where the head has been torn off from the total mass. When you cut into the ball, a little white liquid should come out. Alas, not all mozzarella sold on our shelves turns out to be of such high quality. It is not uncommon to find cheese that is bitter, hard, overly dense or dry. Practice shows that real mozzarella is made only in its homeland, Italy. Numerous domestic manufacturers, as well as cheese manufacturers from neighboring countries, offer cheaper but lower quality products. “This is not mozzarella,” they say italian chefs who tried local product. – The taste and texture of the cheese is very different from Italian cheese. Most likely, the reason lies in a different starter and the low quality of cow’s milk.” However, you have the right to arrange a tasting yourself, compare domestic and European products and choose the one you like.
Store in brine
Whatever mozzarella you choose, check to see if it has expired. This cheese doesn't last long, so stores don't always have time to sell it on time. If the mozzarella turns out to be stale, it will be yellowish, acquire the smell of sour milk and begin to taste bitter. Another sign of good preservation of this product– the integrity of its packaging and the presence of brine in the bag or box. If it leaks, the mozzarella will dry out and spoil very quickly. By the way, after opening the bag, do not pour out the whey, but pour it along with the uneaten balls into a jar and try to use them in the next couple of days. It is better to keep the product in the warmest section of the refrigerator. But mozzarella does not tolerate the freezer at all - after defrosting you will end up with an indistinct curd, not juicy cheese balls.
Pizza cheese
If you buy cheese for a salad or snack, choose the product in brine. If you need mozzarella for pizza or lasagna, look for pizza cheese (this is how it is indicated on the label and is drawn for greater authenticity delicious lasagna or a pizza triangle). Externally the product is very similar to semi-hard cheese, and it is realized in the form of rectangular blocks in vacuum packaging no serum. It has less moisture and a lower fat percentage than salad mozzarella, which increases shelf life and improves melting characteristics.
Advice from experts
Unfortunately, there are a lot of fakes among this product (low-quality semi-hard cheese is passed off as mozzarella), so experts advise giving preference to products made in Italy. The same goes for another variety of mozzarella - smoked (Mozzarella affumicata), which is good for salads, pizzas, lasagnas and sandwiches.
Mozzarella cheese has already become a “native” dish in Russia. This is one of the most famous dairy products, which is loved in all regions of our country. Even despite the rise in price of Mozzarella in recent years, the popularity of the product has not decreased.
What is it - Mozzarella?
The cheese is pleasant soft taste, looks very aesthetically pleasing. The product has many useful properties. The shape of the cheese may vary. For example, there are prepackaged pea-sized mini balls that are sold in brine. A ball of such cheese must have an outer surface thickness of at least 1 mm. The product has a layered structure; if the ball is cut, the whey comes out. Hard smoked Mozzarella is also quite often found on store shelves.
In Italy the product is used everywhere in the most different dishes. For example, everyone’s favorite calzone cannot be made without Mozzarella. Caprese salad - famous dish in Russia. In it, Mozzarella harmonizes perfectly with tomatoes and herbs. It is noteworthy that the color of the salad is very similar to the colors of the national flag of Italy.
Description
The product is unsalted. The technology for its preparation has existed for hundreds of years. Classic version Mozzarella is made from black buffalo milk with the addition of a special starter made from the gastric juice of a young (no more than 6 months) calf. The contents are then heated, thereby generating a coagulation process. The resulting composition is left for 9 hours. After this, the composition is heated again and mixed until a thick, dense mass is obtained. Balls or “braids” are formed from it. They are immediately placed in ice water, to which salt is added. After this, the product is packaged and sent to trading floors.
Real Mozzarella can only be found on the Apennine Peninsula. In other parts of the world, the product is made from goat's or cow's milk with special additives. During production, the cheese acquires the thickness of cottage cheese. It is then melted, which makes it very soft. In some cases, it is used to produce a product skimmed milk. Typically this cheese is used to make pizza.
Compound
Cheese contains great amount riboflavin (B2). This is a powerful antioxidant that stimulates the functioning of the brain and spinal cord, which is a preventative against dementia. Niacinth (B3) is also quite large quantities present in Mozzarella. It transforms fats into energy, prevents diabetes and arthritis, and normalizes the amount of bad cholesterol in the body. We must also not forget about such useful vitamins like A, E and D.
Mozzarella is very nutritious. The calorie content of the product is 245 kcal. Moreover, in cheese:
- protein – 19 g;
- fat – 24 g;
- carbohydrates – 0 g.
It also contains a variety of microelements beneficial to the body. There are Omega 3 acids, which are found in fish oil, and a huge amount of amino acids. In addition, Mozzarella contains a unique useful element biotin (B7), which the human body cannot synthesize. Biotin optimizes metabolism, reduces sugar levels, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, as well as hair and nails.
