In defence of the “big fat blob of boring" and why burrata is a thing of beauty - Food Files

Aug 03, 2023

A furious debate has erupted online on the overuse of this classic creamy cheese.

An article published this week on Grub Street has torn the internet in two. The piece, written by Tammie Teclemariam weighs in on the saturation of the burrata on restaurant menus and while the writer raises some fair points, we’re here to defend the so-called “big fat blob of boring.”

The public was quick to pick sides, some commenters on Instagram supported Teclemariam with cries of “Enough with putting burrata on everything!”

Others seemed genuinely concerned. “Damn, Tammie. Who hurt you?”

Most, however, were scathing. “Enough with the cheese slander,” one commenter said.

“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer shortly!!!” another added.

Teclemariam’s major gripe appears to be less to do with the ‘boring’ cheese ball and more to do with modern diners’ reliance on it, stating, “Only someone with lactose intolerance could consider burrata to be ‘bad,’ but all too often, it’s predictable.”

What started as an exciting and simple dish in the early 2010s – usually peaches or tomatoes, a sprig of basil and a ball of cream-filled fresh mozzarella – has admittedly become commonplace. However, just because something is popular doesn’t necessarily mean it’s mediocre, it’s all about what you do with it.

TikTok has insulted this delicate milky cheese time and again, and we have to assume burrata’s Puglian inventors are rolling in their graves when they see breaded, deep-fried avocados bursting with molten cheese curds. But when used correctly, burrata – and by extension, stracciatella – are sublime.

Room-temperature cheese, a lashing of really good olive oil and a crack of black pepper is all you really need. If your product is sound, adding anything else is gilding the lily. There is no room to hide when it comes to making burrata: it’s either great or it’s not. The quality of hand-stretched mozzarella cannot be replicated by machine, though many have tried, and the process of grabbing the fresh cheese from water just shy of boiling point, before filling with cream and curds (stracciatella) make this process a true labour of love.

This is how burrata is, and always has been, made by cheesemaker Giuseppe Minoia of Vannella Cheese in Sydney’s Marrickville. Over 180 kilograms of burrata are stretched and filled here, by hand, every single day.

The second-generation cheesemaker doesn’t see the burrata wave crashing any time soon, and neither does Vannella creative director Anthony Silvio.

“The recent clickbait-induced bogus lamenting burrata as “boring” is pretty dispiriting to read, but at the same time, I’m barely surprised. You see, the hospitality marketplace has experienced an uprising of burrata gracing restaurant tables of late, but like with anything, you get the good, and the bad.” Silvio tells delicious.

All that said though, when pressed on whether he thinks the burrata craze is over, Silvio had this to say.

“Ha! Burrata is not going anywhere. We’ve never made more!”