Buffalo Stockbreeders from Campania since 1878
From its early days to present times
The history of ABC has ancient origins. Since 1878, its members have dedicated themselves to buffalo farming, an activity that had taken off in the Caserta area about a century earlier, when King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon wanted the ‘Real Bufalaria’ of the Carditello Royal Palace to be founded.
In 1978, they came together in a cooperative to create ABC. Right from the start, the common goal was quality: this dairy factory was the first of the three founding members of the Consortium of Tutelage for the Buffalo Mozzarella from Campania PDO and thus contributed to the definition of the strict quality standards set by the product specification of Buffalo mozzarella from Campania PDO, as well as to the development and affirmation of the dairy sector in the region.
Our products are made without the use of preservatives, gluten and are 100% natural, using excellent prime materials as their base.
It all starts with ABC
Breeding: nutrition and welfare
Today, Angelo Piccirillo and a team of expert partners control the farm. They have their own stables nearby Dugenta, in a PDO area on the border between the provinces of Caserta and Benevento.
Here, the buffaloes are reared with the respect of animal welfare in mind, according to the criteria of European standards: their nutrition includes a specific “food ration” calibrated by our team of nutritionists according to the age and needs of the animals, with the use of fodder grown on our own farm, appropriately supplemented to ensure the ideal protein and fat content of the milk.
Our own dairy farm, with over 3,000 semi-wild animals, allows us to have a short and controlled supply chain, using only milk whose origin is certain and traced and constantly analysed to guarantee safety and quality. In addition, the milk from each milking is processed on the same day.
The entire lifecycle of the animal, including milking, is carried out in a healthy way thanks to “non-stress” methods. This also ensures the quality of the milk – the real secret behind our mozzarella.
Production: artisanal work, innovation and transparency
Processing takes place in the original plant in Vitulazio. Here, the milk from our buffaloes – filtered and purified, and subjected to a slow pasteurisation process to preserve its nutritional characteristics – is transformed into mozzarella, ricotta and other products according to the production specifications of Buffalo Mozzarella from Campania PDO, Ricotta of Buffalo PDO and the most modern quality standards. The QR code on the packaging of our products also allows the consumer to follow every stage of processing.
However, we are keen to preserve the ancient dairy tradition of Campania. For this reason, we choose to use manual spinning of the dough until the desired consistency is achieved, before proceeding to mechanically mould and cut the mozzarella in its standard sizes (from 10g to 500g). For special products, such as giant braids, “zizzona” (1 kg buffalo mozzarella) or the ‘litter’ (a spun dough casing filled with mozzarella morsels and vegetable cream), the moulding process is also manual.
For us, innovation does not mean giving up our traditional craftsmanship. Instead, we try to identify and satisfy new needs: this is how we create original products such as the mozzarella “pandoro” or the Buffalo mozzarella from Campania PDO, designed to be put on pizza, by guaranteeing all the organoleptic characteristics, yet reducing their moisture.