Whole Foods Weekly Pick: Mozzarella

Tired of always buying the same items at the grocery store? Sometimes Patch is too. So, we've teamed up with the  in Deerfield for the month of June. Each Sunday, an employee will highlight a speciality item at the grocery story and fill you in on what's so good about it. This week we're sitting down with cheese expert Jason Herbert and talking about Crave Brothers’ Mozzarella. 

Patch: Tell me a little bit about this item. 

Jason: Crave Brothers’ Mozzarella is just great stuff!  There are many fine mozzarellas made in the Midwest, but we really chose a wonderful product and there are many things that are so foodie, so tasty and just-so-Whole Foods about the Mozz! 

Learning about the Crave Brothers’ operation is rewarding in and of itself- they use old-world techniques to craft great cheeses and modern technology to run their facilites- they use byproducts of the cheese-making process to power all of their operation!

Back to the cheese…

Mozzarella is familiar to just about everyone these days- the soft, mild cheese sliced with tomatoes, marinated with basil and olive oil… cold is the ultimate summer salad, bake and you’ve got yourself a pizza!  The Crave Brothers make farmstead cheeses- that is to say they own the dairy and the cheese is made right there- as fresh as fresh can be!

Their dairy farm in Waterloo, Wisconsin is the home of this cows’ milk cheese, which is made with their own milk, vegetarian-friendly cultures & enzymes, and a pinch of salt. The fresh curds are hand pulled to form a variety of traditional mozzarella shapes and sizes.  Their mozzarella is wonderfully soft and versatile, but refreshingly modest in fat and sodium, which makes it a good choice for meals and snacks!

Patch: Why is it in season? 

Jason: We always joke that our customers must eat, drink, and breathe Mozzarella in the summer months!  As the temperatures rise and the sun comes out, Chicagoans climb out of our winter hibernation and we can’t get enough of al fresco dining! What’s better on a soon-to-be-summer night than a sizzling grill, a frosty beverage and a Caprese salad? Mozzarella always sells well for us, but we take pride in offering a variety of the Crave Brothers’ fresh mozz to give our customers as many options as they need to make salads, pasta, snacks, stuff for the family, and to entertain!

Patch: Why do you like this particular kind of mozzarella? 

Jason: Crave Brothers’ Mozzarella is just yummy. I have been dealing with food in a hands on way since 2002: first as a student, then as a cook, later as a wholesaler, and now as a retailer of fine foods and I find Crave Brothers’ Mozzarella consistently the best Mozz I can buy. 

I think the texture walks the line between luxurious and practical, the flavor is subtle but bright and fresh, and though I love to use fresh mozz as an ingredient at home, at least half of every container is gobbled down in the kitchen with my fingers!

Patch: How would you recommend using it? 

Jason: I’ve already mentioned some of the familiar and obvious uses for fresh mozzarella- what makes the Crave Brother’s fresh mozzarella so great is the variety of forms we can make available to our customers!

Perlini are tiny pearls of fresh mozz- perfect for folding into pasta salads hot or cold.

Ciliegine are quarter-sized balls that I think make great h’ors d’ouvres, tossed in pestos or tapenades and served alongside olives and charcuterie.

Bocconcini are ping-pong ball-sized, “mouth-sized” and perfect for appetizers- wrapped in proscuito, skewered with a cherry tomato, or sliced in half and drizzled with olive oil and cracked black pepper.

Ovoline are the “egg-sized” Mozzarella we all know and love for our caprese salads!

Crave brothers’ also makes us a few packaged mozzarellas, not packed in water, but still quite fresh in 8 ounce balls and 1 pound logs, perfect for feeding the whole family!

This month we are also featuring a marinated ciliegini in olive oil with basil, parsley, and a dash of red and black pepper- just open the lid and stick in a fork!