Topic: whats the best pizza cheese

[jamieb728]

Hi all

What kind of cheese is best for homemade pizza iv tried bags of gratted pizza cheese which is cheddar and mozzerella iv tried mozzerella balls but for some reason they seem to let out a lot of liquid even if they are dried off which makes my base soggy iv tried a four cheese mix but nothing seems to taste quite right any ideas

Cheera
Jamie

[Stephen Lindsay]

jamieb I agree with you I've found mozarella too sloppy even when left to sit out of it's liquid for a while. I've tried mixed bags of pizza cheese from both Lidl and ASDA and I found the latter the better of the two. When made into a pizza along with my home made tomato sauce, I've found the results to be acceptable but well short of where I'd like my pizzas to be.

[Piscator]

Hi Guys,

Sadly the mozzarella you buy in liquid at the supermarkets is made to a different recipe than the stuff intended for cooking on a pizza. Pizza mozzarella is often a cows milk cheese made to a lower moisture content than the stuff in liquid (a weak brine solution) - the stuff in liquid is intended to be eaten as it is so they make it softer with more moisture trapped in the curd,  which is why even if you let it drain it will still not work too well. As a result of the moisture level it doesn't behave the same when melting and will usually give you a soggy pizza as well as tending to scorch more easily.

The grated stuff in the bags is closer in specification but to keep costs down it sometimes gets cut with analogue which is a plant based substance that looks and feels like cheese but hasn't got much if any taste.

Look out for a shredded dry mozzarella on its own and check the ingredients list - apart from some starch to stop it sticking together, there shouldn't be any other ingredients. That would give you the  best chance of success.

[jamieb728]

Cheers piscator

I did hear a chef say you need cows milk mozerella for pizza do you know if this is deli counter stuff or what type of place sells it never come across it i know they add a chalky like substance to grated cheese to stop it sticking together i thought if i could get cows milk slightly freeze it to make it easier to grate that might work better.

[chewytikka]

What Cheese?
I suppose it depends what version of Pizza your trying to recreate at home

Restaurants use a mixed cheese as standard. (grated)

Get some hard full fat Mozzarella (grated) and some hard white mature
cheddar (grated) Mix 70/30 ratio.
You will get a good melt and stretch, with flavour.

Some supermarket Mozzarella I

[Piscator]

Hi Jamie,
Yes the stuff used in good places is Fior di Latte ("flower of milk") and it's made specifically for melting on a pizza. Nearly all of the stuff in supermarkets is made with a moisture content of between about 50 - 55% but the pizza stuff is made at about 45 - 50% (usually nearer the lower end of the spec). It doesn't sound like a lot of difference but the way it behaves when melting is quite surprising.

The stuff on the deli counter will almost certainly be made at the higher moisture level.

The mixed grated stuff is closer but the cheddar they mix it with is normally a seriously young and bland cheddar to keep costs down. The mozzarella trade is a crazy business, lots of "Italian" mozzarella  actually begins life in Ireland at a creamery that produces the curd which is then shipped to Italy where it is stretched and packaged before being shipped back here!

If you can find cows milk mozzarellla as a grated product on its own it will be the lower moisture stuff and you can then add something with a bit more personality.

The places that I know of making a good pizza Fior di Latte sell it into the restaurant trade rather than retail to the public. If you're serious about mozzarella I can put you onto someone I know that does a very good product but you'd need to buy at least 10kg and with courier costs I'd be surprised if it was worth it for home use (that would make a lot of pizzas).

Freezing before grating will certainly make this easier and mozzarella freezes quite well.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I make a pizza from time to time (never the base), but I made a mistake recently and bought a pack of bases with neither tomato/herb sauce nor cheese,  The next day I happened to be in Asda, and asked one of the assistants if they had grated mozarella.  He said that he thought that they did, but when he came to look, there was none left.  What there was, however, was "Asda grated four cheese blend", containing grated mozarella (45%), grated coloured cheddar (23%), grated Maasdam (16%) and grated samso (16%), so I tried this and the results were superb -- a beautiful melting/stringing blend that works and tastes perfectly in pizza..  Highly recommended.

** Phil

[StoneCut]

I highly recommend "Galbani Mozzarella Cucina" (400gm packages) - The "cucina" bit is the important stuff. It's mozzarella with a lower moisture content so it's more suitable for cooking. For extra flavour grate some fresh parmeggiano reggiano over your pizza right *after* baking. Try to avoid pre-shredded cheeses as they usually contain potato starch so they don't lump up in the bag,

[Peripatetic Phil]

Agreed, SC -- "Asda grated four cheese blend" does indeed contain potato starch.  But it still makes a d@mned good pizza !
** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

O.T., but nonetheless relevant