🧀 Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle

Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle is a fresh Italian pasta filata cheese made only from whole cow's milk and a whey starter. It is an EU PDO, registered in 2020 (eAmbrosia file PDO-IT-02384, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2018). The production area covers 16 municipalities in the province of Bari, six in the province of Taranto and part of the municipality of Matera; rearing, milking and cheese-making all take place there.

According to the specification, the milk comes from Brown, Friesian, Red Pied and Jersey cattle and their crosses. At least 60 % of the dry matter of the cows' feed must be grass and/or hay from meadows, and at least 60 % of the feed must come from the production area; grazing is compulsory for the time it is possible (150 days). Only raw whole milk from two milkings is used; it may be thermised or pasteurised. The cheese is made with a traditional whey starter, prepared from the previous day's whey left to turn sour.

There are three shapes: round, twisted and braided, weighing from 50 g to 1,000 g depending on shape and size. The surface is smooth or slightly fibrous and glossy, never slimy or flaky. The cheese is white, sometimes with a slight straw tinge depending on the season; it is springy when cut and a little white whey oozes out. The taste recalls slightly soured milk, with a pleasant after-taste of fermentation or sour whey and sometimes a hint of butter. Moisture is 58–65 % and fat 15–21 % on a wet basis; no preservatives, additives or processing aids are used.

The cheese is sold immersed in a liquid made of water, possibly salted and slightly acidified, and is packaged on the same premises where it is made, in the production area. The packaging carries the logo and the production date. The specification mentions that a publication of 1885 already refers to the exquisite mozzarella from Apulia.