Neapolitans may sing the praises of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP but mostly they eat fior di latte – mozzarella made from cow’s milk – on their pizza.

Any ambivalence about fior di latte , as opposed to buffalo mozzarella, might have something to do with what happens to this essential pizza cheese is passed from or into the wrong hands. In the video above the great Enzo Coccia of Pizzaria La Notizia complains about low-quality fior di latte that gets dry and rubbery in the pizza oven.

But stringy mozzarella Enzo likes. Stringiness, he says, likely indicates that the fior di latte is of good quality, was cut by hand and won’t separate easily from the tomato or other other pizza toppings. And in that there is joy and beauty.