Where to Buy Mozzarella and Burrata
Where to” is a column whose purpose is to summarize the content of many posts by product. Where can you buy Parmigiano? And where to eat the best gelato? Find out here!
Mozzarella and burrata are close-knit relatives. They are originally from Campania, although many places in the South- and a few in the North- started producing these incredible delicacies.
- Mozzarella in Italy is always a soft cheese oozing liquid, and even industrial packaging preserves these milk-tasting balls in its whey.
- Mozzarella di bufala is a step up from regular mozzarella, made only from buffalo milk where it takes its grassy flavor. Pearly and delicious, it is a bit harder to find, but there’s plenty of places that do in the Bay Area…
- Burrata is in a league of its own: made similarly to mozzarella, with cow’s milk, during the production it’s streched to form a pouch that gets filled with soft mozzarella curd and the cream from the way. It is then knotted to keep the “surprise” inside, and when you eat it the texture and the taste make you think of a butter filling, hence the name.
Mozzarella
Best: Costco, Garofalo mozzarella di bufala- five little balls preserved in whey, imported from Italy- delicious!
Second Best: Trader Joe’s, Mandala mozzarella di bufala, imported, but a bit more pricey
Everyone Else: Mozzarella di bufala is now available at a lot of the specialty stores, although pricey. Regular mozzarella in whey is available all over the place, although I find I like the Trader Joe’s brand the best, and it comes in two shapes, regular and ciliegine, little bite-sized balls. Even Safeway carries mozzarella now, but among the specialties store here’s a list:
Burrata:
I have seen burrata only in a few stores:
Imported Burrata:
The Cheeseboard Collective (Thanks to Patrick)
1504 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley
Ph# 510-549-3183
US-Made Burrata
Farmstead Cheeses & Wine (Thanks to Julia)
1650 Park St
Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 864-9463
http://farmsteadcheesesandwines.com/
Know of more places? Please send me an email with your finds at vanessa at italyinsf dot com!
Filed under: Where to Get
Great post - I love mozzarella and burrata.
Supposedly, The Pasta Shop also carries burrata imported from Italy. Same with Cheese Board in Berkeley. Cheese Board also does mozzarella di bufala.
Bryan’s Market in Laurel Heights and Rainbow Grocery in Mission get the same burrata flown in from LA made by Gioia Cheese. A bit pricier than Cowgirl so only worth it in a pinch.
SFGate has info for ordering shipments from Gioia direct if you need a larger quantity for a party:
“Gioia Cheese Co. Makes burrata daily; sold by phone and shipped overnight, prepaid or COD, no credit cards; minimum of 4-6 pounds at $5 per ball, plus $8 handling and up to $45 in shipping to the Bay Area. 1605 Potrero Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733. (626) 444-6015.”
Whole Foods and Bristol Farms stores in San Francisco also carry Burrata (Made in Italy) - as does Lucca Delicatessen on Valencia (Made in Wisconsin) …
Thanks a lot!! I didn’t see burrata at my Whole Foods, wonderful to know they carry it!! Also nice to hear about Rainbow and Lucca- I will make sure to add them to my list!
Grazie!
Vanessa