Pasta Filata
Pasta filata is the Italian spun-curd technique behind mozzarella, provolone, caciocavallo and scamorza. Fresh curd is kneaded in hot water until it turns soft, elastic and stringy, which gives the finished cheese its fibrous structure.
Key Facts
| Specific Origin | Italy |
| Milk Type | Cow, water buffalo |
| Texture | Soft, elastic and stringy, fibrous |
| Age | Fresh for mozzarella, aged for provolone, caciocavallo and scamorza |
| Also Known As | stretch-curd cheese, pulled-curd cheese, plastic-curd cheese |
What is Pasta Filata Cheese?
Pasta filata means spun paste. It names a technique used across a family of Italian stretched-curd cheeses, and the cheeses themselves go by stretch-curd, pulled-curd or plastic-curd.
Making one starts in the normal way. Milk, usually from cows or water buffalo, is warmed and curdled, then left to rest for an hour. The curds are cut into small pieces, the whey drains off, and the curd rests for several more hours.
Then comes the filatura. The curd steeps for hours in a bath of very hot whey or water, and for mozzarella di bufala campana that bath sits at 95 °C. Once the pieces float, most of the liquid is taken away and the curd is mixed and kneaded until it turns soft, elastic and stringy. The mass is divided, often by pulling out a thick strand and chopping it, then shaped into individual cheeses.
Calcium is removed during production, which lets the casein micelles spread out and makes the curd more extensible. It also leaves mozzarella with 40% less calcium than cheddar.
For mozzarella the work is essentially finished at that point, and the cheese is best eaten within a few days. Provolone, caciocavallo silano, pallone di Gravina, burrata and scamorza need more: ageing, and in some cases brining or smoking.
How Does Pasta Filata Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Pasta Filata against.
