What Italian cheese made from buffalo milk is used in caprese salad?

The Italian cheese used in Caprese salad and traditionally made from buffalo milk is mozzarella, specifically buffalo mozzarella.

Mozzarella is a fresh cheese traditionally produced by stretching or “spinning” curds in hot water, a technique known as pasta filata. Buffalo mozzarella is made from the milk of the Italian Mediterranean buffalo and is especially associated with Campania, including the provinces of Caserta and Salerno.

Caprese salad combines fresh mozzarella with tomatoes, basil, salt, and olive oil. Its red, white, and green colors resemble the Italian flag, and the salad is associated with the island of Capri. In Capri and the nearby Sorrento Peninsula, cow’s-milk mozzarella called fior di latte is also common, so buffalo milk is traditional in some areas rather than universal.

Mozzarella di bufala Campana has protected designation of origin status in the European Union. That specific name refers to buffalo mozzarella produced in designated parts of southern Italy under defined rules.