The legend says that a Jewish woman bought some cheese from the market which was a little bit off. She put it in water and on the fire and noticed that it became like dough. She took it out and salted it and she got a delicious and long lasting product. The oldest historical document describing the manufacture of cheese that requires kneading was written by the Roman chronicler Lucio Moderate Columela in 68 AC.
The pasta filata type cheese is widely spread throughout the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Recently this cheese has entered all of the European markets, Russia, Ukraine and South America.
This cheese is not very demanding in relation to the raw ingredients and hygiene during the manufacturing process because it is subjected to a second thermal processing (treatment) called thermoplastification or cooking. Typical representatives are kashkaval in all its varieties and mozzarella.