9 Different Types Of Mozzarella Cheese And How To Best Use Them

It's the ingredient that elevates caprese salad to a creamy masterpiece, helps pizza achieve all its ooey-gooey glory, and satisfies that much-anticipated cheese pull from a certain breaded appetizer. Mozzarella is an iconic style of pasta filata ("spun paste") Italian cheese, adored by many a captivated eater and cook — myself included. I grew up going to Italian markets nearly every weekend with my parents in Pittsburgh or visiting ones with my family in New York City, watching the workers make mozzarella in large vats and eating it still warm from the brine. I've also dabbled in making it from scratch myself, attending fresh mozzarella classes to learn the whole process.

And now as a full-time cheesemonger and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I not only get to experience firsthand the retail side of buying and selling all different varieties of this Italian classic, but I can also share my expertise with anyone else who is curd-curious and craving some cheese knowledge. Mozzarella can be broadly divided into nine different types, and each one has unique qualities with varying tastes and textures. Read on to learn more about each category and how to best use it in your kitchen.

Regarding its initial production, mozzarella was originally made with water buffalo milk throughout central and southern Italy with the introduction of the breed to the country purportedly as early as the seventh century. While both wartime woes and agricultural shifts to more efficient milk-yielding animals led to the stalwart popularity of cow milk mozzarella, buffalo milk mozzarella continues to be a revered mainstay in Italy with historic and geographic respectability.

In fact, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana was granted a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in 1996. This name-protected cheese honors the authenticity and quality of buffalo milk mozzarella produced in certain provinces of Italy with the highest standards. Outside of Italy, there are other cheesemakers celebrating the Italian tradition with their own lines of buffalo milk cheese products.

Buffalo milk cheese has a refreshingly clean taste with notes of new grass and sweet milk with a subtle acidity. Compared to milk from other popular milk-producing animals like cows, sheep, and goats, buffalo milk has the highest levels of fat, yielding a texturally rich cheese. It's best when you want to elevate your buying choices and explore outside the typical territory of cow milk products.

Mild, milky, and available in most grocery stores, fresh cow's milk mozzarella is also referred to as fior di latte, literally translating to "flower of milk" in Italian. It has quite the monopoly with fresh cow milk mozzarella in a variety of shapes and sizes. This variety is often stored along with some briny water to preserve its freshness and moisture, but it can also be sold in vacuum-sealed packaging for a longer shelf life.

Popular retail choices include plump spheres in different sizes. Going from smallest to largest, you'll see perlini (pearl-sized balls), ciliegini (cherry-sized balls), bocconcini (small mouthfuls), and ovolini (larger oval-sized balls). You might also find mozzarella masterfully shaped in nodini (knots) or different styles of braids as well as flat medallions. But the most special treat among these many options is mozzarella cheese that's made in house. If you can locate a shop near you that makes it, hunt down the production schedule to buy it at the most opportune moment: still warm and luscious from being freshly pulled!

Fresh cow's milk mozzarella is best for raw preparations with neat presentations, with the caprese salad being one of the most renowned cold-prep dishes for the cheese. Mozzarella also makes an eye-catching addition in pasta salads and paninis, or on composed Italian-inspired cheese boards and charcuterie plates. And while it can be used on pizza if you prefer the cleaner look of individual mounds of cheese rather than shreds that will melt and fuse together, just be sure to study our advice on how to avoid a soggy pizza when using fresh mozzarella.

Often abbreviated as LMPS, low-moisture part-skim mozzarella refers to the drier, less fatty iteration of the cheese. LMPS mozzarella is a versatile product and encompasses various prepacked commodity formats like bars, sandwich slices, and string cheese, all typically in vacuum-sealed packages at cost-effective prices. This style is also available at the deli counter in a larger log design, sliced fresh to order. Buy it in bulk to save a few bucks, and maybe even consider freezing your cheese (here's how to do it) if you can't pass up a good deal.

This style is destined for inexpensive snacking, whether you're a kid or a kid at heart. Rip, tear, and shred that string cheese to your heart's content on its own or transform it into a crispy breaded mozzarella stick that won't leak. The sliced format has no better purpose than to be used for building the best cold-cut and toasted sandwiches. And the blocks and bars offer a fresher alternative to pre-shredded options if you're fine doing the physical grating work yourself at home without scratching your knuckles. Use freshly shredded LMPS mozzarella for prepping pizzas, casseroles, and other cooking/baking preparations when the lower moisture content is helpful to eliminate the risk of irreversibly sad sogginess.

You've seen the behemoth bags when you're shopping. And you can't get enough of them. Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese is produced using LMPS cheese, packaged with the added ingredient of some form of anti-caking agent (and often includes wood pulp) like powdered cellulose or starch to prevent the individual strands from sticking together in clumps. Depending on your grocery store, it can be available in a few different sizes. At my work location, we sell pre-shredded LMPS mozzarella in both 8-ounce and 16-ounce bags offered by a few different brands.

Pre-shredded mozzarella is a lifesaver when you desperately need to rely on time-saving kitchen hacks for cooking and baking. It's particularly helpful for cooking in bulk, when managing your prep efficiency and minimizing kitchen cleanup are both essential considerations to maintain. Beloved among pizza makers slinging pie after pie, busy parents rejoicing over the one thing their kiddos will snack on, and meal preppers making big and nourishing casseroles, this style of mozzarella has an all-encompassing appreciation in many home and professional kitchens.

