Editor's note: This article is part of a series of Arizona cheese reviews in honor of American Cheese Month. To read the first two reviews, visit our fall blog here and here.
As the artisan cheese scene heats up, restaurants across town are ditching those vacuum-sealed blocks of gratable rubber for something a bit bubblier. Fresh, homemade mozzarella — while relatively simple to make — melts better, and is infinitely tastier than the store-bought stuff.
It's also a great sign your chef is worth his salt. Many local restaurants, including Maynard's Market and both Vero Amore locations, are embracing the trend and pulling some curd. The traditional Italian process, called pasta filata or "spun paste," involves soaking cheese curds until they are pliable, and then quickly sticking your hands into near-boiling water and swiftly pulling and shaping with your fingers into round balls. (And of course, eating half of them while they're still hot!)
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Speaking as a former cheesemonger who used to make these guys on a regular basis — and I have the burns to prove it! — mozzarella-making does require a degree of skill. But once mastered, the technique can easily be performed in the home kitchen, with nothing more than a knife and a few large bowls of water.
But if — like most — you value your fingers, just head over to Time Market and pick up a little tub for $4.99. The campus-area cafe pumps out a regular selection of the lush, silky mounds, which they also melt on their pizza.
But yesterday, my ball was destined for none other than a caprese sandwich. After paying, I took the velvety mound of crumbly cream right home and plopped it on a slice of Time Market's crusty baguette, with some heirloom tomatoes and basil. Why describe it? You already know what mozzarella tastes like: simply amazing. And after all this work, don't we all deserve a break?
