The history of Mozzarella, and specifically mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella), is linked to that of the water buffalo. Nobody knows precisely when the first water buffaloes came to Italy, but one account claims that it was 596 AD when they were brought across the Mediterranean.

This oft-copied but never duplicated gem is a fresh, drawn-curd cheese made from whole buffalo’s milk. Most people don’t know what water buffalo milk tastes like, but it is unmistakable that this legendary cheese is made from unfamiliar milk upon one’s first bite. It is porcelain-white in color, spherical in shape with a very thin glossy edible rind.

Mozzarella di Bufala has a springy texture and a pleasantly sourish taste with a faint mossy smell reminiscent of the humid grazing fields of Southern Italy. If you’ve never had the real Mozzarella before, it’s time you tasted this sublime delicacy, the mozzarella di bufala.