Ontario's Buffalo Mozzarella
One of the sure signs of summer is the Italian standard Insalata Caprese ("salad from Capri"). It is so simple, and because of this, it demands the very best quality of it’s four main ingredients – tomato, basil, buffalo mozzarella and olive oil. Here in Ontario, the only time of year that we can truly supply the firsat two ingredients is in the mid to late summer for sun drenched, vine ripened tomatoes and freshly picked basil.
Until recently, we had to rely on mozzarella di bufala from Italy, and there are some delicious examples available out there, but there is a catch: buffalo mozzarella is a time sensitive cheese. Generally the fresher the better. When you check into gourmet shops around town they will tell when it was flown in, and it sounds romantic and luxurious. The truth be told, even if it is flown in, by the time it gets packed and shipped to the airport, flown, makes it through customs, is distributed by the importer and finally makes it to the shelves for sale, at least 4-7 days have gone by. And, in 2009, we have to think about the carbon footprint of such high flying cheeses.
The good news is that this summer Ontario has a homegrown answer, Bella Casara Ontario buffalo milk mozzarella. It seems that herds of water buffalos are on the rise in Ontario and BC. The water buffalo is a native of South Asia and the Italian varieties were brought to Italy hundreds of years ago. In Italy, the animals were cross bread over the centuries to produce greater quantities of milk. Still, they produce a fraction of a Holstein cow’s milk. Only recently has interest increased in dairy farming water buffalo in North America. Following is the account of how buffalo mozzarella came to Ontario – really it is three stories: the story of the farmers, the story of the producers and the tasting report on the end result.
Martin Littkeman and Lori Smith grew up in traditional dairy farming families in Stirling and Belleville Ontario and Martin went on to run his own farm near Stirling. In 2003 Littkeman and Smith were looking for ways to increase the viability of their farm and became interested in water buffalo. They visited a water buffalo farm in BC and then decided to sell their cows and investigate further. They flew to Italy to attend the World Water Buffalo Congress (in Italy there are more water buffalos than there are Holstein cows in Ontario) and toured a great range of water buffalo farms. While at the congress, they met a water buffalo farmer from Vermont who invited them to visit his operation. By the end of the first visit, the pair had purchased their first water buffalo and were in business.
It turns out that there is a great variety of water buffalo, but two main types – river and swamp. The river variety are the dairy producers and the swamp buffalo are primarily used for meat production and as draft animals. So it is the Italian river variety that came to Ontario. The herd is a beautiful range of colours from black as pictured above, brown, cream and even white. Lori says that the buffalo crave human contact and cannot be driven like cattle, but respond to calls and petting.
Martin and Lori’s buffalo have quite a home, settled in the lush rolling hills north of Stirling. The pastures have streams running through, a good thing because the buffalo drink an unbelievable amount of water. In the spring summer and fall they graze on the pasture grasses and all year long their feed is supplemented with hay and dairy ration grains. The animals have plenty of space and are not stressed, so no antibiotics are a part of their regular feeding routine.
I asked Lori what sets her animals and milk apart and she replied “We feed them well, we treat them well and keep them comfortable and they produce better milk.”
If you would like to visit Martin and Lori – they are open to visitors by appointment – call (613) 395-1342 or click here to email them. They are located on Highway 14, just north of Stirling. And, if you are anywhere near Stirling Saturday, August 29, be sure to make the trip to town for the Water Buffalo Food Festival being held from 11:00am to 4pm.
The resulting milk is then trucked to Toronto and processed by Quality Cheese, longstanding producers or French and Italian style cheeses. I recently caught up with Albert Borgo , Vice President, and asked him why they had begun processing Buffalo milk - Martin and Lori, in looking for an outlet for their milk had approached Quality about making cheese with their milk. It seemed like a no brainer, Quality already produced cows milk fresh mozzarella, why not process Buffalo milk as well? As with many things, simpler said than done. The buffalo milk had different properties and behaved differently in processing. Slowly and with much research, a recipe was perfected, working with University of Guelph’s cheese guru, Art Hill, sourcing special enzymes from Italy, using word of mouth and even YouTube videos of the Italian cheese making process. There were other hurdles like getting the milk. Most of Quality’s milk is delivered to the plant, but Martin and Lori’s milk was almost two hours away. The solution was purchasing a truck to collect the milk.
