Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
This is my step by step recipe on how to make the perfect and totally Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella with ingredients easily available from any food store as well as completely natural.
As I promised you in the post of my Vegan Melty Homemade Mozzarella, here is my version of the vegan “buffalo”, perfect to be consumed “raw” in salads, appetizers or in any way you like.
While the first version is ideal for melting on pizzas, baked pastas, flans, arancini and hot dishes, this one is ideal for making a nice caprese or, simply, to be enjoyed as it is.
The recipe that I am about to walk you through will replicate the flavour of buffalo mozzarella both in its appearance and feel. After all we don’t just enjoy food because of its taste but because of the whole, am I right?
If you have never had the pleasure to try this cheese, the main feature of traditional buffalo mozzarella is its sour and salty aftertaste. Unlike that of cow’s milk, which is much sweeter and far less savoury, it has a pearly white colour and when cut it releases an oozy milky liquid that is just beautiful; the mozzarella has its own self contained sauce.
This mozzarella has a gorgeous smooth surface which has an absolutely delightful sheen to it, whereas the inside is a flaky granular texture. A simply divine combination in this traditional delicacy.
It is these four characteristics (acidity, flavour and both the internal and external consistency) that I have promised myself to reproduce and to present you with a perfect vegan version of this Italian favourite and all completely plant based.
You are probably thinking this is too good to be true but I promise some things in life are magic.
The key ingredients for this vegan version of Campania buffalo mozzarella are:
- Soy Yogurt, unsweetened (below is the recipe I use to make it at home- recommended option). I recommend this because it is such an easy process;
- Soy cream. For this recipe I made my own soy cream which is a really easy process and I have listed the process below in the notes but if you wish to skip this step then any vegetable cream for savoury preparations will do equally well;
- Tapioca starch, preferably in its powder/flour state;
- Agar Agar which will be used for the thickening process.
These ingredients together will work to create both its unmistakable flavor and the “flaky” consistency typical of this cheese.
Let’s go immediately to see how to make our soy buffaloes.
STEP 1
First we must start by creating a brine.
If you make Vegan Ricotta at home, the liquid remaining in the pot (whey), after the curd flakes have been collected, is perfect and a great way to use up what otherwise could be wasted.
The same goes for the self-made soy yogurt whey. Anyone who has some experience with the self-production of vegetable yogurt will already know that it remains rather soft after the incubation process.
To make it firmer and creamier, I personally let it drain in a colander covered with cheesecloth for 6 to 12 hours (depending on the desired consistency).
After about 12 hours you will get a consistency reminiscent of Greek yogurt, and this is exactly what we are going to use for our mozzarella.
Below the colander, I always place a glass bowl to collect the liquid as it drains from the yogurt which we can use for the cooling phase of the buffaloes.
An alternative method you can use if you do not already make your own, is that you can make a brine using about 500 ml of filtered water, 1 teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of yoghurt (or lemon juice).
STEP 2
Mix the yogurt with the tapioca, salt and soy cream, until the mixture is smooth and without lumps.
STEP 3
Dissolve the agar agar in the water until it is completely dissolved, then place on a medium heat stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Leave to cook for at least 2 or 3 minutes after boiling.
STEP 4
Incorporate the yogurt mixture into the pan with the water and agar agar with a whisk, and heat everything until the mixture is homogeneous, stringy and detaches from the side of the pan.
STEP 5
Now it will be necessary to work quickly, to prevent the mixture from solidifying too much (the agar agar tends to harden quickly when the temperature drops after being activated, so just make sure you are tidy and set up and ready).
Take you brine mixture, place it into a bowl and place this bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice and water.
With the help of a couple of kitchen spoons take the mixture from the pan, form a sort of quenelle and dip it into the bowl with the brine.
Continue until you have used up all the mixture; you will get about 5-6 mozzarella with a diameter of 5 centimetres.
Cover with a lid or cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before enjoying your homemade vegan mozzarella buffalo style.
You can taste the vegan buffalo mozzarella cold from the fridge or after having kept them at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
They can be kept in the refrigerator covered with their serum for about 4 days.
How to Make your own Soy Yogurt
Ingredients:
1 liter of Soy Milk
1 Sachet/Capsule Yogurt Starter *
* Keep in mind that not all bacteria for self-producing yogurt are vegan, below you will list the most famous / easy to find on the market that are compatible with a totally vegetable diet:
– Streptococcus thermophilus
– Lactobacillus bulgaricus
– Lactobacillus acidophilus
– Bifidus lactis
To make my own at home I use the convenient Instant Pot, but you can use any yoghurt maker or even the Thermomix, and just follow the recommended instructions.
