Pasta filata
Curd that is heated in hot water and stretched until stringy and smooth, as in mozzarella, provolone and sulguni.
Also: stretched curd, spun paste, pâte filée
Pasta filata, Italian for spun paste, is a family of cheeses made by stretching. The rennet curd is first left to sour until it reaches just the right acidity, then dipped in hot water or whey, often around eighty degrees, and kneaded and pulled until it becomes smooth, glossy and elastic, with protein fibres all lined up. It is then shaped while hot: torn into balls for mozzarella and burrata, pulled into pear shapes for provolone and caciocavallo, wound into balls for Oaxaca quesillo, braided for chechil and korbáčik, or pressed for sulguni and kashkaval. Pasta filata cheeses melt and stretch beautifully, which is why they top pizzas and fill khachapuri.