Burrata

Burrata is a luscious fresh Italian cheese seen atop cheese boards and salads at the most stylish restaurants. Essentially, it’s a shell of mozzarella encasing a filling of stracciatella, which is fresh cream mixed with bits of mozzarella. It’s solid on the outside and oozy and creamy when you cut into it.

The fairly modern cheese was invented in the 1920s in Puglia, Italy as a way to use up scraps of mozzarella left over from cheesemaking. California chef Nancy Silverton is credited with putting it on her menu in 1998 after recognizing the snowy white ball of cheese from her travels in Italy. It has continued to grow in popularity in the United States since then.

How to Make Burrata Cheese at Home

First, make sure you understand the difference between burrata and mozzarella, since fresh mozzarella is used to make burrata.

Then, get your homemade burrata started with fresh mozzarella curd. Most of the curd will form the shell of the burrata, and about a quarter of the total amount will be used to make the stracciatella filling. (In Italian, stracciatella means “little rags” or “little shreds.” So, in addition to being used for cheese, the name is also used to refer to ice cream with chocolate flakes, and to an egg drop-style soup made with chicken broth.)

You can buy fresh mozzarella curd from a local cheesemaker or online at a creamery like Caputo Brothers. Alternatively, if there’s a store or restaurant near to you that stretches their own mozzarella, ask if you can buy some unstretched mozzarella curd.

Once you have your curd, you just need heavy cream and salt to form your burrata.

Ingredients for Burrata

• Fresh mozzarella curd: As mentioned above, mozzarella curd can be purchased from cheesemongers and specialty stores, or can be made at home. Stretching the curd is the most fun part of this recipe.
• Salt: Salt is added to the water in which you’ll be soaking the curd, and you’ll need a good amount to complete all of the steps, so consider buying a box of kosher salt for this task.
• Heavy whipping cream: The filling of the burrata is a simple mixture of stretched mozzarella curd and cream, so buy the best fresh cream you can get at the store.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the curd for stretching

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In a heatproof bowl, add 1/4 pound of fresh mozzarella curd, along with enough boiling water to cover the curd and a generous amount of salt. Stir and press curds together until they begin forming a solid mass. Monitor the water to make sure it doesn’t get too cool. If you can leave your hands in it comfortably, it’s too cool—add more hot water. Once the curds have massed, put on gloves (or dip your hands frequently in cold water) and begin stretching and folding the curd.

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Keep going until the curd is smooth, glossy and doesn’t have any tears.

Editor’s Tip: Salt the mozzarella water as though you were salting pasta water. It should be about as salty as the ocean. Also, if you don’t think you have enough boiling water remaining to stretch the rest of the curd, get another batch going.

Step 2: Make the stracciatella filling

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Pull the mass of curds into a long rope, then tear the rope into strings or pieces. Put these pieces in a small bowl and add the cream and salt to taste. Set the bowl aside.

Step 3: Shape the burrata shell

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Add the remaining mozzarella curd (1/2 pound) to your bowl, along with more boiling water and salt. Follow the same instructions as above until the curds are smooth and glossy.

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This time, instead of pulling the mass into a rope, form a 6-inch disk that is thicker in the middle and a bit thinner on the edges. If the cheese rips at any point, just plunge it back into the hot water and reshape.

Step 4: Form the burrata

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The easiest way to stuff burrata is to put the mozzarella disk in a small, deep bowl.

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Spoon the creamy stracciatella filling into the center, then pull up the sides of the mozzarella shell until they meet at the top.

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Pinch tightly to seal. Dipping the pinched end back in the hot water will help seal the cheese.

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How to Use Burrata Cheese

• Make a burrata board: Burrata is lovely with crackers and bread, fresh fruit, homemade condiments and cured meats, so make the most of it with a stunning burrata board.
• Glam up pasta dishes: Whether you drop a slice of burrata onto a plate of linguine with simple marinara pasta sauce, tuck it into some burrata ravioli or whip up our cherry tomato and burrata pasta, you’ll see how well the gooey cheese pairs with noodles.
• Top a salad: Greens and cheese are a natural match, and burrata is a great way to add richness to a salad. Gather tomatoes and basil to make a burrata caprese salad. Burrata is also luscious with orchard fruit, as in our peach burrata salad with pistachios or in an elegant prosciutto, pear and burrata salad.

How to Store Burrata

Burrata is best enjoyed fresh. If you can’t use it right after you’ve made it, place it in a container of salted water and keep it in the fridge.

How long does burrata last?

Use your uncut homemade burrata within five days—although we’re sure it won’t last that long when you put it to use in our favorite burrata recipes. Once you slice into it, you should ideally finish it immediately since it can’t be put back into the salted water.

Burrata Tips

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Can you make burrata cheese without mozzarella curd?

You can’t make the shell of burrata without mozzarella curd. If you can only find fresh mozzarella (but not fresh mozzarella curd), you can make decadent stracciatella with it instead. Simply pull the mozzarella into small stringy pieces, then add heavy cream, mascarpone cheese or ricotta. Add salt if needed. Serve the stracciatella on bread or pizza, or dolloped on crisp greens or oven-roasted vegetables.

Can you make mozzarella curd from scratch?

If you want to make your own mozzarella curd from scratch, you’ll need fresh pasteurized milk (not ultra-pasteurized), citric acid, rennet and salt, plus a pot that holds at least one gallon of milk, a heatproof bowl, a thermometer and a large knife. New England Cheesemaking Supply has an easy-to-follow recipe for making mozzarella (including mozzarella curd) from scratch that you could use.

Can you add flavors to burrata?

You can add other ingredients to the filling to jazz up your burrata. Truffle oil, minced herbs, classic pesto, tomato paste and chopped pistachios are all great to stir into your filling.