Stracciatella Cheese
Stracciatella is a fresh Italian cow's milk (or water buffalo) cheese made by hand-shredding warm mozzarella curd into thin ribbons and folding it with fresh cream. The name means 'little shreds,' describing the texture. It's the soft, pourable filling inside burrata, but it's also sold on its own in tubs, meant to be spooned rather than sliced.
Varieties
The name is shared by two unrelated foods: stracciatella alla romana, an egg-drop soup with parmesan and semolina stirred into broth, and stracciatella gelato, vanilla ice cream with thin shards of chocolate running through it. Neither has any connection to the cheese beyond the shared meaning of 'little shreds.'
Buying tips
Buy from an Italian deli counter or specialty cheese case where it's sold in its own cream, not vacuum-packed and dry. The cream should look bright white and glossy; skip tubs where the liquid has yellowed or separated into watery pools, a sign it's past peak freshness.
Substitutes
Burrata interior (scooped out) — 1:1
Burrata is stracciatella sealed inside a mozzarella pouch. Slit the shell and scoop out the creamy center for a nearly identical result; save or discard the outer shell separately.
Fresh mozzarella hand-shredded with heavy cream — 3 parts mozzarella to 1 part cream by weight, replacing 1 part stracciatella
Warm fresh mozzarella in hot water until pliable, tear it into thin shreds by hand, then fold in warm heavy cream until loose and spoonable. Less rich than true stracciatella but very close in texture.
Fresh ricotta thinned with cream and torn mozzarella — 1:1 for the ricotta-cream base, plus a handful of torn mozzarella per cup
Milder and less stringy than real stracciatella, but works fine spooned over pizza or bruschetta where texture matters less than richness.
Mascarpone thinned with a splash of whole milk — 1:1 replacement by volume, thinned with 1-2 tablespoons of milk per cup of mascarpone
No shredded texture at all, but delivers the same rich, milky spreadability for toast, dips, or drizzling over roasted vegetables.
Storage
Keep stracciatella submerged in its own cream in a sealed container in the refrigerator and use within 2 to 3 days of opening; the cream separates and sours quickly once exposed to air. Freezing ruins the texture, the shreds turn grainy and the cream splits on thawing.
How to use
Spoon it over hot pizza right after it comes out of the oven so it stays cool and creamy against the heat. Stir into just-drained hot pasta so it melts slightly into a light sauce. Spread on toasted bread with olive oil and a pinch of salt, layer into salads with ripe tomatoes, or use as a topping for roasted vegetables and grilled fish.
What it pairs with
Pairs naturally with ripe summer tomatoes, fresh basil, good olive oil, prosciutto, roasted red peppers, and a drizzle of honey or balsamic reduction on crusty bread.
Nutrition
Rich in calcium and saturated fat from both the mozzarella curd and the added cream; a couple of tablespoons carries noticeably more fat than an equivalent amount of shredded low-moisture mozzarella, so it's used as a finishing touch rather than a base ingredient.
FAQ
What does stracciatella cheese taste like?
Mild, milky, and slightly tangy, closer to fresh mozzarella than to an aged cheese, with the added cream making it noticeably richer and sweeter than plain mozzarella curd.
Is stracciatella the same thing as burrata?
Not quite. Burrata is a pouch of mozzarella shell filled with stracciatella; stracciatella is that same creamy shredded filling sold on its own, without the outer shell.
Can stracciatella be made at home?
Yes. Warm fresh mozzarella curd in hot water until it's pliable enough to pull apart by hand into thin shreds, then fold the shreds with warm heavy cream until it loosens into a spoonable consistency.
Why does the cream in stracciatella sometimes look watery or separated?
That happens once the cheese sits too long after opening; the fat and liquid in the cream start to split apart, which is a sign it should be used immediately or discarded.
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