Blind Burrata Tasting

I decided to do a blind tasting of different burratas from different stores.  I wanted to get a variety of places and prices to try, and it was so much fun and interesting to see the differences.  We tried DiStefano burrata from Whole Foods prices ($9.99), Bel Gioso from Safeway (price 8.99), Trader Joe's (price $5), and Belfiore Burrata, made in Berkeley from a local corner store (price $8).  For the actual tasting, we poured some olive oil (non-flavored) on top along with some coarse sea salt.  We ate off of spoons as to not ruin the texture or flavor.  We paired up in partners, and each person selected the order of what to feed their partner, then that person ranked the order of the burratas.  Here are the results:

The Whole Food burrata was of course the favorite - the creamy texture just melts in your mouth and the cream actually tastes like cream.  An absolute crowd pleaser, and if you can make it to a Whole Foods and really want to impress your guests, this is definitely the one to choose.  However, the Bel Gioso was a close second!

This Bel Gioso burrata can be easily accessible to those who shop at Safeway (providing they have it!).  It has a great texture, although doesn't have the rich cream flavor as the Whole Foods selection, but a very close second!

The Trader Joe's burrata came in third place in our selection, and I would definitely buy this again.  You can't beat the price for 5 bucks!  It had a slightly more pungent flavor than the first two, but still good texture.  An absolute steal for two balls of burrata! 

As much as I love supporting local dairies, we were really disappointed with the Belfiore was everyone's least favorite.  The texture was very tough and not creamy at all.  The flavor wasn't terrible, but lacked the creamy richness and softness that one desires in a good ball of burrata.

We had such a great time testing these different burratas, of course while drinking some buttery chardonnay, the perfect combination.  The bottom line is, you really can't go wrong with a ball of burrata, some tomatoes with basil, and some fresh crostini.