Burraduc buffalo mozzarella

Inspired by ancient craft, bloodlines and YouTube.

WHO Elena Swegen had been making cheese for more than a decade before she discovered her passion for buffalo mozzarella. “I spent two-and-a-half months visiting buffalo farmers across Europe,” she says. She ended up in Campania, where the tradition of buffalo breeding and mozzarella making is “old, rich and wellpreserved”. There, Swegen ate mozzarella three times a day and met with local breeders who really knew their curds – their families had been making mozzarella for four centuries. Swegen moved to Bungwahl in northern New South Wales and started Burraduc Farm, where she produces fresh buffalo mozzarella and ricotta daily.

HOW The milking and mozzarella production is completed under the same roof, on the same day. “In Italy, they say good mozzarella is so fresh you can feel the buffalo’s breath when you bite into it,” Swegen says. To produce the best herd, she researched Mediterranean buffalo bloodlines in Campania and imported the best frozen semen she could find. And while Swegen learnt a lot from artisan makers, she also picked up skills from watching YouTube, including ads for industrial mozzarella-making equipment and home videos of an Italian grandpa singing as he makes cheese in his basement on an old gas stove.

WHY Swegen’s traditional method of making mozzarella is also inspired by a strong sense of animal welfare. Burraduc allows mothers and their calves to graze and swim together and the herd is “protected by livestock guardian dogs so that they can enjoy a relaxed lifestyle,” she says. It’s also important because one trait that distinguishes buffalo from dairy cattle is their ability to withdraw milk if they’re unhappy. Burraduc buffalo mozzarella, $15 for 200-220gm, is available at Sydney’s Bondi Markets or online at featherandbone.com.au LAKSHA PRASAD