Ottima Cheese and its finest fresh cheese in Vietnam

Even those who believe they’re very familiar with cheese may never have tried it truly fresh. Fresh cheese has a distinctive character that is uniquely compelling, and those who do try it often start to feel a real passion for it.

Some people think the fresh cheese definition means the same thing as processed cheese that hasn’t expired. In fact, fresh cheese is something quite different—and you can now buy fresh cheese in Saigon.

What is fresh cheese? 

People familiar with fresh cheese brands often call them “dairies”. Dairies should be eaten within a short time after the cheesemaker crafted them. Talented cheesemakers who have experience and who pay attention to hygiene know how to produce mozzarella that can last as long as ten days, while still ensuring an optimal flavor profile.

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Some tips to understand if mozzarella is really fresh: 1) Shelf life not over 16 days. 2) Taste it at 20 degrees C, not colder. Break the slice of mozzarella with your hands and smell it closely. You should feel the sweet smell of fresh milk and a hint of the cow. When you taste it, pay attention to the sides of your tongue: if there is a metallic or bitter flavor left, that’s not belonging to fresh cheese ingredients, we avoid that. The “after taste”, that you can experience once you ate the piece of cheese by exhaling through your nose by keeping your mouth shut, should surprise you with a hint of cow “aroma”.

What are the ingredients in fresh cheese?

People who make fresh cheese will tell you that it’s created from curds (milk that has been curdled and drained), which haven’t gone through an aging or pressing process. This means that the resulting cheese is simple, tasty, and natural.

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How many types of fresh cheese are there? Where can you buy fresh cheese in Vietnam?

Famous fresh cheeses include mozzarella, ricotta, burrata, primosale, crescenza, and many others that all have a limited diffusion due to their extremely short shelf life. Many of these are available since 2014, in Saigon, including bocconcini, burrata, mozzarella, mascarpone, ricotta, scamorza, stracciatella and treccia. Of these, mozzarella is the most famous for its popular use on pizza, where it is associated with the long strands that criss-cross from mouth to plate.

Ottima Cheese is selling fresh cheeses online and in selected groceries in the cities.

Ottima Cheese in Supermarket

How to use fresh cheese?

After trying fresh cheese, your next question should be how to use it as an ingredient when cooking various dishes. From fresh mozzarella and tomato salad to spaghetti with fresh mozzarella and colorful cherry tomatoes, passing by the numerous dessert recipes that include mascarpone and ricotta, fresh cheese is used in many ways to create a taste like no other. Feel free to pick one of our numerous recipes here and get familiar with fresh cheese and how to cook with it.

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What are the health benefits of eating fresh cheese?

Fresh cheese can be very helpful for a low-fat diet, especially in the case of fresh ricotta, which is made from the whey drained from freshly made mozzarella cheese. It’s said that you can gain a quarter of your daily calcium needs from a half-cup serving of ricotta and a good intake of whey proteins. For those seeking a richer fresh cheese experience, burrata has a high-fat content and is considered the queen of many dishes delighting the senses in combination with seasonal ingredients available at various times of the year. Burrata also contains many ingredients needed by the body, including sodium, potassium, and phosphorus, but it’s always better to use moderation in eating it, due to its high-fat content.

Mozzarella is the base of many dishes, and it can be made with cow’s milk (fiordilatte) or buffalo milk (mozzarella di bufala). In Italy, this cheese is very famous and its origins are commercially protected by the government. It’s also a rich source of phosphorous, calcium, and contains plenty of protein for those working out.

Is fresh cheese good for babies?

It’s important to remember that fresh cheese is good for babies too. While newborn babies should only be fed breast milk or formula for the first six months of age at least, you can introduce fresh ricotta in your toddler’s meals plan at the age of 6 months and other fresh cheeses from the age of about 8–10 months. Fresh cheese is extremely good for young babies taking their first solid foods, and provides calcium, “good” fats and proteins.

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Fresh cheese stands among the best foods in the world. If you’ve never tried it, be sure to try it out to see what you’ve been missing.

Ottima Cheese Team