Kinds
Types of cheese vary in size and shape:
- Teccha done in a configuration that resembles a woman's braid;
- Perlin– cheese that looks like pea balls;
- Ciliegini produced in the form of balls the size of cherries;
- Bocconcini- This is Mozzarella the size of a billiard ball.
Benefits and harms
Mozzarella normalizes metabolism, strengthens bones and joints. The product is rich in antioxidants, vitamin E also protects membrane cells from damage by free radicals.
It is well known that cheese contains a large number of calcium. Mozzarella is especially rich in this element. Calcium:
- helps preserve bones and teeth;
- serves as a prophylactic against cancer;
- helps strengthen the heart muscle and protects against myocardial infarction.
Mozzarella contains a considerable amount of phosphorus. It promotes good calcium absorption and stimulates metabolism in the kidneys and intestines. Phosphorus is directly involved in the life of brain cells and ensures connections between neurons. It is present in high concentrations in muscle tissue.
Mozzarella contains a lot of zinc, which takes part in the generation of blood cells (leukocytes). Zinc helps the prostate gland function, is effective assistant in decreasing excess weight. Protein compounds enable the body to produce large amounts of energy.
Potassium, which is also abundant in cheese, helps normalize the functioning of the heart and blood vessels. This element prevents the body from producing excess sodium, which also has a positive effect on overall well-being. In addition, potassium can effectively lower blood pressure, which is important if a person suffers from hypertension.
Cheese is low in calories, but it contains a huge amount of nutrients. If Mozzarella is consumed in reasonable quantities, it can significantly improve your overall well-being. Also, such nutrition can be a good prevention of diseases such as:
- rheumatism;
- immunodeficiency;
- migraine;
- dementia;
- oncology;
- problems with the digestive system.
Mozzarella cheese is good as a preventative measure to avoid the concentration of uric acid in the joints. This cheese is high in coenzyme R or biotin. The presence of such substances protects against brittle nails and helps strengthen hair. It is very useful for pregnant women to consume this cheese (in reasonable quantities). Biotin also significantly reduces the percentage of glucose in the bloodstream, which is very important for people suffering from diabetes.
However, despite all its benefits, like any product, Mozzarella can cause unwanted effects. Cheese contains a large amount of fatty compounds that can cause blockage of blood vessels and poor circulation. Therefore, modern manufacturers have learned to make low-fat versions of Mozzarella. This is especially necessary for people who suffer from various ailments.
What is cheese used for and what is it eaten with?
Mozzarella ripens quickly. IN Italian restaurants on the menu next to the name “Mozzarella” you can often find the inscription giornnata. This means that the cheese was produced just a few hours ago (no more than a day). The product is actively used for baking in pizza and finds its application in salads.
Mozzarella goes well with various snacks and dishes. Often cheese is served separately along with dry white wine.
Preparation
You can also make mozzarella at home. To obtain about 1000 mg of product, you need to prepare the following ingredients:
- bucket of milk (8 liters);
- pepsin (can be purchased at any pharmacy);
- lemon acid.
The milk is heated. Add lemon and a little water (half a glass). In this case, the contents of the container are constantly mixed. Separately, pepsin is prepared, diluted with water. Once cooked, it is added to the heated milk. The resulting semi-finished product is placed on water bath and heats up to a temperature of +36C.
You need to wait until the mixture thickens. The resulting composition must not be mixed under any circumstances. You should be patient and wait until the substance becomes thick enough. After cooking, the product remains in the container and is cut into 2.5 cm cubes.
Storage
Mozzarella most often comes in the form of balls. This cheese is often eaten with tea or coffee, added to various dishes. When purchasing, it is recommended to pay attention to the expiration date indicated on the packaging. It’s better not to eat expired cheese. If Mozzarella is sold in a sealed bag, then this product is suitable for making pizza or pies (this should be indicated in the product description). Brine balls, on the contrary, should not be frozen or heated. If you store them at sub-zero temperatures, they will burst. If such a product is heated, its contents will curdle and will not be suitable for consumption.
It is better not to purchase mozzarella in large quantities “in reserve”, otherwise the product will spoil. If the cheese is in brine, the container must be sealed tightly. It is recommended to use this product within 48 hours after purchase. Most often, it is packed in a transparent wrapper, which makes it possible to visually assess the quality of the cheese. Solid option Mozzarella can be stored a little longer.
What can replace the product?
In recent years, Mozzarella has become more expensive and manufacturers have reduced supply volumes. You can replace the product with feta cheese, which is recommended to be soaked in water to remove extra salt. You can also use Adyghe cheese, it is very reminiscent of Mozzarella. In terms of its composition, suluguni is practically not inferior to Mozzarella; it is also made from buffalo or goat milk.
Tilsiter cheese is suitable for pizza; the characteristics of this product are also similar to Mozzarella.
IN next video You will find an original technology for preparing Mozzarella in just half an hour.
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