burrata

noun

bur·​ra·​ta bu̇-ˈrä-tə 

variants or less commonly burrata cheese

plural burratas also burrata cheeses

: mozzarella formed into a ball-shaped casing that contains curds and cream

… give us a single ball of burrata with some olive oil and crackers, and we'll be more than happy.

—Olivia Harvey

It was not one of those petite, tennis-ball-size burratas. … Nearly as big as a cantaloupe, the wobbly burrata … was bursting on the plate, the oozing cream pooled around it.

—Melissa Clark

Roughly spread some creamy burrata … on the bread, then add some cherry tomatoes …

—Geoff Last

… Perry plates a dollop of soft, delicately flavored burrata cheese and dusts it in black pepper.

—Brenna Houck

Examples of burrata in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

They can also be seen smiling with their dad and eating a huge plate of burrata and tomatoes. —Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 17 Sep. 2024

In pizza form, the Suicide is a less frightening blend of pepperoni cups, a garlic-heavy tomato sauce, burrata and hot honey. —Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024

Guests gathered in small tables and plush booths, passing dishes including burrata salad, salmon crudo, roasted potatoes and steak. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 8 Sep. 2024

Other white and red pizzas include Pomodoro Bianco with yellow tomato, fresh basil, burrata and anchovy and the Emilia with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, Grana Padano, arugula and prosciutto. —Lily O'Neill, The Denver Post, 31 July 2024

But the other menu items, like the salads, burrata and Italian desserts are equally exquisite. —Lucille Sherman, Axios, 29 July 2024

Wilson’s current favorite dish is the burrata salad, featuring fresh watermelon, thin prosciutto, asparagus and locally made Siano Burrata cheese. —Molly Ruggere, Charlotte Observer, 15 July 2024

The burrata was soft and melted in the mouth, while the ciabatta was crispy and chewy, lending the sandwich a perfect flavor and texture blend. —Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 10 June 2024

On a terrace table were plates of prosciutto, burrata, and velvet-soft figs. —Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian, originally southern regional, noun derivative from feminine of burrato "flavored or spread with butter," from burra "butter" (borrowed from Old French bure, going back to Late Latin būtrum, by syncope from Latin būtyrum, variant of būtȳrum, būtūrum butter entry 1) + -ato -ate entry 3

Note: An early occurrence of burrata and description of the product is in Guida gastronomica d'Italia (Milan: Touring Club Italiano, 1931), p. 395, in a list of dishes typical of the city of Andria in Puglia: "Oltre i communi latticini, è prodotto tipico locale la burrata, sfera di pasta di caciocavallo contenente del latte di bufala con panna i filacci di pasta di provola o di mozzarella" ("Beside the common dairy items, a typical local product is burrata, a ball of caciocavallo [a cheese made from stretching fresh curds in hot water] containing buffalo milk with cream and strands of provola [another cheese made from stretched curds] or mozzarella"). The first maker of the cheese was allegedly one Lorenzo Bianchino Chieppa, who, perhaps in the 1920's, worked at the Piana Padula farm near Castel del Monte, a medieval castle in the Andria commune. The farm already produced balls of stretched-curd cheese stuffed with butter—as an innovation it was decided to fill the balls instead with strands of leftover mozzarella and cream. The innovation met with unexpected success, first in Andria, and eventually far beyond it. The traditional name for the butter-filled cheese containers was manteca. (An illustration of the product can be found at the Italian Wikepedia entry for manteca.) Presumably burrata was another name for this or a similar product, and it was transferred to the mozzarella-and-cream filled containers, despite their lack of butter. For references see the article "La burrata. Un prodotto made in Puglia" by Debora di Fazio in Peccati di lingua: le 100 parole italiane del Gusto (Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino, 2015), pp. 51-53. See also Lessico etimologico italiano, vol. 8, column 499.

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above