List of water buffalo cheeses facts for kids

Buffalo mozzarella

Did you know that cheese isn't just made from cow's milk? Many delicious cheeses are made from the milk of water buffalo! These special cheeses are enjoyed all over the world. Water buffalo milk is often richer and creamier than cow's milk, which gives these cheeses a unique taste and texture. Let's explore some of the amazing cheeses made from water buffalo milk!

Delicious Water Buffalo Cheeses

Kesong puti with bread

• Bagot ni horbo, also known as dali, is a traditional cheese from North Sumatra, Indonesia. It looks yellowish-white and has a texture like tofu. It tastes milky and is made by boiling buffalo milk. What's cool is that it's thickened using juice from papaya leaves or unripe pineapples!

• Bocconcini are small, round mozzarella cheeses, about the size of an egg. They are soft, white, and don't have a rind. These mild cheeses first came from Naples, Italy. While they were originally made only from water buffalo milk, today they are often made with a mix of buffalo and cow's milk.

• Buffalo mozzarella is a very famous type of mozzarella. It's made from the milk of a special buffalo breed called Mediterranea Italiana buffalo. This cheese has been made for a long time in Campania, Italy, especially in the areas of Caserta and Salerno. It's known for its fresh, milky flavor.

• Burrata is another fresh Italian cheese made from buffalo milk. It's prepared using a special method called pasta filata, which means "spun paste." This method involves stretching and kneading the cheese.

• Caciotta is a general name for several types of cheese made in central Italy. These cheeses can be made from the milk of cows, sheep, goats, or even water buffalo.

• Casatica is a sweet cheese from Northern Italy. It's shaped like a log and has a rind. It's a tasty example of a buffalo milk cheese from that region.

• Dangke is a unique cheese from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. To make it, fresh buffalo milk is boiled with slices of papaya leaves, stems, or unripe papaya fruits. After boiling, it's often soaked in salty water overnight. Then, it's wrapped in banana leaves, which helps to hide any bitter taste from the papaya.

• Domiati is a soft, white, and salty cheese. It's mainly made in Egypt, but also in Sudan and other Middle Eastern countries. It's usually made from buffalo milk, cow milk, or a mix of both. Sometimes, it can even be made from sheep, goat, or camel milk!

• Kesong puti is a soft, white cheese from the Philippines. It's not aged, meaning it's eaten fresh. It's made from the rich, unskimmed milk of a type of water buffalo called a carabao, along with salt and rennet (an enzyme that helps milk curdle).

• Khoa is a popular dairy product used a lot in the cooking of the Indian Subcontinent. It's made by slowly cooking down milk until it becomes a thick, solid mass. Both cow's and water buffalo milk are used to make khoa.

• Litsusu and cologanti are types of cheese found in East and West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. What makes them special is that they use enzymes from the litsusu tree to help the milk curdle and turn into cheese.

• Mozzarella is a classic Italian dairy product, especially from Southern Italy. It's traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk using the pasta filata method. In 1998, the European Union gave mozzarella a special certification. This means that mozzarella sold in the EU must be made following a traditional recipe.

• Nguri is a buffalo's milk cheese from the Fujian province in China. It's shaped like a small ball, about the size of a table tennis ball. It has a soft, slightly leathery texture.

• Provatura is another traditional dairy product from the Lazio region of Italy. Like mozzarella, it's made from Italian buffalo's milk using the pasta filata method.

• Rumi cheese is a type of cheese that can be made from either cow milk or buffalo milk.

• Stracciatella di bufala comes from the province of Foggia in Southern Italy. It's made from Italian buffalo milk. The name "stracciatella" comes from the Italian word "stracciare," meaning "to shred" or "to tear." This cheese is made by stretching and then shredding the curd.

• Surti paneer is a soft cheese linked to the city of Surat in India. It's a type of paneer (a fresh, non-melting cheese) made from buffalo milk. Rennet is used to make the milk curdle for this cheese.

See also

• List of cheeses
• List of dairy products