The story
Burrata comes from Andria in the Murgia area of Apulia. Local dairymen already made manteca, a scamorza cheese wrapped around butter, and burrata used the same idea to save scraps: a pouch of stretched mozzarella filled with shreds of curd soaked in cream. Some accounts trace it to around 1900 on the Bianchino brothers' farm, but the most cited story says that in the mid-1950s heavy snow stopped Lorenzo Bianchino of the Piana Padura farm from taking his milk to market, so he improvised the new cheese. Traditionally wrapped in asphodel leaves, burrata di Andria gained EU protected status in 2016 and is now loved worldwide.
Rival claims
Dates vary from about 1900 to 1956 (Lorenzo Bianchino of the Piana Padura farm), but every account places it in this town.
Also known as burrata di Andria, burrata cheese.
On the Meridish menu
Burrata was the starter course on menu No. 18 on October 18, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
A pouch of fresh mozzarella filled with torn curd and cream. The story goes that a farmer here invented it when heavy snow stopped him taking his cream to town.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
