The fresh mozzarella used in your favourite Italian restaurants is not imported but made right here in Bangalore.
Tucked away on the outskirts of the city in T.C Palya on Sacred Heart Road is a monastery that makes some of the best mozzarella in the country. Run by Fr. Michael K.L., ‘Italian Mozzarella’ supplies the ‘Vallombrosa’ brand cheese to all five star hotels and Italian restaurants in the city. The priests don’t restrict themselves to making just fresh mozzarella, but they also churn out bocconcini, ricotta, mascarpone and caciotta as well, from their small set up using buffalo milk.
‘Nobody was making fresh cheese in the city. All the brands of cheese available were hard cheese that was made from cow’s milk. But no one had yet made cheese from buffalo milk. In Italy they only use buffalo milk to make fresh cheese.’ says Fr Michael, administrator of Italian Mozzarella who spent eight years in Naples, Italy studying for his theological course During those eight years in South Italy Fr Michael also worked in a cheese factory and learnt the process of making cheese. Once back in India, he started to experiment with making small batches of cheese and started distributing them to people to check if this cheese will work in a market like Bangalore. With good feedback they decided to start making cheese on a much larger scale and on a regular basis. ‘We started out making around 10 to 15 kgs of cheese everyday in the beginning. Now since we receive more orders we make around 50kgs of cheese everyday. On busy days when there are more orders we have made 80kgs too.’ adds Fr Michael.
Popular restaurant ‘Herbs and Spice’ have been using their cheese for over three years. Owner Manjit Singh orders 3-4 kg’s of Vallombrosa’s Mozzarella everyday which he uses is his salad and pizzas. He also uses the mascarpone made at “Italian Mozzarella’ for his cheese cakes and other desserts. ‘It’s a great product and it’s as authentic as it can get. There was a gap in Bangalore’s market for this kind of cheese and ‘Italian Mozzarella’s’ Vallombrosa brand of cheese managed to fill that gap’ he adds. Other Italian restaurants in the city that use the Vallombrosa brand of cheese are Sunny’s, Olive beach, Giancarlo’s Place and Via Milano. Because of popular demand their cheese is also available in your local stores like Thom’s Café, Spar Supermarkets, MK Retail and also more recently Namdhari’s Fresh markets. ‘There are a few families who also get in touch with us directly and make a visit to the monastery to buy cheese as it is a few rupees cheaper than buying them at the stores.’ says Fr. Michael.
Know your cheese –
Fresh Mozzarella is semi soft and white in colour cheese. Due to its high moisture content it has a short shelf life and needs to be consumed the day it is made.
Bocconcini is fresh mozzarella cheese balls that are the size of cherry tomatoes
Ricotta in Italian means to re-cook. It is the second quality cheese that is made with the remaining milk after mozzarella is made. It has a rough texture.
Mascarpone is a desert cheese made from fresh crème from cow’s milk. This cheese is used to make Tiramisu and cheese cakes.
Caciotta is hard cheese. They are made in the shape of wheels which get a mould that adds a mils flavor to the cheese.
For further details contact:-
Fr. Micheal K.L.
Gualbert Bhavan, Vallombrosan
Sacred Hearts Road, T.C. Palya, Bangalore 560036.
Ph: 98454-49064.
Tucked away on the outskirts of the city in T.C Palya on Sacred Heart Road is a monastery that makes some of the best mozzarella in the country. Run by Fr. Michael K.L., ‘Italian Mozzarella’ supplies the ‘Vallombrosa’ brand cheese to all five star hotels and Italian restaurants in the city. The priests don’t restrict themselves to making just fresh mozzarella, but they also churn out bocconcini, ricotta, mascarpone and caciotta as well, from their small set up using buffalo milk.
‘Nobody was making fresh cheese in the city. All the brands of cheese available were hard cheese that was made from cow’s milk. But no one had yet made cheese from buffalo milk. In Italy they only use buffalo milk to make fresh cheese.’ says Fr Michael, administrator of Italian Mozzarella who spent eight years in Naples, Italy studying for his theological course During those eight years in South Italy Fr Michael also worked in a cheese factory and learnt the process of making cheese. Once back in India, he started to experiment with making small batches of cheese and started distributing them to people to check if this cheese will work in a market like Bangalore. With good feedback they decided to start making cheese on a much larger scale and on a regular basis. ‘We started out making around 10 to 15 kgs of cheese everyday in the beginning. Now since we receive more orders we make around 50kgs of cheese everyday. On busy days when there are more orders we have made 80kgs too.’ adds Fr Michael.
Popular restaurant ‘Herbs and Spice’ have been using their cheese for over three years. Owner Manjit Singh orders 3-4 kg’s of Vallombrosa’s Mozzarella everyday which he uses is his salad and pizzas. He also uses the mascarpone made at “Italian Mozzarella’ for his cheese cakes and other desserts. ‘It’s a great product and it’s as authentic as it can get. There was a gap in Bangalore’s market for this kind of cheese and ‘Italian Mozzarella’s’ Vallombrosa brand of cheese managed to fill that gap’ he adds. Other Italian restaurants in the city that use the Vallombrosa brand of cheese are Sunny’s, Olive beach, Giancarlo’s Place and Via Milano. Because of popular demand their cheese is also available in your local stores like Thom’s Café, Spar Supermarkets, MK Retail and also more recently Namdhari’s Fresh markets. ‘There are a few families who also get in touch with us directly and make a visit to the monastery to buy cheese as it is a few rupees cheaper than buying them at the stores.’ says Fr. Michael.
Know your cheese –
Fresh Mozzarella is semi soft and white in colour cheese. Due to its high moisture content it has a short shelf life and needs to be consumed the day it is made.
Bocconcini is fresh mozzarella cheese balls that are the size of cherry tomatoes
Ricotta in Italian means to re-cook. It is the second quality cheese that is made with the remaining milk after mozzarella is made. It has a rough texture.
Mascarpone is a desert cheese made from fresh crème from cow’s milk. This cheese is used to make Tiramisu and cheese cakes.
Caciotta is hard cheese. They are made in the shape of wheels which get a mould that adds a mils flavor to the cheese.
For further details contact:-
Fr. Micheal K.L.
Gualbert Bhavan, Vallombrosan
Sacred Hearts Road, T.C. Palya, Bangalore 560036.
Ph: 98454-49064.
2 comments
hrishikesh
Apr 27th, 2010 05:54 PM
hi, is it posible to visit Fr. Micheal K.L.
Gualbert Bhavan, Vallombrosan
Sacred Hearts Road, T.C. Palya, Bangalore 560036. and see the process of cheese making, i am really excited to experience this.
Navin A p
Feb 13th, 2009 06:29 PM
I love cheese and hence loved the taste of this post, yum.
