Mozzarella di Bufala Campana

Fresh Mozzarella di Bufala Campana

A couple facts from Wikipedia about "Buffalo Mozzarella":

• The Italian city of Aversa in the Italian province of Caserta is recognized as the origin of this cheese.
• It really is made from buffalo milk, the milk of water buffaloes that is.
• Asian water buffaloes were brought to Italy by Goths (as in Wisigoths) during the migrations of the early medieval period. They were widely used in plowing compact and watery terrains, both because their strength and the size of their hooves, which do not sink too deeply into moist soil.

A Fairburn Farm Water Buffalo (Duncan, BC)

With this kind of history, it's not surprising that "Mozzarella di Bufala Campana" has a Protected Designation of Origin but there are also American and Canadian cheesemakers who rely on water buffalo herds to produce an authentic-as-you-can-get new-world version. Even though imported Italian stuff is available in North America, the cheese doesn't have a good shelf life (it's maybe only ideal for 12-24 hours after opening) and is best used the day of purchase so these local producers may have a bit of an edge (when I get out to Vancouver Island at the end of August, I will try to find out if that's true).

I mention this because this cheese is an essential ingredient in Caprese salad (above), which because fresh tomatoes finally taste good (and are in season!) two-thirds of the office in which I work is obsessed with. So buy yourself some good tomatoes and this cheese, or find a good Italian restaurant and spend the extra money to get Buffalo mozzarella instead of the ordinary stuff. It's worth it.

Omeleterrific

Spinach Omelet for One (avec tomates)

Mark Bittman, aka the NY Times Minimalist, taught me to make a decent omelet. Previously, my attempts would end up scrambled but reading his recipe for "Spinach Omelet for One" in an older cookbook of his I have out from the library taught me a few things:

1. Use a good non-stick pan
2. Lightly beat the eggs (2 of them or 2 whites + 1 yolk)
   
3. Medium-high heat
4. Melt some butter in the pan
5. "When butter stops foaming and just begins to color, pour in the eggs"
6. Once the edges of the omelet begin to set, add the filling*; spreading it mostly down the middle of the egg
7. When the bottom is browned, you're ready to fold the omelet
8. a) If you're talented and brave, follow Bittman's cookbook directions for doing this without using your hands; b) Or, if you're not (like me), use a spatula and your fingers to fold the omelet in half to seal in the filling.
   
9. Cook for a little bit longer, then gently slide the omelet out of the pan and onto a plate
10. Eat immediately
    

* Steam spinach separately in advance for the filling (and toss with a bit of nutmeg according to Bittman) and sprinkle with goat cheese (according to me)

Saint Morgon vs. Cheap Feta

Saint Morgon: $6.99/200g at Fiesta Farms

One of the reasons I went nuts and bought three kinds of cheese yesterday was that it was pay day and I suddenly had a bit of money in my bank account (hooray for direct deposit!). Before most of it was funneled towards my VISA bill, I felt like treating myself and spending a bit of hard-earned cash on cheese -- especially in light of my last cheese purchase: a 123-gram piece of sub-par feta bought at the ultra-budget No Frills near my house for $2.18 (which may have been the cheapest piece of cheese for sale in the entire store) because I couldn't bear the thought of not eating any cheese for a week.

So what's the difference between cheap cheese and not-so-cheap cheese? It's probably not fair to compare these two particular cheeses since the two types are vastly different but I've been thinking about the price of cheese ever since laying eyes on the super-tiny tubs of $12.95 Salt Spring Island Chevre at Whole Foods and then seeing the $9.95 Buffalo Mozzarella yesterday at Fiesta Farms. I'm all for paying more to get a higher quality product. If there's anything I've learned reading food books and Gourmet magazine all summer it's that it's all about the ingredients. Case in point: the basil pesto I made with high-end, Whole Foods-purchased parmesan reggiano while housesitting for C. was one of the best pestos I've ever made (I was so proud of it that I made T. and W. try spoonfuls of it fresh out of the food processor).

