Once the king of the curds, the silky Italian topknot has moved from high-end restaurant menus to corner cafes, supermarket shelves, and finally, mum’s antipasto board. Peak burrata has been reached.

But while the burrata bubble may have burst, sister cheese stracciatella is just starting to gain traction.

“People are discovering that stracciatella is actually the inside of the burrata, which is essentially the best bit,” says Sam Moussa from Vanella Cheese.

“It’s traditionally made from the leftover cheese scraps. The burrata actually came after it, as a way to hold it all together.”

Vanella has been making stracciatella for over 50 years in Italy and since 2003 from their artisan cheese factory in Marrickville. The famed formaggio is made from mozzarella, which is hand-torn into long stretchy strands called sfilacci, then bathed in fresh cream.

“It’s certainly getting more popular, especially in the last couple of years as people see it on restaurant menus or travel to Italy and discover it there.”

“People are coming to us and requesting it because unlike burrata it’s not available everywhere yet, you have to hunt it down.”

Right now, chefs are in love with the stuff. Brent Savage is serving it with watermelon radish and caramelised fennel at Bentley Restaurant and Bar. At Totti’s in Bondi, the coveted curds adorn a fettuccine sugo while at Otto, it’s the crowning glory of a charred broccolini with salsa verde, the gooeyness offset by toasted pine nuts.

“I think it’s the versatility that they love. Because it’s so mild in flavour you can pair it with almost anything. You can mix it through pasta or risotto, put it on a pizza or bruschetta. You can even make gelato with it,” says Moussa.

“It also works really well with seasonal produce like fresh tomatoes or baked beetroot, even fruits like grilled peaches or grapes – served with crusty bread of course.”