The History of mozzarella in China

When my husband Carlo and I moved from Italy to China in the early 1980’s we could not find any Mozzarella. Being Italians we felt the lack of it in our menu.

We love Chinese food but were at a loss as how to make Caprese salad with fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella.

In Beijing we found very juicy tomatoes and crispy salad but no fresh Mozzarella. So Carlo and I decided to make it ourselves.

In 1995 we established a joint venture company with a Chinese partner.

We imported from Italy machinery for our cheese factory and started producing Mozzarella and other kinds of Italian cheese.

Carlo, who has a Masters degree in Biology and is a Cheese Master, taught our workers how to make Mozzarella.

My job was to sell our products in hotels and restaurants.

What I really enjoyed was sharing my love for cheese with the Chinese people I met and worked with and teaching them how to enjoy a fresh Caprese, the mozzarella and tomato salad!

We produce two types of Mozzarella: low moisture Mozzarella for the pizza industry and high moisture Mozzarella (soft and moist)

Fresh mozzarella for pizza is packaged dry in vacuum-sealed plastic containers; fresh, high moisture Mozzarella is put in water and sealed in plastic packages along with water or a governing liquid called "latticello".

We produce fresh mozzarella daily and we distribute this freshly made delicacy all around China

For our Mozzarella production we use the culture/rennet method: The raw milk is pasteurised and then coagulated to form curd. Once the curd reaches the right pH, it is cut into small pieces and then mixed with hot water and strung until long strings of cheese form. This "stringing of the curd" is unique to cheeses in the "pasta filata" family, such as mozzarella, scamorza and provola. When the proper smooth, elastic consistency is reached, the curd is formed in different shapes by machine and then plunged into cold water so that they maintain their shapes while they cool. They are then salted and packaged. Mozzarella can be smoked, either in a smoking chamber with intense smoke or by "painting" with a liquid smoke.

The cheese should taste fresh and reminiscent of milk. It should be mild and delicate. There should be a hint of sourness.

The colour should be white; however, seasonally the cheese can be more yellow due to the cows' diet of grasses.

Gisa Casarubea

Marketing and Sales Executive