Anyway, the cheap feta I've been eating in salad all week was fine - it was crumbly and salty and went well with my sweet, garlicky homemade dressing - but it didn't blow my mind. Since starting this cheese project, there have only been two cheese that have done that (metaphorically, of course): one was the anonymous pecorino I had back in May and the other was a free sample of a soft cheese I tried at Whole Foods while purchasing the aforementioned expensive parmesan. Both had overwhelming flavour and you didn't need to eat much to get a sense of that. The cheese I popped in my mouth at Whole Foods (straight because it was the last bit on the tray and there were no more crackers) was like a meal in a mouthful. That's worth paying for.

Desiring a similar treat, I shelled out $6.99 for Saint Morgon at Fiesta Farms and bought an Ace Bakery demi-baguette to eat with it. Even wrapped up in plastic and wax paper, it smelled mildly stinky (like sweaty socks, actually) and the labelling on the bottom of the package assured me that it was "affiné" (ripened). I tried some smeared on the bread after I'd squeezed all the fruit in the fridge. What I noticed first of all was that it was salty. The flavour was mild at first, then started to get stronger but was never overwhelming in the way I wanted it to be. No aftertaste, though, which is a good thing, and though it's a full-fat soft cheese, it wasn't too creamy-tasting either.

But was it worth the cost? I mean, I will eat it and enjoy it (I had some more this morning) but I probably won't buy it again. When you're cheese-shopping on a budget, as I am, I think you want better R.O.I. (return on investment). Which has made me think that I need to sample expensive cheeses before purchasing them. If my "cheap feta" had turned out to be crappy, which it wasn't, it wouldn't have mattered because I spent so little on it but I can't help but feel a little ripped-of by the Saint Morgon...

Note #1: that's not a real ant in the feta picture, it's plastic

Note #2: Maybe the Saint Morgon just isn't meant for eating on bread. The Juniper Grill & Wine Bar in Orangeville uses it in a cooked appetizer: "Escargots, mushroom & Saint Morgon cheese perogy with sorrel sauce" (only $9 if you're willing to make the drive out of town and the rest of the menu looks good, too)

My fridge is all fromage & fruit

Went raspberry-picking at Spring View Farms in the hamlet of Leaskdale yesterday afternoon with B. Very cute "chemical-free" farm about 80km north of Toronto that does U-Pick strawberries, blackcurrants, and raspberries. (I'd tried to go there two weeks ago with S.W. and M. for strawberries but they were sold out so had to pick at Twinkle Berry Farm down the road.) We didn't have much time for picking because we only had a car co-op Yaris until 5:30pm and we didn't get to the farm until almost 3pm but we still picked 9 pints! And the berries are delicious. After I returned the car (and broke my cellphone by dropping it!), I walked up to look at a room for rent near Dupont & Christie, along the way picking up the cherries, strawberries, and blueberries I'd left in the fridge at work on Thursday.

The room for rent was cute and little red house on Clinton had potential (lots of room, cheap rent, a designated "sewing room", backyard, basement with laundry...) but it didn't feel quite right for me. However, it was just a two-minute walk away from one of my favourite Toronto supermarkets: Fiesta Farms (which, if you remember, is the place I spent nearly $75 as a pre-birthday present to myself) . This store is a sort of Italian/organic grocery-store heaven: they have an entire aisle devoted to pasta & sauce, their selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars is amazing, they have great produce, tonnes of reasonably priced organic "staples," and a not-bad selection of cheese. So, not only do I have a tonne of fruit in my fridge, I also have 3 new kinds of cheese to taste this weekend:

• Saint Morgon: a soft ripened cheese from Choisy Le Roi, France (website in Norwegian)
  
  
• Capriny: a soft unripened goat's milk cheese from Saint-Raymond de Portneuf, Quebec
  
  
• Doré-Mi: a semi-soft unripened cheese from Montreal, Quebec*

* labelled as "The Perfect Cheese to Grill," which means I will be calling up B. (once I have a phone again) and asking if we can grill it on her rooftop-deck BBQ...

Reading is almost as good as eating

I've been on a huge reading-about-food binge of late. If you were to peruse the list of books (and magazines) I've borrowed from the Toronto Public Library over the last six months, you'd think I'd abandoned fiction altogether (not true).