On the other hand, those who own an Instant Pot will simply have to mix milk and starter / bacterial cultures and activate the yogurt program for 14 hours.
This is a really easy process and the results are fantastic.
As soon as the yogurt is ready, simply pass it through a colander covered with cheesecloth for a further 12 hours. During this process you will have to place the colander above a large bowl or pot where the whey will be deposited, which will be useful for use during the cooling phase of our mozzarella. Then simply place it into the fridge covered with film.
The next day you can transfer your yogurt to a bowl and work it with a whisk. You will get a thick and creamy looking Greek-like yogurt, perfect for making these vegan buffalo mozzarella!
How to make the Soy Cream
If you can’t grab it ready made from the supermarket, don’t worry: making soy cream for these mozzarelle couldn’t be simpler and all with ingredients you should have no problems finding.
Just weigh and blend in the blender:
50 g Soy milk
50 g Seed Oil
10 g Sugar
6 g Corn starch
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of Lactic Acid (or 2 drops of lemon juice)
And voila: a self-made soy cream in a handful of second ready to use! It really is this easy. Isn’t food fun when you know the secrets?
Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella Recipe
Ingredients:
125 g Soy Yogurt (in the notes how to produce it)
125 g Soy Cream (in the notes how to produce it)
125 g Filtered Water
25 g Tapioca
5 g Agar Agar (powder)
5 g Salt
..to cool ..
500 g whey (or brine, see notes)
water
Ice
Method:
1. Place the whey or brine into the freezer during preparation (unless they are already cold in the fridge).
2. Mix the yogurt with the tapioca, salt and soy cream until smooth and lump-free. I recommend a small amount of liquid at first to the dry ingredients so it forms a paste and then add the rest of the liquid, this will help prevent lumps.
3. Dissolve the agar agar in the water until it is completely dissolved, then place on a medium flame stove and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Leave to cook for at least 2 or 3 minutes after boiling.
4. Incorporate the yogurt mixture into the pan with the water and agar agar with a whisk, and heat everything until you get a stringy mixture that detaches from the pan.
5. Place the bowl containing the whey or brine in a larger container with water and ice to make a cold water bath.
6. With the help of a couple of kitchen spoons, take a generous spoonful of the mixture from the pan and, working quickly, form a sort of quenelle that will be gently released into the brine.
7. Continue the process until the mixture is used up (you will get about 5-6 mozzarella with a diameter of 5 centimetres).
8. Cover the container with the mozzarella with a lid or cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before consuming.
9. You can taste your home made vegan buffalo mozzarella cold from the fridge or after having kept them at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
If you are into vegan cheese production do not miss the following cheese recipe already available on the blog:
– Vegan Overnight Fermented Cream Cheese
– Vegan Stracchino
– Soy Ricotta
– Almond Ricotta
– Baked Camembert
– Vegan Mozzarella (meltable)
– Turmeric Cheese Sauce
More cheese recipes are also scheduled to be posted, so if you don’t want to miss them subscribe your email address to receive updates once a new recipe is available.
6 comments
Ciao, si puo’ sostituire la crema di soia con crema di cocco?
Ciao a te!
Premetto che non ho mai provato, ma suppongo possa funzionare, essendo anch’essa piuttosto grassa.
L’unico dubbio che ho è che possa comprometterne il sapore, conferendo un retrogusto di cocco.
Avevo tutto disponibile e le ho provate immediatamente ieri appena ho visto la ricetta nella mail.
Sono SPAZIALI!
Adriana, le tue ricette sono validissime e di grande ispirazione. Continua così, ti seguo da poco ma già ti adoro!
Fede
Ti ringrazio tantissimo, questo commento mi rende strafelice!
Posso fare la mozzarella di bufala usando la manioca tubero? Che ne so… cuocendola e schiacciandola tipo purè, ad esempio?
Ciao Marina, in realtà lo sconsiglio perché della manioca ci serve solo l’amido. Il procedimento per estrarlo in casa è lungo e tedioso (carboidrati e liquidi non ci interessano allo scopo). Se proprio volessi cimentarti ti indirizzo su questo link in cui si spiega come estrare l’amido da una patata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgKR6EsKl5I
In alternativa puoi sostituire l’amido di tapioca con altri amidi (il risultato sarà meno ideale, ma comunque valido). Consiglio quello di patate e di mais.
Buona fortuna!