fresh mozzarella in liquid--a question

I bought some fresh mozzarella from Whole Foods yesterday. (I have tomatoes ripening and am up to my ears in basil.) The cheese was in a plastic container in the usual liquid. Unfortunately (for my other groceries, anyway), the container was tipped sideways in the bag and leaked all over. Little liquid is left in the container. Will this be a problem? Do I need to eat the cheese in a hurry or risk it going bad? What is that liquid anyway?

Thanks.

Holly:

You can help keep it from turning bad really quickly by just adding more water and a good dose of salt. I've found that the dose of salt for such purposes must be pretty large (a few good pinches); if there's too little, the salt from the cheese is drawn out in to the water and you have unsalted mozzarella, which is pretty dull. On the other hand, I've never added so much that I thought the cheese had ended up appreciably saltier than it was supposed to be. This technique I use as well with feta and haloumi.

But remember, for mozzarella freshness is of the greatest importance. Don't wait: eat it now and buy some more when the tomatoes are ready. It will in any event only stay edible for a matter of days, unless they have performed satanic rituals over it.

In general, I would suggest checking the dates of lots of containers, find the most recent one, buy it and take it home; eat it that day fresh. If there's any left over, use it for cooking, where it can also be quite delightful.

Antonius

I'd suggest stopping in to Caputo's Cheese, not the one on Harlem, on 15th Ave. about a block north of North Ave. Fresh made mozzarella and ricotta in a separate case, sold in three different sizes, as much as you want for $2.39 / pound. Puts Whole Paycheck to shame @ $8.99/lb or whatever they're charging.

Not to mention a great selection of cheeses, salumi, dried pasta, etc...

The produce can be a bit hit or miss but Prosciutto de Parma for $8.99 / pound will keep me coming back.

.....has fresh mozz on sale for $4.99 a pound (!). I made myself quite a caprese tonight, let me tell you.

If you like Marketplace on Oakton, you'll like this place, too.

i got some of this today from conte di savoia ($6/lb) and was shocked at how dull and watery it was. i tasted the liquid and it did not seem salty whatsoever is it crazy to try to brine these bad boys? i naively bought a whole pound, thinking to use it for pizza tomorrow but now i am not so sure. i guess i can just salt them as i finish the pizza. or am i missing something and this is how fresh mozz is supposed to taste?

jdchurchill wrote:i got some of this today from conte di savoia ($6/lb) and was shocked at how dull and watery it was. i tasted the liquid and it did not seem salty whatsoever is it crazy to try to brine these bad boys? i naively bought a whole pound, thinking to use it for pizza tomorrow but now i am not so sure. i guess i can just salt them as i finish the pizza. or am i missing something and this is how fresh mozz is supposed to taste?

You can brine it if you wish. All recipes I have come across when making mozzarella (from various cheese making books) call for a simple brine solution (5 parts water to 1 part salt). Heat the water up to dissolve all the salt and cool before adding the mozzarella. That said, I have always preferred sweeter mozzarella and always reduce the salt amount in my brine.
Also, the cheese will not last as long in a sweeter brine than it would in a saltier one.

so i just put a couple generous pinches of kosher salt in there and then by murphy's law it ended up salty. but i think i am a convertee to the fresh mozz for pizzas. we paired it with a little sundried tomatos and that pizza went quick.

This is about the not-so-fresh mozzarella

Hi,

During Christmas, someone came over with some fresh mozzarella. They never used, didn't take it home and it sat in my refrigerator. Over time I noticed the package inflate, some bubbles began to show. It was like watching a side view of bread rising.

Today I checked the freshness date, yes - this is quite academic at this point, to learn we passed that great moment in January sometime. I popped open the cheese, then sliced off a piece to try. It had a slightly sour taste to it, though nowhere near repulsive as sour milk.

Could this be roughly considered a ripened cheese maybe even a bit aged? Beyond my taste, is it something to be eaten robustly or tossed?

Regards,

Cathy-

I would think that it would be safe to eat. The fermentation shouldnt harm it. I have this happen with goat cheese occasionally, when I forget about a sealed package in the back of the fridge. They blow up like a small balloon. I am often surprised that they dont pop since the pressure is so great. The goat cheese tends to get a little nastier, slimy with various colored molds growing on it, so I usually throw it out. I had it happen once with a sealed "fresh" mozzarella from Costco, and while it was probably only a month or 2 past its use by date, it was perfectly good, and not slimy or moldy.

-Will

Hi,

Sorry to say but that's a tosser. Fresh mozzarella is really made to be used withing a few days. A good Neopolitan pizzeria makes cheese every day, all to be used in one day.

All real cheese contains live cultures which age over time. Any fresh cheese tastes different than properly aged cheese. The range of flavors is especially pronounced in wash rind cheese (brie, limburger) with fresh flavors becoming funky after a few weeks. Blue cheese also change dramatically with Bleu de Bresse going from creamy fresh to sour in two weeks and Cabrales becoming unpleasantly acidic if it is not sold when ready to eat.

The same is true for fresh cream. I still treasure the wonderful flavor of cream opened 57 days beyond the "use by" date; it was luscious.

It's a combination of timing, cleanliness, conditions and luck.
Tim

Tim wrote:...It's a combination of timing, cleanliness, conditions and luck.
Tim

And if I recall correctly, pH and moisture and salt content too -- basically how hospitable an environment it is for bad bacteria. I think Queso Fresco is an example of a cheese with high moisture and high (for a cheese) pH, so you wouldn't want to eat that stuff much past its expiration date. It's why it's often deadly when its "bathtub cheese" made at home with possibly questionable sanitation and sold to the public.