Fior di Latte

Let me tell you about Fior di Latte, and why it behaves the way it does on your board and in your oven.

This is a fresh cow's milk cheese, made the same way as mozzarella, by stretching warm curd until it turns smooth and elastic. Pull it apart with your fingers and you'll feel that stretching: it comes away in soft, fibrous strings, like pulling warm silk. Cut it, and the inside should look layered, never like a dense rubber block.

Choose it by smell first. It must smell of milk, clean and sweet, nothing sour, nothing like plastic. Press it gently — it should give a little and release a drop of milky liquid. That liquid is life; don't drain it away before serving.

Some people say Fior di Latte and mozzarella di bufala are the same cheese with a different name. No! One comes from cow's milk, the other from buffalo. The texture, the moisture, the way they melt — all different, and buffalo milk gives a richer, creamier cheese. This misconception leads cooks to treat Fior di Latte like it's something it isn't, piling it on without watching how it actually behaves in the oven. Watch it closely instead: it will often let go of some of its liquid as it heats, and that's normal, not a flaw. Use it fresh, use it with attention, and respect what it actually is.