The three best* non-fiction titles I've come across this year are (in the order I read them):

• Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
  
• The 100-Mile Diet by Alissa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon
• Julie and Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny kitchen by Julie Powell**

* By "best," I mean most interesting and best-written. Cookbooks don't count, though if they did honorable mentions would go to Raw by Charlie Trotter (in which the photos are amazing; I haven't actually made anything from the book) and Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under an Hour by Peter Berley (again, haven't made anything from this book but I was flagging so many recipes to photocopy when I was reading it that I think I have to buy the book).

**Related to the last title, which is all about cooking EVERY SINGLE RECIPE in Julia Child's infamous Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I just stumbled across the Smithsonian Museum of American History's online exhibit of Julia Child's kitchen. It's fascinating and worth checking out (especially since the museum itself is closed for renovations until 2008).

Cheeses I Have Eaten This Summer

Some highlights from the first half of the summer...

Fig & Feta Salad:

Probably with pecans and pears
Maple Cheddar:
231-kilometre cheese

Maple Cheddar (closeup):
you can see the crumbly texture

Gluten-free Cheese & Tomato-filled Crepes:
Made with organic quinoa flour

Gluten-Free Crepes (interior):
I think that's Black River X-tra Old Cheddar
Black River Extra Old Cheddar:
Very sharp, almost tangy flavour

Asparagus & Red Pepper Crustless Quiche (pre-cooked):
With goat cheese, naturellement

The Cheapest Goat's Milk Cheese at my No Frills:
My #3 Choice for Chevre

The Most Local Goat's Milk Cheese at my No Frills:
My #2 choice for Chevre

The Not-Local & Most-Expensive Goat's Milk Cheese at my No Frills:
My #1 choice for Chevre (it's the best tasting!)

"Grilled" Cheese

I was introduced to the concept of barbecued cheese by K. in Montreal two summers ago. She used to host wonderful weekly all-comers' barbecues and if you were a vegetarian who arrived early enough there might be some grilled halloumi up for grabs before the grill became dominated by meat. Halloumi is Cypriot in origin and is typically made with sheep's milk or goat's milk (or a blend). It's similar to mozzarella but chewier and usually saltier. Halloumi can be fried or grilled quite successfully due to its higher-than-normal melting point (according to Wikipedia, this from "the fresh curd being heated before being shaped and placed in brine"). When I found out that the place I was going to be housesitting for a couple weeks had a BBQ, I decided that I had to track down some halloumi of my own and invite some friends over to try it...

THE BARBECUED CHEESE EXPERIMENT

Hypothesis: That halloomi grilled on the barbecue will be delicious

Procedure:

1. Ride your bike to several high-end food stores looking for the Ontario halloumi you read about recently, which its makers tout as being "the only 100% sheep’s milk Halloumi made in Canada."

2. Strike out at Pusateri's, All the Best Fine Foods, and Whole Foods but sample several delicious cheeses during the (re)search -- including David Wood's Salt Spring Island goat cheese that certain Toronto foodies are excited about since it hit stores recently.

3. Forty-five minutes before guests are to arrive, fly into your last-chance grocery store. Luck out: not only does Loblaws have President's Choice "Halloom" in stock but it's on sale for $4.99. Grab two packages.

4. Back at home, set up barbecue and wait for B. to arrive because she has previous cheese-barbecuing experience (and also the matches needed to light the barbecue). Distract guests with sweet-potato hummous and potato salad while awaiting B's arrival.

5. On advice of B, have W. cut cheese into slices and soak in olive oil. Appoint another friend to quarter lemons (so that they can be squeezed over hot cheese).

6. Try grilling cheese directly on the BBQ, which is only moderately successful (let's just say, it sticks) but friends still say it's delicious when they try it.

7. Decide that B. was right: it might be better to just pan fry the cheese so scavenge around until you find a cast-iron frying pan (it's still barbecuing even if you use a pan).

8. Figure out that the pan works pretty well (but still some sticking) and that putting lots of oil in the pan makes it even better.

9. Serve cheese to everyone present and conclude that hypothesis was correct: the halloumi is delicious...

YUM!

10. Plan to repeat experiment to doublecheck findings.

For another story of barbecuing halloumi (with prettier pictures), check out 101 Cookbooks.

Note: Halloumi is Cypriot but the Greeks also do a version of fried cheese: it's called Saganaki and typically uses Kefalograviera, Kasseri, or sheep's milk feta.