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‘Real heritage and quality’: the best (and worst) supermarket mozzarella di bufala Campana, tasted and rated

Lifestyle
July 4, 2026 · 1:22 PM
‘Real heritage and quality’: the best (and worst) supermarket mozzarella di bufala Campana, tasted and rated

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Fresh and creamy: mozzarella is made from just two ingredients – buffalo milk and rennet. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian

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Fresh and creamy: mozzarella is made from just two ingredients – buffalo milk and rennet. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian

The FilterCheese

Review

‘Real heritage and quality’: the best (and worst) supermarket mozzarella di bufala Campana, tasted and rated

The southern Italian cheese has DOP status, but which brands are milking the title and which are leading the whey?

The best (and worst) supermarket feta

Tom Hunt

Sat 4 Jul 2026 08.00 EDT

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Mozzarella di bufala Campana with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status is an incredible cheese from the marshy, volcanic regions of Campania in southern Italy.

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Buffaloes are hardy creatures that are more suited than cows to these wetlands, and they produce a fatty, calcium-rich, protein-filled milk that gives the mozzarella its classic soft and creamy texture, porcelain-white colour and perfectly balanced, clean and flavoursome lactic tang. It’s minimally processed, too, being made with 100% buffalo milk and rennet that’s required to be made in the same micro-region to qualify as PDO (or DOP in Italian).

The manufacturing process involves fusing the curds with hot water, which makes them stretchy and creates the elongated, layered curd structure that defines mozzarella; too much hot water, over-acidification or an old product can lead to a grainy texture. It’s always best eaten as fresh as possible, so look for one with a long shelf-life to be sure it’s fresh and of the best texture and quality.

I’ve scored these cheeses on appearance, texture, flavour, freshness and value, and they all have good provenance and a generally high overall quality. Though they vary greatly in price, texture (from grainy to stretchy, with elongated and layered curds) and flavour (clean, lactic and milky to funky, microbial with notes of hay), all were utterly delicious. In fact, this test shows supermarkets at their best, efficiently importing and supplying fresh products with real heritage and quality.

The best supermarket mozzarella di bufala

Best overall :

Garofalo mozzarella di bufala DOP

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£2.70 for 300g (125g drained) at Ocado (£2.16/100g drained) ★★★★☆

A perfectly formed, firm mozzarella with super-soft, creamy and stretchy curds and classic, porcelain colour. Less funky than most, but with a really satisfying, very clean and mild hay-like flavour.

Best bargain :

Aldi Specially Selected mozzarella di bufala Campana PDO

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£1.59 for 260g at Aldi (£1.27/100g drained), in store only ★★★★☆

A soft ball, made by Fattorie Garofalo, with a loose texture, a soft but chewy bite, and clean, lactic and nicely musky, water buffalo-dairy flavour. Incredible value.

And the rest …

Waitrose No 1 mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP

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£3.10 for 290g (125g drained) at Waitrose (£2.48/100g drained) ★★★★☆

Made by the dairy La Contadina, in operation since 1950, this has a really creamy and rich centre with stretchy curds and a noticeably sour, tangy and funky flavour. My best splurge.

Tesco Finest mozzarella di bufala Campana PDO

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£2.50 for 200g (125g drained) at Tesco (£2/100g drained) ★★★☆☆

A firm, strong-skinned ball of soft cheese with a creamy texture and grainy curds. Squeaky on the teeth, and a classic, sour lactic twang.

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Morrisons the Best mozzarella di bufala Campana PDO

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£2.50 for 235g (125g drained) at Morrisons (£2/100g drained) ★★★☆☆

A plump, firm cheese with a tight skin and loose, milky insides. A clean but deep and rich lactic-sour flavour, and a clear and flavourful brine.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP

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£2.50 for 290g (125g drained) at Sainsbury’s (£2/100g drained) ★★★☆☆

A plump, round ball with a firm skin. Slightly milky and waterlogged inside, this has a rather short and grainy curd structure, but a good, strong umami flavour and sour tang.

Marks & Spencer mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP

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£3.10 for 235g (125g drained) at Ocado (£2.48/100g drained) ★★☆☆☆

A firm, tight ball with a thin skin and a slightly grainy and short texture. Squeaky, with a clean, lactic flavour and ever-so-slight bitterness; a lovely clear and sweet brine, too, but I expect better quality for this price.

Lidl Deluxe mozzarella di bufala Campana DOP

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Photograph: Tom Hunt/The Guardian

£1.59 for 210g at Lidl (£1.29/100g drained), in store only ★★☆☆☆

A very soft ball with loose skin, slightly mushy texture and no stretchy curds. But it has a chewy bite with a deliciously funky dairy flavour, and a very milky and sour lactic brine.

Galbani mozzarella di latte di bufala

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£2.75 for 235g (125g drained) at Ocado (£2.20/100g drained) ★☆☆☆☆

A small, firm ball made by a heritage producer since 1882. The skin is mixed, firm in parts and soft in others, as is the texture, with elongated curds and softer, more grainy parts. A milky brine, and a clean but characteristically sour flavour, but inconsistent considering it’s the most expensive cheese in the test.

For more, read the best supermarket brie, tasted and rated

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  • [SouthChapel](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/111533566) [5 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070928)   [SouthChapel](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/111533566) [5 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070928)      0     I know this is specifically about supermarket buffalo mozzarella - but you can also get excellent stuff from Buffalicious (in Somerset), or the Buffalo Farm (Scotland), and loads of other small independent places. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070928&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dsignin_to_reply_comment)

  • djsunset 21 minutes ago djsunset 21 minutes ago 4 The buffalo behind this cheese nearly didn't make it out of the twentieth century. In 1943 the retreating German army slaughtered the Campania herds almost to the last animal, and the whole breed had to be rebuilt after the war from a handful that were hidden in the marshes or simply wandered off. Every ball in this test descends from those survivors. Worth a thought at £1.59.

Also, the name is literally the method. Mozzare, to lop off. Someone stands there hand-tearing each ball from the stretched curd, which I find oddly cheering.

A plea though, from bitter experience: fridge-cold mozzarella is a different, worse cheese. The cold kills the buttermilk tang and turns the curd rubbery. Get it out an hour before you eat it. I'd bet a fair chunk of the difference between the four-star and two-star cheeses here is actually just freshness and temperature rather than the dairy.

And don't bin the brine. Spoon a bit over the torn cheese. It's seasoning the producer already made for you, and everyone pours it down the sink. Reply

*     [MoreCheese](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/113963362) [18 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070827)   [MoreCheese](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/113963362) [djsunset](https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2026/jul/04/best-worst-supermarket-mozzarella-di-bufala-campana-tasted-rated#comment-175070805) [18 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070827)      0     Interesting info, thanks. I don't think it was buffalo mozzarella but all the stuff I ate while in Sicily last year was very good. A slightly different folded texture compared to the norm here. It was very cheap and bought in packs of 3. I find the really cheap basic Moz from the supermarkets here very good still - an underrated cheese. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070827&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dsignin_to_reply_comment)         
*     [Bristol_Fashion](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/100578304) [9 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070903)   [Bristol_Fashion](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/100578304) [djsunset](https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2026/jul/04/best-worst-supermarket-mozzarella-di-bufala-campana-tasted-rated#comment-175070805) [9 minutes ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070903)      0     What an extraordinary story! Just goes to underscore what a pointless and destructive thing warfare is. Thanks for reminding us. [Reply](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?returnUrl=https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/175070903&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dsignin_to_reply_comment)

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