Like many of its European neighbors, Italy is a nation in love with cheese, boasting an impressive 540 different native varieties. One underrated Italian cheese is scamorza, which shares many similarities with the ever-popular mozzarella, but when you take a closer look, their many differences emerge.

Making scamorza starts out similar to mozzarella, since both are "spun cheeses," which are submerged in brine and then kneaded to create an elastic and stringy texture. However, while fresh mozzarella is packaged straight from the briny bath, scamorza is tied and hung to dry for one to two weeks, which makes it firmer and softer.

Many scamorza are smoked over straw, while unsmoked scamorza retains the light, milky flavor of mozzarella, but saltier. Scamorza can be in place of fresh mozzarella, but pair it with bolder ingredients that stand up to it, and keep in mind that it should be used quickly after opening, as its delicate smoky flavor and aroma can rapidly fade.