produttori — Battipaglia · Campania
In the Piana del Sele, where buffaloes graze on land shielded from the wind by the sea and the Picentini mountains, Caseificio La Regina di Battipaglia begins its day before dawn: the curd is ready by half past five, while the town still sleeps.
The marble workbench receives, every morning, buffalo milk from Salerno, selected from farms across the Piana del Sele. This is raw material of place, not interchangeable: it carries the flavour of pastures that make mozzarella di bufala campana (buffalo mozzarella from Campania) recognisable among many others, even before the curd has formed and hands have touched it for the first time.
From curd to stretching in boiling water, to hand-cutting: the gestures follow a sequence handed down from grandparents, with no shortcuts. For the larger shapes — the zizzona (a giant mozzarella) weighs over a kilo — the hands must feel the dough, sense when it is ready. The figliata (a mozzarella filled with ciliegine and cream), filled with ciliegine and cream, is born of the same gesture, with one extra step.
By late morning, the day's shapes sit on the shelf: mozzarella in different sizes, bocconcini, ciliegine, scamorze, burrate, creamy buffalo ricotta. Every product is made that same day — no leftovers from the day before — because production is daily, and the shop opens once the workshop has finished its work on the marble bench.
At the shop, with its tasting area and sandwiches filled to order, the production is visible: you can arrive at half past five and watch the hands at work.
