Traditionally, mozzarella is made from 100 percent buffalo milk.
Now, the first mozzarella made from pure donkey milk has been made in Italy. There are variations – Fior di latte, for instance, is made from cow’s milk. Donkey milk, alike horse milk, has long been written off as unusable to make cheese. Donkey milk doesn’t form curd because it lacks a vital milk protein, and so when mixed with rennet it doesn’t form a gel or resemble cheese in any way.
Azienda Agricola Montebaducco, Europe’s largest donkey farm, has pioneered a technique to make mozzarella out of donkey milk, something which was for a long time impossible. However, even though farmers have developed a way to make mozzarella from the donkey milk, it’s average yield is much smaller than that of buffalo or cow milk – about 4 percent versus 10 to 12 percent from cow’s milk.
The innovation doesn’t stop there though, as the Azienda Agricola farmer believes he can also now make mozzarella from mare’s milk.
