A stretched curd paste, white in color, soft and elastic when bitten, plain scamorza or scamorza bianca is a masterpiece of Italian (Apulian in particular) dairy tradition.
You can find scamorza everywhere, sold in supermarkets or in cheese factories like our Caseificio Palazzo, where its manufacturing is in the care of expert artisanal cheesemakers. This job has been going on for three generations, without losing the distinctive quality of our plain scamorza.
What is scamorza bianca or plain scamorza and how it is made
Its name originates from the verb “scamozzare”, which means to cut off and refers to a particular process of “strangling” the paste at about a third of its height from the top, using the fingers, and then secure the peculiar pear-shaped with a string. It is usually tied in pairs. Nowadays, the traditional pear shape can also be obtained by using a mechanical system.
It is basically a dried mozzarella and can substitute it to have a more dominant and stronger taste.
The best ways to enjoy a plain scamorza
Plain scamorza (also known as scamorza bianca), is always a pleasure for any kind of palate, because it can satisfy the most delicate ones when consumed alone, raw or as a topping.
The most demanding ones can also try it grilled, combined with prosciutto (cured ham) or speck (smoked ham) or garnished with a truffle cream.
Our scamorza doesn’t contain any animal rennet, and this is why it has got the vegetarian certification by the Associazione Vegetariana Italiana (Italian Vegetarian Association).
Other culinary options are bruschetta con scamorza (toasted or charcoaled bread with melted plain scamorza) evo olive oil and pepper and many types of savoury tarts and quiches where scamorza is a perfect substitute of mozzarella, being drier and able to guarantee the same stringy consistency with less water and a more intense flavour.
