Vannella Cheese

I love cheese! And while it’s impossible to choose just one favourite, the stretched curd style has to come close, especially traditional buffalo mozzarella, with which I fell in love many years ago in southern Italy. Back in Australia, I occasionally splurged on an imported ball of Mozzarella di Bufala but, given the distance it had travelled, it never quite lived up to the memory. I still remember my surprise the first time I tasted an Australian-made version that was as good as the ones I’d had in Italy; I was told it was made by an Italian family in Cairns, where dairy buffalo were being farmed. Turns out, that was my introduction to Puglian-born cheesemaker Vito Minoia and Vannella Cheese. Vito learnt the craft of hand-making stretched curd cheeses as a young man in Italy where he opened his first dairy, Caseificio Vannella, before moving to Cairns in 2004 with his wife Pina Vannella and their children Giuseppe and Anna. Vito’s traditional burrata, buffalo mozzarella and stracciatella quickly caught the attention of cheese lovers and chefs, and so the family moved their production to Marrickville in Sydney to be closer to their biggest market. In 2022 Vito celebrated 50 years as a cheesemaker!

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Cook With Vannella Cheese

I use Vannella cheeses in all sorts of dishes, sweet and savoury.

Scroll down to see some of my videos and recipes using Vannella buffalo mozzarella, burrata, Oaxaca cheese and more.

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Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana is popular in the area around Naples , famous for fresh Mozzarella di Buffala. In Australia, Vannella’s excellent buffalo mozzarella is my go-to in this delicious dish.

Turkish Künefe

Chef Somer Sivrioğlu told me that the challenge making kanefeh outside Turkey is finding a suitable stretchy soft white cheese – luckily creamy Vannella burrata (or stracciatella) is ideal!

Caribbean Cativias

Vannella’s take on Mexican Oaxaca cheese is perfect in these crunchy queso cativias, a type of empanada from the Dominican Republic.

Meet Vito Minoia & His Family

Does cheese work with seafood?

Does cheese work with seafood? Do cheese and seafood go together?

There’s a myth that seafood and cheese don’t go together and, especially that Italians don’t eat cheese with seafood. That’s simply not true!

Why don't Italians eat cheese with seafood?

Italians do eat cheese with seafood – at least in some dishes. There are plenty of traditional Italian dishes, especially in the south, that combine cheese and seafood. Grated hard cheeses such as parmesan and pecorino are often added to breadcrumbs used to coat or gratinee seafood including sardines, anchovies and calamari. And one of the most famous dishes from Bari in Puglia, a sort of seafood and rice bake called riso, patate e cozze, has a healthy dose of pecorino mixed through the layers of mussels, rice and potato.

Can you eat cheese with prawns? Can you eat prawns and cheese together?

Yes, prawns and cheese work well together in some recipes. One of the most best known Greek dishes, saganaki prawns (garídes mé Féta in Greek), is prawns cooked in a rich tomato sauce with melting chunks of feta cheese. And in the American south, shrimp (prawns) are served with cheesy grits.

Is seafood good with cheese?

Yes, seafood is very good with cheese in some dishes. Slightly nutty gruyere appears in several classic seafood dishes, including scallop mornay and lobster thermidor. Cream cheese is a classic accompaniment to smoked salmon and bagels. Even Caesar salad combines anchovies and parmesan.

Is it okay to eat cheese and fish together?

Yes, it’s OK to eat cheese and fish together. From comfort food like tuna mornay to stracciatella with crudo and smoked scamorza or mild washed rind fontina in a smoked fish pie, lots of different cheeses work well with lots of different seafoods. Most importantly, there are no hard and fast rules, our sense of taste is completely subjective – if you like it – eat it!

How are stretched curd cheeses made?

Stretched curd cheeses begin like any other, with soured milk being set into curds and whey. The difference comes once the whey is drained off, when the curds are mixed with hot salted water and stretched, traditionally by hand, to form resilient strands of cheese. When the texture is stretchy enough, a section of cheese is shaped then torn or cut off and sealed in cold water.

Why is traditional mozzarella made from buffalo milk?

When Indian water buffalo were introduced as draft animals to the swampy plains near Naples around the 6th century AD, farmers discovered that their rich milk was perfect for making the local stretched curd cheeses and Mozzarella di Bufala was born.

How should fresh mozzarella be served?

To appreciate the delicate flavour of fresh mozzarella, take it out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before serving it; in Italy it’s typically stored at room temperature and eaten the day it’s made. It should also be torn into pieces rather than sliced, as the rougher surface area is better for soaking up dressings and sauces.

What shapes does fresh mozzarella come in?

Given its stretchy nature, fresh mozzarella can be formed into almost any shape, including nodini (knots), treccine (plaits), perline (pearls), ciliegine (cherries), bocconcini (literally ‘little mouthfuls’) and sfoglia (sheets).

Who makes the best Australian buffalo mozzarella? Which is the best buffalo mozzarella in Australia?

Vannella Cheese in Marrickville, Sydney makes the best buffalo mozzarella in Australia – the closest the traditional Mozzarella di Bufala of Campania in Italy. I still remember my surprise the first time I tasted an Australian-made buffalo mozzarella that was as good as the ones I’d had in Italy. I was told it was made by an Italian family in Cairns, where dairy buffalo were being farmed. Turns out, that was my introduction to Puglian-born cheesemaker Vito Minoia and Vannella Cheese.