TESTED: THIS IS THE TASTIEST MOZZARELLA FROM THE SUPERMARKET
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: the best mozzarella from the supermarket.
Many cheeses improve with long aging, but mozzarella is best eaten as fresh as possible. That's why you buy the tastiest (and freshest) mozzarella at a specialized cheese shop. But what if that specialty store is already closed, not nearby, or you don't have time to go there? Then the supermarket offers relief, as there are plenty of supermarket mozzarella options available. Which supermarket sells the tastiest and where should you avoid? FavorFlavs test panel found out for you.
In our test, we included eight supermarkets, namely Dekamarkt, Lidl, Dirk, Albert Heijn, Vomar, Coop, Plus, and Jumbo. All mozzarella was purchased and tasted on the same day. Aldi's mozzarella was sold out, so it could not participate in the test.
1. Jumbo Mozzarella Cheese, €1.48
5. Mozzarella Lidl, €0.69
2. AH Italian Mozzarella, €1.49
3. Fresca d’Oro Mozzarella, €0.69 at Plus, €0.57 at Dirk
4. Castelli Mozzarella, €0.99 at Dirk, €1.29 at Plus, €1.19 at Dekamarkt, €1.19 at Vomar, and €1.29 at Coop
5. Mozzarella Lidl, €0.69
6. AH Mozzarella, €0.69
The same mozzarella
In every supermarket, Galbani mozzarella is sold, but we specifically looked for mozzarella from the supermarket's private labels. Albert Heijn sells two different mozzarella types from its private label: regular mozzarella and Italian mozzarella, both of which were included in the test.
At Dirk, the same (private label) mozzarella is sold (Fresca d’Oro), which is also sold at Plus. The Castelli brand is sold at Plus, Vomar, Dirk, Dekamarkt, and Coop.
Blind tested
The test panel tastes everything blind as always; only the note-taker knows where each mozzarella was purchased. All purchased mozzarella is made with cow's milk; buffalo mozzarella was not included in the test. The origin of the mozzarella (the place of production) is not indicated on the packaging.
Notable: white versus yellowish
When we took all the mozzarella out of the packaging, it immediately stood out: the creamy versus the putty-like texture and the color: white versus yellowish. But how do they taste?
The most appetizing...
are numbers 1 and 2, which look the creamiest. Numbers 3 and 6 resemble bouncy balls: no creaminess to be found. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so here we go. Number 1 is very stringy, and we consider that a plus. To make mozzarella, curds (coagulated and drained cheese) are heated in water or whey until a stringy, elastic substance is formed. This is then shaped into balls. The fact that we are actually dealing with a stringy ball is promising. Louise: ‘It looks delicious.’
Lauretta: ‘This is one hundred percent from Albert Heijn. I recognize it, nice and creamy.‘ Delilah: ’A bit salty, but I don't mind.‘ Lauretta: ’Nice creamy and milky.‘ Sharon: ’Good supermarket mozzarella, both in looks and taste. A bit of olive oil and pepper, and you're ready to go.‘
A lot of moisture
With number 2, a lot of moisture runs out when cutting. In terms of texture and mouthfeel, it resembles number 1, but number 1 has more flavor. Louise: ‘I find the taste quite flat.’ Delilah: ‘Not much flavor, a bit watery.’ Lauretta: ‘Also fine, but I find the first one just a bit tastier. I would definitely buy this for my salad.’
Gummy
Number 3 is cut into slices, it's that gummy. Lauretta: ‘No, this one is not tasty. This tastes like whole milk, like I get at my grandma's, with those skins on top, brrr.’ Delilah: ‘This tastes almost rubbery. Not only is the texture rubbery, but the taste is too.’ Sharon: ‘I really can't stand the texture. I don't want to have to chew on mozzarella.’
Looks very stringy
Number 4 puts you on the wrong foot. It looks stringy, but when you cut it into slices, huh? Louise: ‘What did I just taste? I taste nothing!’ Lauretta: ‘this is the big nothing.’ Sharon: ‘if this is your Tinder date: run away immediately.’
Sweet and soggy
Number 5 is according to Delilah ‘slimy and sweetish’. Lauretta: ‘I miss salt here.’ Sharon: ‘Nasty aftertaste. Fake.’
Bouncy ball without flavor
Number 6 is just like a bouncy ball. What a strange, hard substance. Sharon: ‘This is loveless, you know. Good mozzarella is like taking a bite of heaven, you can't do this to anyone.’ A world of difference from number 1, which is everyone's favorite upon retasting.
The winner
So that's number 1, which is not, as Lauretta was sure, from Albert Heijn, but from Jumbo. Kudos! Number 2 is the creamy Italian mozzarella from Albert Heijn. Number 3 is the gummy mozzarella from Fresca d’Oro. Castelli turns out to be number 4, number 5 comes from Lidl, and it's actually the very first time we've been disappointed in Lidl in a FavorFlav test. We really find this mozzarella subpar. The cheap mozzarella from Albert Heijn is also significantly less tasty than the more expensive variant from this supermarket.
Numbers 1 (Jumbo) and 2 (Albert Heijn; the creamy Italian mozzarella) are also the two most expensive mozzarella types we taste; the one from Jumbo costs €1.48, the one from Albert Heijn one cent more. We can therefore conclude that for supermarket mozzarella, if you pay a little more, you also get a lot more.
