In the South-East of Naples, in the Campania region, takes place the Cilento National Park. It is at the gates of the Park that is located the farm of Francesco, a young man about thirty years old, living on the family farm with his mother, his sister and his partner. Francesco moved in 2004 and quickly transformed the barn into a guest house to welcome tourists and take advantage of the agrotourism boom in Italy in the early 2000s.
main production of the farm is cow's milk (but there are also pigs, bees, vegetables, olive oil ...). Francesco processes all the milk produced by his 20 crossbred cows Pezzatta Rosa x Brune des Alpes x Jersey into Mozzarella. Yes, we also make Mozza' with cow's milk! But not any Mozzarella: Mozzarella nella Mirto (in English "Mozzarella in Myrtle").
The 20 cows produce a small amount of milk but very rich and tasty milk thanks to the pasture on more than 200 hectares that the farm rents out around Cilento. The park is also famous for its nearly 2000 species of plants.
This type of cheese is found only in the Cilento region. It is a very local production and only a few breeders still produce it. Francesco carries on an ancestral tradition, which he learned from his grandfather. The unique taste of Mozzarella nella Mirto is provided by the rich milk of cow, but also by the aromas of myrtle. Indeed, the particularity of this cheese is the technique of conservation in myrtle leaves, a plant very present in the Cilento Park. This type of cheese packaging doesn't come out of nowhere. Historically, breeders have used myrtle to keep cheese cool and protect it from insects and the development of harmful bacteria.
Francesco's cows produce milk all year round. He milks manually and quickly transforms milk into cheese. However, it is not yet what we call Mozzarella nella Mirto. Francesco lets the cheese rest for 6-7 hours and then the magic happens.
Francesco demonstrated it to us (see the video). He "spins" the cheese into boiling water, to which his hands are eventually drawn. Once the cheese gets the right texture, it rolls small 100 gram balls in its hands which it flattens and stretches. The stretched cheese then takes the shape of a tongue. "The shape of a cow's tongue," Francesco tells us, with a smile. The cheese is then soaked in cold water and then, once cooled, left for 1 minute in the brine and wrapped in myrtle picked from the neighboring field.
Photos: 1. Cut the curd (after extraction of the whey and acidification for several hours) in slices one centimeter thick; 2. "Spinning" the cheese in boiling water; 3. Texture of the cheese after spinning; 4. Making a ball with the spun cheese; 5. Stretching the cheese into the shape of a tongue; 6. Cooling of cheeses in cold water; 7. Wrapping of Mozzarellas in Myrtle; 8. There it goes!
Video. Making Mozzarella in Myrtle
Francesco learned this technique from his grandfather at the age of 14. He keeps perpetuating the family tradition. His 94-year-old grandfather always gives him help and golden advices for breeding. The hazard of meetings allowed Francesco to get it touch with Slow Food foundation in Italy, and start the recognition for the traditional technique of making Mozzarella nella Mirto. Beyond the name and the economic benefit of this recognition, Francesco considers it as a form of honor given to his grandfather, to whom he owes a lot.
Selling cheese is not a real problem. Most are sold on the farm to passing tourists. He is also cooked in the restaurant run by his mother and sister. The Coronavirus pandemic put a brake on the farm's agrotourism activity but that did not prevent it from continuing to sell its production, as the cheese is much recognized and word of mouth still working.
Did you know ?
- About myrtle
Common myrtle is a shrub native to the Mediterranean basin that is very fragrant (both in terms of flowers and leaves). Previously, myrtle was used in traditional medicine and its berries were used as a condiment (before the discovery of pepper), they were used in particular to flavor sausages. In Italy the word Mortadella (kind of big sausage) comes from the word myrtle and besides the other name of Mozzarella nella Mirto is "Mozzarella nella Mortella"!
Sacred tree among the Persians, Greeks and Romans, today myrtle is best known for the manufacture of myrtle liqueur from its berries (especially in Corsica).
- But mozzarella, isn't it made with buffalo milk?
Yes, you surely expected us to take advantage of our stay in Italy to tell you everything we know about Mozzarella di Bufala AOP (Mozzarella with buffalo milk)! We seriously thought about it. But after much research, we must admit that we did not contact a farm, because the production of Mozzarella di Bufala did not meet our personnal "requirements". Indeed, we have set a common aim in our visits: understanding the link between breeding and the territory (the adaptation of farmers and local breeds to a specific environment, the promotion of natural resources ...). As a victim of its own success, Mozzarella di Bufala has nothing traditional anymore except its method for the cheese-making. For the sake of profitability and massive supply, buffalo farms in Italy are now completely disconnected from the territory (buffalo in buildings, supplied mainly with corn silage to optimize the quantity of milk produced). This phenomenon is the counterpart of a "democratization" of the consumption of Mozzarella in and outside the country. Be careful, this, in no way, detracts from the extraordinary taste qualities of buffalo milk.