Cheese

[MacEggs]

I am curious what brand(s) everyone is using on their homemade pizzas.

The reason I ask, is because a buddy at work discovered that most, if not all commercial pizza makers use some form of "fake" cheese.

I decided to see what I could uncover on this.  Some links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_analogue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_cheese

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-imitation-cheese.htm

Some lines pretty much say it all:

... as in the case of products used for salad bars and pizza-making, which are generally intended to be mistaken for real cheese, but have properties such as different melting points or lower costs that make them attractive to businesses.

Analogue pizza cheeses may be formulated for processing with less sophisticated cheese-making equipment than is required for Mozzarella cheese, such as using simple mixing and molding.


All the more reason to make pizza at home with ingredients that one can hope are not fake.


I like this stuff.  I freeze half a package (500g) vacuum sealed.  Take it out about an hour before shredding.
It shreds a lot easier when it's like this, as it is quite gooey when at normal temperature.
A half package provides plenty of cheese for two large pies (15").

[MikeRocksTheRed]

For shredded cheese I just use the store brand most of the time.  When I am making multiple pizzas I will usually do a white pizza with ricotta and fresh mozzella and a margherita with fresh moz.  I really haven't used any shredded other than store brand so I really haven't been able to compare one shredded against another.

[pbe gummi bear]

the older I get, the more I notice processed "fake" food. It's really difficult to wade through it sometimes.

[Troy]

i use real mozzarella (low moisture), blended with real parmigiano reggiano (not the fake pregrated crap in a can)

i also like to pull out fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola, feta, pecorino romano (if i can find it)

[blksabbath]

St. Louis style pizzas require provel cheese.


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[powermatt99]

My favorites:
--low moisture mozz and fontina for traditional pizza
--fontina and gruyere for non-tomato pizzas
--fresh mozz for margherita

In Wisconsin we have a great selection of high quality cheeses. Other places aren't so fortunate but there are enough foodie type stores now that if you're in a large enough city, there should be options.

I remember the budget frozen pizzas my penny-pinching mother would buy for us growing up. The cheese never melted, it just kinda fossilized atop the pizza.

[Lerxst]

  I like to heat up Cheez Whiz in the microwave and pour it over the pie in a fancy criss-cross pattern.  Makes it real gooey!  :-)

[eyevandy]

The reason I ask, is because a buddy at work discovered that most, if not all commercial pizza makers use some form of "fake" cheese.

Are you saying that's the case for frozen pizzas? I've definitely found that to be true but I doubt that's true of takeout places. It's actually the opposite - if you are shopping for cheese at a chain grocery store (at least in the US) you probably can't even find the same quality of cheese they use at a pizza place. All of the major brand mozzarella cheese I've seen is part-skim which is also part bubblegum.

I had the hardest time finding a good place to buy whole low-moisture mozzarella. My Costco doesn't sell it. Trader Joe's has it but it's a little more than I like to spend on cheese. What I've found and like almost as much is sliced mozzarella from Gordon Food Service. Since it's sliced you can use it on chicken parmesan, or I also like mixing oregano into ground beef and making burgers with mozzarella, pizza sauce, and pepperoni fried up like bacon. When you want to shred the cheese you can just put the slices into a mini chopper. Gordon is midwest US only but I wouldn't be surprised if other foodservice outlets are good places to buy cheese (again almost everything in a supermarket is awful)

I also really like provolone mixed in with mozzarella. Again you're going to need a mini chopper, it doesn't come shredded.

[eyevandy]

St. Louis style pizzas require provel cheese.

Do you actually like St. Louis pizza? I read an article about it once and the comments were lit up by people that live there and hate their own city's pizza.

[Troy]

The reason I ask, is because a buddy at work discovered that most, if not all commercial pizza makers use some form of "fake" cheese.

Are you saying that's the case for frozen pizzas? I've definitely found that to be true but I doubt that's true of takeout places. It's actually the opposite - if you are shopping for cheese at a chain grocery store (at least in the US) you probably can't even find the same quality of cheese they use at a pizza place. All of the major brand mozzarella cheese I've seen is part-skim which is also part bubblegum.

I had the hardest time finding a good place to buy whole low-moisture mozzarella. My Costco doesn't sell it. Trader Joe's has it but it's a little more than I like to spend on cheese. What I've found and like almost as much is sliced mozzarella from Gordon Food Service. Since it's sliced you can use it on chicken parmesan, or I also like mixing oregano into ground beef and making burgers with mozzarella, pizza sauce, and pepperoni fried up like bacon. When you want to shred the cheese you can just put the slices into a mini chopper. Gordon is midwest US only but I wouldn't be surprised if other foodservice outlets are good places to buy cheese (again almost everything in a supermarket is awful)

I also really like provolone mixed in with mozzarella. Again you're going to need a mini chopper, it doesn't come shredded.

Actually a lot of the takeout places use a blend of pizza cheese that has the fake cheese in it too. Even chains :\

[pbe gummi bear]

St. Louis style pizzas require provel cheese.

I've only had it a few times but Provel is good stuff.

[Nate]

Only real cheese here and nothing from a bag or container that has been pre grated. Usually organic if I can find it or next next best thing the grocery store I'm in has. I grate everything myself.

[MeatAndPotatos]

The reason I ask, is because a buddy at work discovered that most, if not all commercial pizza makers use some form of "fake" cheese.

Are you saying that's the case for frozen pizzas? I've definitely found that to be true but I doubt that's true of takeout places. It's actually the opposite - if you are shopping for cheese at a chain grocery store (at least in the US) you probably can't even find the same quality of cheese they use at a pizza place. All of the major brand mozzarella cheese I've seen is part-skim which is also part bubblegum.

I had the hardest time finding a good place to buy whole low-moisture mozzarella. My Costco doesn't sell it. Trader Joe's has it but it's a little more than I like to spend on cheese. What I've found and like almost as much is sliced mozzarella from Gordon Food Service. Since it's sliced you can use it on chicken parmesan, or I also like mixing oregano into ground beef and making burgers with mozzarella, pizza sauce, and pepperoni fried up like bacon. When you want to shred the cheese you can just put the slices into a mini chopper. Gordon is midwest US only but I wouldn't be surprised if other foodservice outlets are good places to buy cheese (again almost everything in a supermarket is awful)

I also really like provolone mixed in with mozzarella. Again you're going to need a mini chopper, it doesn't come shredded.

Actually a lot of the takeout places use a blend of pizza cheese that has the fake cheese in it too. Even chains :\

I would guess the chains even more so. Mom and pop shops would be more likely to just go out, buy some cheese and shred it... Chains are going to try and set up a distribution network, the cheese will likely be pre-shredded, which leads to anti caking agents and preservatives, ect...
The more resources they get the more likely they are to start engineering the food to meet their conditions rather then the other way around.

[blksabbath]

St. Louis style pizzas require provel cheese.

Do you actually like St. Louis pizza? I read an article about it once and the comments were lit up by people that live there and hate their own city's pizza.

I actually do like St. Louis style pizza.  Yes, provel is kind of a love hate thing here.  I have been known to break the rules and use other cheeses though...real cheese like maytag blue, hoop cheddar, fresh mozarella on st. louis style crusts.

[MrHoss]

I'm a Saputo man too. Got a big Costco hunk in the fridge right now. Also have some Saputo Provolone.