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Mozzarella is an Italian fresh cheese made from water buffalo or (more often) cows milk, the second used for some types of pizza or served with sliced tomatoes and bresaola in Caprese. It is also served alone.

Mozzarella is available in fresh, smoked, and reduced-moisture packaged varieties. To preserve natural consistency (for no more than a couple of days), fresh mozzarella is delivered in its own liquid (whey).

It has been said that the name "mozzarella", that for certain comes from southern Italian dialects, was the diminuitive form of mozza (cut), or mozzare (to cut off), but since nothing is cut during its preparation (we could say that it is part of the cheese preparing process), other versions seem to have better chances to describe its origins as a minor preparation of "scamozza" (Scamorza cheese), on its turn probably deriving from "scamozzata" ("without a shirt"), with allusion to the fact that these cheeses have no hard surface covering.

It is thought the cheese originated in a 12th-century monastery, whose members gave out homemade "mozza" or "provatura" on bread to visitors. These handouts were probably buffalo-milk "ricotte", from which modern mozzarella probably developed as a by-product. The term "mozzarella" is mentioned in cookbooks dating from the 16th century.

The production of mozzarella involves the mixture of curd with heated whey, with stretching and kneading to produce a certain consistency, but not so much: in Italy, a "rubbery" consistency is generally considered not satisfactory, having the product to be softer. It is typically formed into ball shapes or in plait.