Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo is a grammatically correct sentence in English, but will this cheese Cheese cheese cheese Cheese cheese? That’s right! We tried a cheese made with water buffalo milk! Will this cheese be GAMEY or will it be game over? We beHOOVE you to GRAZE on this MEATY episode of the Olivia and Joe Cheese Show.
The Olivia and Joe Cheese Show is a weekly talk show where we try a new cheese every week. Historical, international, favorites to cheap bodega finds, we’ll try anything! If you’re a foodie who likes to laugh, you’ll love the Cheese Show! More information about this week’s cheese below:
Country – Lombardia, Italy
Milk Type – Water Buffalo
Pasteurization – Pasteurized
Rennet Type – Animal
Age – 6-8 weeks
Quattro Portoni’s Quadrello di Bufala is a pasteurized cheese that updates the classic Lombardian Taleggio recipe by using buffalo milk! It’s creamy, sweet, gamey, and goes great with a bold Italian red wine like Barbera. Now some fun facts about water buffalo!! When we talk about buffalo that are milked for cheese, we are not talking about bison. When early explorers came to North America, they saw bison and thought they resembled the old world buffalo, and so they called them that. But actually, they were looking at bison. Bison are indigenous to North America and parts of Europe, whereas buffalo are indigenous to Africa (cape buffalo) and South Asia (water buffalo). The buffalo we are referring to today are water buffalo, indigenous to South Asia.
Water buffalo are an endangered species. Less than 4,000 remain in the wild! Their natural habitat is slowly disappearing, and they’re hunted for their horns and hides. So in the wild they only live up to 9 years. In captivity, however, they gain an additional 16 years of life expectancy (25 total) because the dairy farms treat them so well! Typically, animals in captivity have worse lives, but not water buffalo. They’re very high maintenance animals, and have to be taken really good care of for the dairy farms to get good milk production out of them, so the farms treat the buffalo like royalty! If the environment of the milking parlor changes, or a stranger comes to visit the farm, the milk production is poor that day. Dairy farmers have to get to know the water buffalo very well, talk to them calmly and brush their hair, play soft music to help them relax, and then the buffalo will yield their milk. Comfort is key. In fact, one of the easiest ways to milk a water buffalo is while it’s being nuzzled by its calf! Some dairy farmers will even create machines or tools to simulate the feeling of being nuzzled by a calf just to help their buffalo produce milk.
When the farms do get the buffalo to produce milk, they can produce 12-18 pounds per day, about the same as a goat (cows produce 60-80 pounds/day). But it’s worth it!! Because water buffalo milk contains higher levels of protein, calcium, and iron, while containing less cholesterol and lactose. It’s a much more nutritious milk! It doesn’t contain significant amounts of carotene (which makes cheese yellow-orange), so buffalo milk is typically very pearly white, or nearly translucent. Plus, people with sensitivities to dairy and lactose often have a positive experience with buffalo milk! It has a higher fat content than cow milk, which makes it silky smooth and extra creamy. Delicious!
Pairing Suggestions: We paired this Italian cheese with prosciutto di parma, and Barbera wine – both from Italy! One of the pairing principles is “terroir,” meaning from the same place. Can’t go wrong if you eat foods and drink wines from the same region!
If You Can’t Find This Cheese: Look for any water buffalo milk cheese! Preferably something aged. A popular younger buffalo milk cheese you should be able to find is mozzarella di bufala!! Just make sure you don’t get cow milk mozzarella which is easier to find. Mozzarella di bufala is a little more expensive, more creamy, and more delicious. You can probably also find a burrata di bufala. Yum!
If you like this cheese, let us know below! What do you like to pair with this cheese? How would you describe the way this cheese tastes? What are your favorite cheeses?
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