Burrata is a soft Italian cheese made by wrapping a thin pouch of fresh mozzarella around a creamy filling called stracciatella. The result looks like a smooth white ball from the outside, but when you cut it open, a rich mixture of shredded mozzarella strands and heavy cream spills out. The entire process, from curdling milk to tying the finished cheese, can happen in a single day.
It Starts Like Mozzarella
Burrata begins with warm cow’s milk (occasionally buffalo milk) and rennet, an enzyme that curdles the milk into a solid mass. Once the curds form and are cut into smaller pieces, they sit until they reach the right acidity for stretching. This step is identical to making mozzarella, and about two-thirds of the curds will eventually become the outer shell. The remaining third becomes the filling.
The key transformation happens when hot water, heated to roughly 185°F to 190°F, is poured over the curds. At that temperature, the protein structure loosens enough that the curds can be kneaded and pulled like taffy. This technique is called pasta filata, meaning “spun paste” in Italian. Cheesemakers traditionally work the curds by hand with large forks in pots of hot water, folding and stretching until the mass turns glossy and elastic. The stretching aligns the protein fibers into parallel layers with channels of fat and water running between them, which gives mozzarella (and burrata’s shell) its characteristic smooth, springy texture.
Making the Stracciatella Filling
The filling is where burrata distinguishes itself from a ball of fresh mozzarella. Stracciatella, which translates roughly to “little shreds,” is made by taking a portion of the stretched mozzarella and pulling it into thin, rope-like strands, typically about an eighth to a quarter inch wide and a few inches long. These delicate threads are dropped into a bowl of cold water to cool, then transferred into heavy cream and left to soak.
As the cream absorbs into those shredded strands, the mixture becomes extraordinarily rich and soft. The ratio is simple: one recipe calls for a pint of heavy cream to two gallons of milk’s worth of curds, with roughly a third of the total curd reserved for the filling. Some producers use ricotta or mascarpone instead of stracciatella, but the traditional version relies on these cream-soaked mozzarella threads. The cheese was invented in the 1920s at a farmhouse near Castel del Monte in Puglia, southern Italy, specifically as a way to use up leftover scraps from mozzarella production. The cream came from the dense layer that formed on top of the morning milking.
Forming and Filling the Pouch
With the stracciatella ready, the remaining two-thirds of the stretched mozzarella curds are shaped into the outer shell. A cheesemaker takes a portion of the warm, pliable mozzarella and gently stretches it into a flat circle, about four inches across. The cheese needs to be warm enough to stay elastic but not so hot that it tears.
Two spoonfuls of the stracciatella filling go into the center of the circle. The cheesemaker then gathers the edges upward, pinching them together at the top like a drawstring bag to seal the filling inside. This is the step that separates artisanal burrata from industrial production. In traditional dairies, the pinching and tying are done entirely by hand, creating the small twisted knot you see on top of the cheese. Factory production uses blowing machines during the forming and filling phase, which creates a tighter seal and significantly extends shelf life.
Once sealed, the ball is dunked into cooled whey or ice water. This rapid cooling firms up the outer shell and helps the burrata hold its round shape.
Artisanal vs. Industrial Production
The basic steps are the same whether burrata is made by hand in a small Puglian dairy or on a factory line, but the details create real differences in the final product. Research comparing artisanal and industrial burrata from Puglia found that handmade versions had lower moisture in the filling, likely because small producers use different types of cream than large factories. The artisanal cheeses also had higher salt concentration and slightly different acidity levels.
The tradeoff is shelf life and food safety. Handmade burrata typically lasts only 3 to 5 days due to the more variable conditions of small-scale production. Industrial burrata, shaped and sealed by machine in more controlled environments, can last up to 20 days. Artisanal versions in the study actually showed higher bacterial counts, highlighting the challenge of maintaining strict hygiene during hands-on cheesemaking. For the best flavor and texture, burrata is ideally eaten within 24 hours of production.
Storage and Serving
Burrata needs to stay refrigerated at around 40°F (4°C). Its high moisture content, low salt levels, and near-neutral pH all create an environment where bacteria can grow quickly if the cheese warms up. This is why you’ll often find burrata sold in a bath of liquid, either whey or lightly salted water, to keep the outer shell moist and pliable.
Traditionally in Puglia, burrata is gently warmed in a water bath before serving rather than eaten straight from the refrigerator. Bringing it closer to room temperature makes the filling more fluid and intensifies the flavor. A 100-gram serving contains about 330 calories, with 28 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein, making it considerably richer than plain mozzarella thanks to all that cream in the center.
Why It Tastes So Different From Mozzarella
Mozzarella and burrata share the same DNA. They use the same milk, the same curdling process, and the same hot-water stretching technique. The difference is entirely structural. Mozzarella is a solid mass of aligned protein fibers. Burrata uses that same stretched curd as a thin container for something much softer and fattier. When you slice into it, the contrast is immediate: a firm, slightly chewy shell giving way to a loose, creamy interior that’s closer to a very thick cream sauce than a solid cheese. That interplay between textures, all made from the same batch of curds, is the whole point of the cheese.