Burrata
Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese from Puglia with a pouch of stretched mozzarella curd around a filling of stracciatella and cream. Cut it open and the soft centre spills out, which is what it is known for.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Specific Origin | Andria, Apulia |
| Milk Type | Cow, occasionally water buffalo |
| Milk Treatment | Pasteurized or unpasteurized |
| Fat Content | 60% fat in dry matter |
| Rind | Thin |
| Texture | Soft, creamy |
| Flavor | Mild, lactic |
| Forms | Pouch-shaped, wrapped |
| Age | Within 48 hours |
| Rennet Type | Animal |
What is Burrata Cheese?
Burrata comes from Puglia in southern Italy, specifically the Murgia area. It was created in the 1920s as a way to use up leftover cheese instead of throwing it away. One account credits the Bianchino brothers, Lorenzo and Vincenzo, at a farm in Andria around 1900; newer records point to Lorenzo Bianchino of the Piana Padura farm making it first in 1956.
Production starts the way mozzarella does. Rennet curdles warm milk, then the fresh curds go into hot whey or lightly salted water, where they are kneaded and pulled into stretchy strings. That technique is called pasta filata. While the cheese is still hot it gets shaped into a pouch, filled with leftover mozzarella scraps, topped with fresh cream, and closed.
The finished cheese is traditionally wrapped in asphodel leaves, tied into a topknot that looks like a brioche, and moistened with whey. The shell is solid cheese. Inside sit stracciatella and clotted cream, which give burrata its unusually soft texture.
It does not keep well, even in the fridge, so eat it while it is still fresh. Burrata began as an artisanal cheese and kept its premium standing once factories across Puglia started making it. Since November 2016, burrata di Andria has carried PGI protection, meaning every step from raw material to finished cheese has to happen inside the defined area of Puglia.
How Does Burrata Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Burrata against.
