--- airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm and 10.30pm from 21 March, or stream it free on . Catch the Mozzarella episode Monday, 21 March. ---
Fried cheese sticks are kid-friendly, budget-friendly, and package that chewy and melted texture you'd normally only get on a pizza or as a garnish on bakes. The most commonly used cheese is mozzarella, and while you've seen them making their rounds most recently, they have a hot history dating back to the 14th century.
Early iterations were actually developed in France. references cheese breaded in a wet batter of egg yolks, flour, salt, and wine (yes, wine!), then fried on a hot iron skillet. I'm suddenly envisioning a pub-fried mozzarella stick in ye olde medieval France, in a tavern somewhere in the middle of the woods. Can you imagine a Knight's roundtable, strategising their next plan of attack with a few pints and some mozzarella sticks?
The modern version you see today re-emerged in the 60's and 70's, when deep frying technology took clubs, restaurants, and dive bars by storm. Food historian Joel Jensen also notes the mass-production of mozzarella around that time in this stick's journey to success.
A French recipe book dating back to 1393 references cheese breaded in a wet batter of egg yolks, flour, salt, and wine (yes, wine!), then fried on a hot iron skillet.
New Zealand-born chef Morgan McGlone brings them to The Cook Up kitchen for the show's second season premiere, where he makes them a smidge chunkier and serves the sticks with a smoky side sauce.
MAKE MORGAN'S MOZZARELLA STICKS
Fried mozzarella sticks, smoked tomato sauce
I personally love these little guys. They're crunchy on the outside with the perfect amount of resistance when you first bite into them. I prefer them dipped in ketchup, with the cheese already oozing out. My favourite one was from a little corner pizza shop in New York. Over in the States, you see them most commonly in pizzerias and Italian street stalls. It seems the Italian-American cooking community has accepted them whole-heartedly. Alas, I'm no Italian cuisine expert. But I did ask one.
"I have to disagree when it comes to fried mozzarella being a French dish," The Star Sydney's Cucina Porto executive chef Martino Pulito argues. "We believe it was born in Italy - especially in the mid and south of Italy where a few different recipes were created. One of the most famous dishes that we have is the bocconcini panati (crumbed mozzarella), used everywhere as an aperitivo - a good nibble to be used alongside prosciutto, panzerotti and olives."
The Puglia raised Pulito personally loves "fried mozzarella, especially when it’s done fresh. It provides a culinary journey other fried dishes don’t deliver. The crunchy outside made from bread or beer batter is a crazy experience, and then when cut in half, and you see the stringy cheese - delicious!"
These tasty treats are "a bit like Italians," the chef says. "Very strong, and loud on the outside, but when you go dig a bit deeper, we are soft at heart."
Expert or not, I think they're worth the try. You can't ever go wrong with a bit of fried cheese.
