What Is Burrata? The Creamy Italian Cheese Everyone's Obsessed With

Burrata has a reputation for being one of the most impressive cheeses you can put on a table, and for good reason. It looks like a simple ball of mozzarella until you cut into it, and then it delivers something most cheeses can't: a genuine "wow" moment. Here's what it actually is, and how to get the most out of it.

What Is Burrata?

Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella, shaped into a pouch, while the inside is filled with a soft, creamy mixture of stracciatella, which is shredded mozzarella curds soaked in fresh cream. When you cut it open, that filling spills out, giving burrata its signature rich, oozing centre.

It originates from Puglia in southern Italy, where it was traditionally made as a way to use up mozzarella offcuts by combining them with cream rather than letting them go to waste. What started as a resourceful solution has become one of Italy's most celebrated cheeses.

Burrata vs Mozzarella: What's the Difference?

Mozzarella is a solid, stretched-curd cheese all the way through. Burrata uses mozzarella for its outer shell, but hides a soft, creamy stracciatella filling inside. In practice, that means:

• Texture: Mozzarella is firm and uniform. Burrata is firm on the outside and lusciously soft and creamy inside.
• Richness: Burrata is noticeably richer, thanks to the added cream in the filling.
• Best use: Mozzarella melts well and is the better choice for baking onto pizza. Burrata is almost always served fresh and uncooked, since heat causes the delicate filling to lose its texture and simply melt away.

How Do You Eat Burrata?

Burrata is meant to be enjoyed fresh, at room temperature, so the creamy centre is at its softest and most flavourful. The classic approach is simple: place the whole ball on a plate, cut it open, and let the filling spread out naturally. From there:

• Drizzle with good extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper
• Pair with ripe tomatoes and fresh basil for a burrata caprese
• Serve over toasted bread as part of an antipasti spread
• Top with prosciutto, roasted vegetables, or a spoonful of pesto
• Finish a pizza with it after baking, rather than before, so the heat doesn't destroy the texture

That last point matters. Burrata is almost never baked directly into a pizza the way mozzarella is. Instead, it's added fresh after the pizza comes out of the oven, so the residual heat gently warms it without melting it into the sauce.

How Long Does Burrata Last?

Burrata is a fresh cheese and doesn't keep anywhere near as long as aged or block cheeses. It's best eaten within a day or two of opening, and always kept refrigerated in its own liquid or brine until you're ready to serve it. Because the filling is soft cream and curd rather than a firm cheese structure, it doesn't hold up well to freezing or extended storage.

Why Burrata Is Worth the Extra Effort

Burrata takes more care to make than standard mozzarella, and that shows both in the price and the experience of eating it. The contrast between the firm outer shell and the soft, creamy centre is genuinely hard to replicate with any other cheese, which is exactly why it's become a fixture on good Italian menus and a favourite for anyone wanting to elevate a simple dish with minimal effort.

Serve it fresh, keep the accompaniments simple, and let the cheese do the work.

Where to Buy Burrata in the UK

We stock creamy Latteria Sorrentina burrata, made in Italy using traditional methods, alongside our range of Italian pizza toppings and 48-hour fermented pizza dough balls, so you can put together a proper Neapolitan-style pizza night, then finish it off with fresh burrata the way it's meant to be enjoyed.