Scamorza
Scamorza is a southern Italian pasta filata cheese, usually made from cow's milk. It is tied with string and hung to dry into a pear-like shape, sold unsmoked or smoked, and works as a substitute for mozzarella in most dishes.
Yozh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Specific Origin | Apulia and Calabria, southern Italy |
| Milk Type | Cow's milk |
| Rind | Natural |
| Texture | Semi-soft |
| Colors | White |
| Forms | Pear-shaped rounds |
| Alternative Spellings | Scamorza Affumicata |
| Also Known As | Smoked Scamorza |
What is Scamorza Cheese?
Scamorza comes from southern Italy. Strictly speaking it belongs to Apulia and Calabria, though it is sold across the country in both unsmoked and smoked forms. The name probably comes from the phrases capa mozza or testa mozzata, both meaning severed head, which also explains why scamorza is used in regional Italian to mean fool or idiot.
It is a pasta filata cheese. The fresh curd sits in its own whey for several hours so the acidity can build as lactose turns into lactic acid. Artisanal makers shape the cheese into a round, tie a string around it one-third of the way down from the top, then hang it to dry. That step leaves the pear-like shape and is sometimes called strangling the cheese.
Most scamorza is made from cow's milk, less commonly from the milk of other species. In Bari it is made from sheep's milk. The cheese is usually white; smoked versions take on an almond colour outside with a lighter interior.
Scamorza can stand in for mozzarella in most dishes. Grilling is the classic treatment: Mario Batali cites scamorza alla griglia as a traditional Neapolitan dish, and food writer Arthur Schwartz reports that some Campanians rate it as good as grilled meat, if not better.
How Does Scamorza Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Scamorza against.
