Forget babies, storks should deliver Burrata.
Out of the way triple-cream cheese, Burrata is here. Here for a good time, not a long time (in the wise lyrics of the Trooper song. They used to have burrata thrown on stage during concerts.). As much as you want your Mozzarella di Bufala to be fresh, you want your Burrata to be newborn. You want the exterior to be delicate and tender as possible while the inside is creamy, oozy heaven. Heaven in this case being small, elastic bits of the torn mozzarella (stracciatella) mixed with rich cream. It should be buttery, sweet and fresh in flavour. It should make you weep. Just a little bit.
Makes you feel a little savage. I WANT THIS NOW!
Burrata was once upon a time made with buffalo milk but now it’s made mainly cow’s milk. Originating in Southern Italy (in Puglia) the name comes from the Italian word “burro” (butter). You might find it wrapped in green leek-like leaves called “asphodel” and the fresher/greener the leaves, the fresher the burrata.
More importantly, I have not yet made you drool to the maximum. Here is the burrata “fork to mouth”. My mouth. And I never even made it to the bread.
Crazy Good. More than Pop Tarts even.
No matter what you do, if you rip this open in the car while driving or serve it at home– please–eat it at room temperature. Warm it in a bowl of warm water (in a plastic bag or whatever wrap it came in) if you can’t wait to get to it. Like batteries, you can hold it under your armpit to warm it up but this is best done out of site of guests or even the general public.
Most importantly, don’t share. That’s just a crazy idea. Your kindergarten teacher did not know about burrata when she taught you that rule. (Though, she was right about not eating the glue even if it was glittery and bright.)
Burrata is now available at All the Best Fine Foods every Friday (flown in from Italy) until mid-September and on offer at Obika Mozzarella Bar.
