Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle

Appearance & taste

Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle is white and, depending on the season, may have a slight straw-coloured tinge. The surface is smooth or slightly fibrous and glossy, neither gelatinous nor flaky. When cut, the cheese is elastic and releases a little white whey. It comes in three shapes: round, knotted and plaited; depending on shape and size, the pieces weigh 50 to 1,000 g. The fresh cheese contains 58 to 65 % water and 15 to 21 % fat in total weight.

The taste recalls slightly acidified milk, with a pleasant aftertaste of fermentation or lactic acid, which is stronger in the fresh cheese, and a sour milk aroma, sometimes with a hint of butter. Preservatives, additives and processing aids are not permitted. The cheese is sold in a liquid of water, which may be salted and slightly acidified.

Production

The milk comes from cows of the Bruna, Frisona, Pezzata Rossa and Jersey breeds or from crosses of these breeds. At least 60 % of the dry matter in the feed is grass or hay from meadows in the area; concentrates of cereals and pulses may be added, because they cannot be grown in the area. Grazing is required for the period in which it is possible, 150 days according to the specification.

Whole cow’s milk from two separate milkings is used, raw, thermised or pasteurised. Following the traditional method, the starter culture is the previous day’s whey, which is kept so that it turns sour. The cheesemaker manages the whey in the vat, lets the curd ripen and then processes it further. Keeping and milking the cows, collecting and processing the milk and cheesemaking take place in the area. Because the fresh cheese spoils quickly, it is packed in the same rooms in which it is made. The logo appears on the top and sides of the packaging.

Origin & history

The area lies on the Murge plateau in Apulia, with Cretaceous limestone, rock formations and poor loamy soils. There are many dairy farms there, often small and medium-sized family businesses in which the cattle spend a long time on pasture; farms and dairies are close together, sometimes in the same premises. The hot, dry, steppe-like climate favours plants such as Thymus striatus, sticky fleabane and fennel, whose volatile substances, according to the specification, shape the taste of the milk.

A publication from 1885 mentions the “exquisite mozzarella from Apulia”. An article from 1922 reports that “Mozzarella di Gioia (del Colle)” was in demand and fetched good prices at the markets in Rome, Naples, Bari, Taranto, Lecce and Foggia. According to a text from 1970, in the first decades of the 20th century a farmer named Clemente Milano was the first to use the milk of his Bruna Alpina cows for mozzarella. The Istituto Luce filmed a documentary in Gioia del Colle on 28 August 1950, and since the 1960s many local events have been held around mozzarella.