Much like its compact kin (the bars and blocks), pre-shredded mozzarella can also be used for a range of recipes. However, you may be slightly disappointed by the ineffective melting abilities of pre-shredded cheese due to the extra additives mixed with the shredded cheese. If that's the case, save your shreds as a final garnish to finish dishes like baked potatoes, salads, and soups.

A dairy dumpling of divine creation! Burrata, translated to "buttery" or "buttered," is a beloved ball that's often packaged individually and bobbing in a little brine. Its composition is a delicate beauty to behold, a present unlike any other: A thin skin of fresh mozzarella gently encases a rich filling of shredded mozzarella and cream, forming a pouch that's carefully tied. It can be made from any variety of milk, but it is most commonly produced with either cow or buffalo milk.

Burrata is best when served as a showstopper dish, especially if you put in the extra creative effort to make burrata at home. And because of its high moisture content, it's incredibly perishable and should be consumed as soon as possible. No arguments here. While you can enjoy it at its purest, with perhaps a disciplined drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper, there are other ways to apply a culinary touch for some extra fun and texture. You could deep fry burrata, or you could use your air fryer for a cleaner and less risky approach.

And, at least in my own biased yet experienced opinion, it is absolutely essential to cut into it directly before serving in front of your wide-eyed salivating guests. There is no other option. Everyone at the table deserves to watch the sensual show of the filling slowly oozing out from its mozzarella entrapment.

Used as the filling for burrata, stracciatella (meaning "little rag" or "shred") is a rich combination made from shredded mozzarella mixed with cream. You can enjoy these luscious lumps of luxury all on their own, as stracciatella is available to buy as a retail product separate from burrata. Stracciatella is best for consuming soon after purchasing, and its quality diminishes even more rapidly if its packaging has been opened.

It has plenty of versatility in both sweet and savory applications, and I typically treat it as a fresh and lactic substitution in recipes that call for sour cream, crème fraiche, ricotta, or cream cheese when they're used as a finishing garnish or an ingredient in a cold dip or spread. For something sweet, consider pairing it with seared fruit or with jams, jellies, or preserves. And for the savory side, it's delicious dolloped on top of a hearty soup like pasta e fagioli, mixed into warm pasta dishes, smeared on breads and bagels, or used as a creamy base underneath roasted tomatoes.

Mozzarella can be smoked for extra depth of flavor. This can be done naturally by using a gentle cold smoking method to avoid altering the softer texture of the cheese too drastically. Different varieties of wood may be used for the chips to infuse the cheese with a range of flavors and aromas. As a faster and less laborious production method, however, smoked mozzarella can also be flavored artificially using ingredients like natural smoke flavor or liquid smoke. Coloring agents may also be added to yield a pleasing brown caramel color coating, mimicking a hue kissed by the (fake) fire.

Smoked mozzarella is best used when you have a hankering for that characteristically strong, smoky flavor in your cookery. Try it when you're making artery-clogging favorites when you can play with combining multiple styles of cheeses so that you don't overwhelm the dish with too much smoke. Macaroni and cheese, fondue, or grilled cheese would all be perfect recipes for incorporating some smoked mozzarella into the mix. It would also be a mouthwatering choice for your cheese in a juicy burger or melted over cheesesteaks.

Mozzarella curd is essentially the building block to fresh mozzarella, an ingredient that acts as a convenient fast pass to making mozzarella so food businesses don't have to start completely from scratch with milk and coagulating agents. The curd consists of the fresh and unaged solid particles that are already separated from the whey during the initial steps of the mozzarella cheesemaking process. The solid pieces are pressed together to form a semi-fused mass that can then be sold as curd. Mozzarella curd is not usually available to purchase in most grocery stores — it's mainly sold in bulk via large-scale mozzarella cheese producers such as Caputo Brothers, BelGioioso Cheese, and Di Stefano Cheese.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase it for home use. Throw a mozzarella-making cheese party, and invite other curd nerds for some semi-homemade fun. It's a perfect introduction to the world of making mozzarella as an easy jumpstart to learning the techniques. While there will be variations on instructions, temperatures, and measurements from brand to brand, it's a simple method to turn curd to cheese: heat the curd in hot water with salt and constantly manipulate the partially melted mass to form a smooth, stretchy, and pliable cheese.

While not offered in as many selections as cow milk mozzarella, a small sector of mozzarella-style cheeses made with alternative animal milk is an available retail subcategory. Milk from goats or sheep may be used with delicious results in a small yet valued range of mozzarella styles. Currently at my store location, we sell with booming success a goat milk mozzarella block and shredded goat's milk mozzarella, both formulated in the LMPS style.

Alternative milk mozzarella is an ideal product for those who have dietary restrictions and cannot consume cow milk. Compared to cow milk, sheep milk and goat milk are typically better choices for ease of digestibility — both milks contain smaller fat globules that are easier to digest, and they both have a naturally high prominence of the A2 protein sub-variant that doesn't cause upsetting gastrointestinal complications. Depending on the style of alternative mozzarella you purchased, it's best to treat it the same exact way you would use that particular kind of cheese in its cow milk form. For example, LMPS alternative mozzarella cheeses are best used for daily snacking or shredded as a low-moisture melter.