Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Trouble with Burrata


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Twice a month, I freelance for Di Bruno Bros., the largest cheese counter in Philadelphia -- I choose a cheese to write about, and the store posts my write-up on its blog. This week, I picked Burrata -- a delicious, hand-pulled mozzarella purse with a plush cream center. I chose it because Burrata is a wonderful summer cheese, and most people don't know it exists.

Once you try it, though, you'll never forget it. It's like discovering poached eggs.

You can read about serving ideas in the post, but I thought I'd show you a few outtakes from Burrata's photo shoot. I snapped these photos in my kitchen a few days after taking a food photography workshop with Julie Basello-Holt of Creative Genius. No matter what I did, it was tough to make this cheese look appealing. I wanted my Burrata to look sensual, not like a disemboweled gourd. That was a tough one. Burrata gets messy once you slip off its leek straps.

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Below, you'll see what I came up with. Any input on how to make this look more delicious? In the meantime, I encourage you to seek out this little devil. It's glorious, a cooling centerpiece for dinner during a heat wave.

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To read the full post about Burrata, please visit the Di Bruno Blog.

5 comments:

  1. Well....it's not looks that count, right? I mean honestly, it sounds tantalizing and it looks delicious, but it's definitely the awkward teenager of cheese.

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  2. OMG - discovering poached eggs is life changing. I have to buy this cheese.

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  3. I think you did a great job - makes me wish I had some right now. I thought burrata was filled with butter...

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  4. I love the wrapped pictures. They look almost Japanese, like a coquettish dumpling just daring you to touch. It is one of my all-time favorites, even if it does lose some of its eye candy appeal when you slice it open. You're not supposed to sit around and gawk at it, after all. It's a fresh cheese! EAT!!

    Although just based off your photos, I would gladly take a bite of any version :)

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  5. Never thought the terms 'delicious' and 'sumo wrestler' could be paired together in an image and manage to tantalize, but you did. Adorable and mouth watering, I say.

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