pizza cheese

Well, first off (and this is definitely my own personal prejudice, not gospel), I'd say any cheese made by Kraft is generally going to be inferior. That said...

The mozzarella used by pizzerias is typically of the whole-milk variety; whereas most supermarkets, especially if you're not in a large metro area, usually only stock the part-skim variety. This is stringier, chewier, drier, etc. Also, depending on what kind of pizza you're trying to replicate, many, many pizzerias use a cheese blend, not just mozzarella. For instance, fontina and provolone melt differently than mozzarella. If you can't get whole-milk mozz, you might try blending in some fontina, provolone, or other Italian "melting" cheeses, assuming you can get those.

If you're trying to duplicate a certain type of coal-oven or wood-fired NYC pizza (e.g., Grimaldi's, etc.), you'll need to use fresh buffalo mozz.


If you're trying to replicate a Chicago-style deep dish pizza, you'll need feedback from somebody else, as this is not really pizza in my book!

whenever i go to make pizza i use mozz cheese curds... allthough i make pizza in a sort of rustic style. Also the BelGioioso mozz is really good for pizzas.

If you're just cooking for the family i would recommend , like Rouxtheday says, buy fresh buffalo mozz. ( and keep a wee bit by for yourself. Drizzed with extra virgin olive oil and a grind of back pepper((Chefs perks))

If you want something a little easier to obtain than fresh buffalo mozzarell, try to get the mozzarella cheese from an Italian domestic cheese company, that comes in a round-ish ball, shrinkwrapped, not a square brick.

Take it from Cheese Country, Tom: RouxTheDay has it right on the money. Use whole milk mozzarella rather than the cardboard from Kraft to get that lovely, stringy cheese you're looking for.

Buy a solid chunk of mozzarella and grate it yourself, even the part-skim stuff. The pre-grated is very dried out melts very poorly no matter what.

I don't have a grating disk but I still use a food processor for pizza cheese prep. Toss in a chunk of parmesan and process to fine bits. Add some mozzarella in 1 inch or so chunks and process to medium small chunks. These melt acceptably and have better flavor than the pre-grated junk.

Phil

Well, maybe...

C'mon, Tom...

Kraft mozzarella is a petroleum by-product. :eek: Just like the stuff in the green cardboard cylinder. By eating it, you're increasing your carbon footprint! :smiles:

Mike

Pizza in Switzerland

I really enjoyed reading all of the replies. I'm makeing pizza tonight and there are so many Swiss-made cheeses available here that I sometimes don't know where to start. I know I can get Buffalo Mozzerella and Sbrinz and Provolone. I'll have to look for Fontina.
Thanks everyone

I the two pizza joints i have worked in they used Wisconsin cheddar.

For all my cheese needs I go to igourmet.com. A friend of mine works there and brings me samples all the time. The latest item he gave me was peppadew peppers wow are they great.

Things you don't want to know about your food:

A friend of mine worked in a Kraft cheese plant that made the cheese and crackers things. The cheese comes packed in 55 gallon drums. If the cheese was starting to go off it would literally explode out of the drum when the top was removed. It got added into the batch anyway and blended in. Makes you want to run out and buy some Kraft cheese :lol: