The buffalo cheese It is made from buffalo milk and is usually a creamy and fresh food. Specifically, the milk that comes from the water buffalo, an animal native to Southeast Asia, is used.
As a curiosity, to make a buffalo milk cheese normally less milk is needed than to make a cow. This means that, if to produce a kilo of cow’s cheese we need around eight kilos of cow’s milk, to make a buffalo cheese we need approximately five.
What is this about? It turns out that buffalo milk it is denser and more solid than cow’s. But this is not the only difference between buffalo milk and cow’s milk that we usually consume. Buffalo milk is also whiter and slightly sweeter.
What is the origin of buffalo cheese?
Buffaloes were introduced to Italy in about the 7th century. It is a strong and skilled animal, so it began to be domesticated and used to plow swampy land. Around the 12th century, buffalo milk began to be used to make cheese. In this way, well-known Italian cheeses such as mozzarella were born, which ended up becoming a food in demand worldwide.
Buffaloes, being native to Asia, were also domesticated and used to make different varieties of cheese in other countries, such as India, Bangladesh, the Philippines or China.
Characteristics of buffalo cheese
Some of the most outstanding characteristics that we can say about the milk of buffalowe can extract them according to their physical-chemical composition.
1. Taste
The taste of milk buffalo is slightly sweet, as described above.
2.color
The color of buffalo milk is a bit strange compared to the others since it has a bluish-white hue.
This is evidenced by the scarcity of beta carotenethat is, the buffalo is able to metabolize this dye into vitamin A.
3. Low heat elasticity
On the other hand, due to its high content of cations, this type of milk has low elasticity to heat and high curd rigidity, also with a high content of total solids.
The coagulation of the milk is more fulminant and the permanence at elevated temperatures are scarcer than that of cow.
4.PH
Likewise, the pH of buffalo milk must be between 6.25 – 7 and 6.30 – 6.85.
The density and fat globules are greater, they also exhibit a higher melting temperature despite having a higher content of fat solids.
The supported phospholipids and also cholesterol from milk buffalo they are much smaller than those seen in the cow.
5. Microbiological typologies
Buffalo milk has the property of preventing bacterial development, a fact blamed on the high content of lecithin and the appearance of variable amounts of glycoprotein, known as lactoferrin (0.320mg/ml).
The action that is against microbes has been manifested on coliforms, depriving the development of bacteria that request quantities of iron.
How many types of buffalo cheese are there?
Though the best known of all is mozzarellathere are numerous cheeses made with buffalo milk.
Accused: A smooth and creamy cheese with a sweet aroma and firm texture, made in Campania, Italy, with fresh cow’s milk and buffalo milk.
Barilotto: This Italian cheese with a strong flavor and firm texture is produced by heating the buffalo milk whey obtained when making mozzarella.
Blu di Bufala Cheese: An Italian cheese with blue tones, made with pasteurized buffalo milk. Its texture can range from creamy to crumbly, its aroma is somewhat acidic and its flavor is somewhat intense and sweet.
Bocconcini: They are soft, unripened, small, semi-soft, white cheeses that do not have a rind. They are usually made from a mixture of water buffalo milk and cow’s milk, and are preserved in whey or water.
Buffalo cheese: An Italian fresh cheese made with pasteurized buffalo milk and perfect for salads or to accompany fresh or dried fruit.
Buffalo Cheese: Bufalino is a soft, creamy cheese made in Italy by combining ricotta cheese, caciobufala cheese, and salt.
BuffBlue: A Californian cheese factory makes it in the south of the region with buffalo milk. It has very characteristic blue hues.
Burrata: An increasingly recognized Italian fresh cheese, whose exterior is made from buffalo filata or cow’s milk mozzarella, and the interior is filled with a smooth mixture of curd and fresh cream.
Cacio Bufala: This Italian cheese is made from buffalo milk, calf rennet and salt, and is matured for about a year. It has a very pleasant and creamy taste.
Caciotta: A range of rustic cheeses from Italy that can be made with different types of milk, including buffalo milk, and have a mild flavour.
Caciovallo di Bufala: An Italian pasta filata cheese made in Bergamo, Italy, ripe and stretched, made from pasteurized buffalo milk and with a sweet, delicate flavor that becomes intense over time.
Buffalo Caprese: It is a soft buffalo cheese treated with olive oil and oregano, which gives it a fresh and delicate flavor and an aromatic aftertaste.
Casatica: A pasteurized buffalo cheese made in Italy, semi-soft and with a very striking rind. It has a delicate and creamy flavor.
Chena: Chhena is a fresh, curdled cheese eaten in India and Bangladesh. Crumbly and moist, it is used to make desserts.
Kesong Puti: A fresh, soft, slightly salty Filipino cheese made with buffalo milk, salt, and rennet.
Koha: Khoa is an Indian ricotta-like cheese made from dehydrated or thickened whole milk after heating over low heat in an open iron skillet.
Mozzarella di Bufala Bell: Mozzarella cheese is an Italian sliceable curd cheese, made from the milk of water buffaloes in countries like Italy or Bulgaria. It is eaten fresh and even a few hours after being made.
Nguri: It is a cheese made from buffalo milk in China, which has a soft and leathery texture. It is made by mixing milk with vinegar and marinating it in brine.
Ricotta di Bufala Campana: A fresh cheese made from the remaining whey from the production of mozzarella di bufala.