The cheese is in production 4 days per week and is only held back by the supply of more milk – and Martin and Lori are busy working to expand their herd and change that. At the moment there is more demand than there is cheese.
Remember that freshness is a big issue with Buffalo Mozzarella? Albert says that in his opinion the cheese improves for about 3 days – So how do you get three day old cheese? Look for the use by date – each cheese is coded with 30 days – so make your calculation based on that. It will not be bad if it is older than three days (it is good for 30) but you can make your own calculation as to where it is in its life span and therefore what it might be like.
If you are used to Italian Buffalo Mozzarella – you may taste this one and say that it is not the same flavour. That is right and to be expected – that is Ontario terroir speaking to your mouth. Even given all other factors other than the location being the same it is not possible for there to be the same flavour because of the weather, climate and composition of the land. I argue that we should enjoy every bite for it’s own merits – while patterned on a traditional cheese, it is a unique Ontario product.
In addition to the buffalo Mozzarella, there is a scamorza, Ricotta, Stracchino and Caccavello and Quality is working with Chef Massimo Capra of Mistura to develop other Italian specialties like the Stracchino and currently in development Burrata (fresh mozzarella filled with cream). Another early adapter restaurant of the buffalo cheeses is the ever casual and delicious Terroni restaurants.
Look for the Buffalo cheeses at Pusateri’s, Longos, Whole Foods, All The Best Fine Foods and Quality Cheese’s own store at 111 Jelvan Drive in Vaughn (don’t miss the selection of Italian cheeses like the firm, nutty and faintly sweet bee’s wax rinded San Pietro, dried pasta and olive oil!).
Tasting Notes
Buffalo Mozzarella and Bocconcini
1 day old – it is super fresh so the texture is softly
rubbery. The flavour is faintly salty and milky and very
moist. Delicious!
I tasted the 3 day version and indeed, the texture turns softer with deeper more buttery flavour. Available in the striker marble sized Bocconcini or in the tennis ball size – a natural for Caprese salad – quick, you need summer tomatoes, where is your nearest farmer’s market!
Cow milk Bocconcini (Fiore de Latte or Bocconcini)
I find cow milk Bocconcini less interesting. Texture is fine
and similar to the buffalo milk version, but it is not as
creamy and often has a flat faintly bitter flavour. This
comparison serves to reinforce the value of the price
premium for the buffalo milk version for simple, fresh
recipes.
Stracchino
Described as Gorgonzola without the blue. Inside its plastic
container it is wrapped in a micro perforated cheese paper,
a lovely block of soft cheese. Again this version is from
today’s cheese run and Albert gives me a second piece to try
in two weeks when he says that the texture will be much
softer. There is a milky aroma. On the tongue there is an
elasticity, but it is soft. Immediately a sweetness wells up
on the tongue, followed by a slight saltiness and then
creaminess and finally a gentle, delightful reminder of the
buffalo in the finish. I understand that Massimo Capra has
many delicious ideas for using this cheese – but I can
easily see this drizzled with honey and toasted nuts. In my
next article I will report on the aged version.
Smoked Scamorza (dried Mozzarella)
Lovely fully smoky flavour. Rich caramely colour on the
rind. The rind is leathery and the interior is soft, pasty
and white. The this cheese is all about the flavour and the
satisfying pasty (like mashed potatoes) interior. Stellar.
Serve on its own, as a counter point to a salad or in a meat
sandwich.
Fresh Buffalo Ricotta
If you thought that Ricotta was just a bland fresh cheese
for Lasagne, try this and think again. Inside this flexible
plastic sealed log, soft to the touch, is a cheese wrapped
in paper. On opening, the soft cloud of cheese is apparent.
The gentle but distinct aroma of buffalo is present (it is
kind of a cow ++ smell) and the cheese is spoonable and it
barely hangs together as if made of a thousand wet pieces.
Indeed it is velvety on the tongue and creamy. Carmel
flavour sweeps the mouth and all the while that Buffalo
flavour peaks through. The cheese breaks into a soft
granular texture then exits leaving the mouth coated in a
creamy haze, W.O.W! Put that in your lasagne! Or bake into
show stopper desserts.
Andy Shay is a Toronto-based cheese expert and consultant. Learn about Andy's tutored tastings at AndyShay.com