Here's everything worth knowing about smoked mozzarella cheese and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 10 recipes to cook tonight.

What is smoked mozzarella cheese?

Smoked mozzarella is fresh or low-moisture mozzarella that has been cured in cool smoke, which tans the surface amber-brown and works a savory, woodsy flavor through the cheese. In Italy this style is scamorza affumicata, a close cousin of plain scamorza.

The smoke does two things. It carries a real campfire aroma into the milky cheese, and it firms the body so the curd slices and shreds more cleanly than soft, watery fresh mozzarella.

Underneath the smoke it is still mozzarella: mild and milky, and a champion melter that pulls into long strings when it is hot.

How to Use It

Smoked mozzarella is at its best wherever a dish wants gentle smokiness and a good melt. It is a natural on pizza, where the smoke survives the oven heat, as in Grilled Smoked-Mozzarella & Yellow Squash Pizzettes.

It melts into baked pasta beautifully. Pasta with Smoked Mozzarella, Asparagas & Dried Tomatoes leans on it for body, and it browns into a smoky lid on Cheesy Baked Whole Wheat Penne with Roasted Fresh Vegetables.

Tuck it into sandwiches and folded breads. It anchors Smoked Mozzarella, Spinach, & Pepper Omelet Sandwiches and melts inside calzones and quesadillas without weeping the way fresh mozzarella does.

It is also good cold, sliced thin onto crostini or an antipasto board where its smoke reads clearly against tomatoes and roasted peppers.

Cooking and Pairing

Smoked mozzarella loves sweet, roasty partners. Roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, corn, asparagus, and basil all bridge its smoke and its milk, which is why it turns up in dishes like Smoky Corn & Black Bean Pizza.

Use a light hand. The smoke is assertive, so a little goes a long way, and blending it half-and-half with plain mozzarella keeps a dish from tasting like an ashtray. That blend gives you the pull of mozzarella with just a thread of smoke.

The common mistake is overheating it. Pushed too hot for too long on a pizza or under a broiler, the cheese tightens and weeps oil, and the smoke turns acrid instead of mellow, so pull it while it is still glossy.

Substitutes

Smoked scamorza is the closest swap, since the two are essentially the same cheese; it is a touch firmer and often smokier. Smoked provolone works well too, with a sharper, tangier edge.

For the melt without the smoke, plain low-moisture mozzarella stands in, and a drop of liquid smoke or a pinch of smoked paprika can mimic the flavor.

Smoked gouda brings smoke and great melt but a nuttier, sweeter taste, so use it where that shift suits the dish. Avoid fresh, water-packed mozzarella as a one-for-one swap in baked dishes; it has no smoke and sheds too much water.

Buying and Storage

Smoked mozzarella comes as balls and logs or pre-sliced, sometimes as little smoked bocconcini. Look for an even, glossy tan skin; a dull or cracked surface means it has dried out, and a sticky one means it is past its prime.

Keep it tightly wrapped in the fridge, ideally in wax paper inside a loose bag so it does not sweat. Low-moisture smoked mozzarella keeps a couple of weeks unopened; fresh, water-packed smoked balls last only about a week and should stay in their brine.

Once opened, use a low-moisture piece within about a week. Rewrap it each time so the cut face does not dry and harden.

It freezes acceptably for cooking. The texture turns crumbly after thawing, so save frozen smoked mozzarella for melting into pasta or pizza rather than slicing onto a board.

Quick facts

Where to find smoked mozzarella cheese: Smoked mozzarella cheese is usually found in the cheeses section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

烟熏马苏里拉奶酪

British (UK) term

Smoked mozzarella cheese

en français

fromage mozzarella fumé

en español

queso mozzarella ahumada

Recipes using smoked mozzarella cheese

There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 10 recipes