Everyone likes to eat pizza, but unfortunately it is all too often eaten as a filler. Pizza is a dish that you have to enjoy, something that you have to taste and that you can share. Comparing pizza from the supermarket with what a good pizzeria serves you is difficult.
Let’s start with the most important thing about a pizza! Yes its cheese but what is the best cheese for pizza? In addition to the tomato sauce that is mainly used, it is good to start with cheese. This way you make a nice layer that, when you pull the pizza apart, creates delicious strings.
There are many types of cheese and not every type of cheese is suitable for a pizza. It is wise to use a different cheese for the bottom than for the topping. This must be a cheese that melts well so that cheese can be found all over the pizza. It is also best to use grated cheese for this. In the store you can buy pizza cheese that is well suited as a pizza topping.
Many things need to make an amazing testy pizza, but choosing the perfect cheese is the best secret of it. We are going revealed our research to see which cheeses will give best look and taste to your pizza.
What is The Best Cheese for Pizza?
Which cheese you put on your pizza is mainly a matter of taste. You can experiment with this to your heart’s content and discover your favorites. Although I also like to vary with different types
The secret to a tasty pizza is in the dough: it must be well risen, so that it is light and can be baked crispy, but at the same time it remains tender. I always use fresh yeast, semola (wheat semolina) and cheese.
It is good to use different cheese for the toppings. Think for example of Mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, Italian cheese or Cheddar. Goat cheese and blue cheese are also very tasty to put on a pizza. The most important thing here is that you just experiment and see what you like best.
Not every cheese is suitable, for example, there are cheeses that are very salty, such as Parmesan and blue cheese. You should not use too much of this as this makes the pizza very salty. And that is of course not good for health.
If you want to prevent the pizza from getting dirty, it is best to use the above cheeses. And it is often better to use a little of several types of cheese than a lot of one type. It is always good to pay attention to the amount of cheese in your pizza toppings.
Too much cheese on a pizza is always wrong. It is a product that combines the flavors and should therefore not dominate. There we going to know which cheese is best suited to put on your pizza?
Mozzarella Cheese
Mozzarella belongs on the pizza! Look at the classic margarita pizza with tomato, mozzarella and basil. These three simple ingredients make the pizza. After baking, the mozzarella provides those characteristic melted cheese threads when you grab a slice of pizza. Love it! The taste is quite neutral. For pizza I prefer to use cow’s milk mozzarella and not buffalo mozzarella.
Buffalo mozzarella contains a lot of moisture and you would rather not want this on your pizza. I always pat the mozzarella dry in a piece of kitchen paper first and then tear it into strips by hand. If you tear it along with the wire instead of cutting it, it will release less moisture during baking.
Traditionally made from buffalo milk, mozzarella comes from the campanile, the southern Italian region around Naples. The research was carried out by the university in Auckland, New Zealand.
Mozzarella excels not only because of the taste, but also because of the “perfect way of melting” and the interaction with the other ingredients. As long as it has mozzarella on it, other cheeses such as Gorgonzola can be used in combination on a good pizza.
Difference Between High and Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese
When making pizza with mozzarella cheese, you can choose between high and low moisture. High moisture mozzarella has a very short shelf life and has to be used within the first day of being made.
Low moisture mozzarella is also offered, giving it a longer shelf life with a saltier, more dense flavor than high moisture mozzarella. This low moisture component also helps it melt faster when being baked.
Using Mozzarella Cheese on Pizza
You can use mozzarella as the base cheese by itself for margarita, Neapolitan, and Greek pizzas. If used alone, make sure to slice it thinly and drain any excess moisture from the cheese. Because mozzarella is so versatile, it is the number one choice of cheese to be added to a cheese blend.
Mozzarella can be blended with provolone to make a traditional cheese or pepperoni pizza and many other kinds.
Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan is a real seasoning. This Italian hard cheese has a slightly spicy and delicately salty taste. Usually use it as a seasoning and don’t use too much of it. The real parmigiana is quite pricey. A cheaper alternative and also tasty is Grana Padano or Pecorino.
Adding Parmesan Cheese to Pizza
If you are a cheese lover, Parmesan cheese is probably one of your favorite go-to cheeses to sprinkle on top of your pizza. This cheese will accentuate the taste of other fresh and flavorful toppings.
Cheddar Cheese
Cheddar is another favorite cheese you going to love because of sharp taste that it has. Although people don’t tend to associate cheddar cheese alone as a cheese to be used on pizza, it is in fact an ingredient in a lot of pizza cheese blends.
Cheddar is a good addition to any pie because its small elasticity means it doesn’t blister as easily as mozzarella. Also, if you choose a sharper cheddar cheese that has a deep orange tint, it will add color to your pizza.
Parmigiano and Pecorino
Parmigiano and pecorino (hard sheep’s cheese) are often used as a seasoning in Italian cuisine. And that is no different with the pizza. You can easily grate both cheeses over your pizza. You can do that before baking.
If you want to give your pizza something extra, then it is nice to sprinkle some shavings or flakes of one of these cheeses over your pizza after baking. That always looks great with Parmigiano and Pecorino.
Other Types of Cheese for Pizza
The more types of cheese, the less of everything you use. The amount of cheese and cheese that I use also depends on the other ingredients that I put on the pizza. Other cheeses that I like on pizza and use regularly are:
- Young matured Gouda cheese: This cheese melts nicely on the pizza and gives it a delicious taste. Young matured cheese, together with mozzarella and Parmesan, gives a nice basic taste to your pizza. In principle you do not have to use any other cheese.
- Matured or old (goat) cheese: I sometimes use this instead of Parmesan. These cheeses are also a bit saltier, so you don’t have to use much of it, just like Parmesan.
- Soft goat cheese: Delicious on a pizza with crème fraîche, zucchini, thyme and honey.
- Gorgonzola: A soft Italian blue cheese with a creamy, salty and spicy taste. This cheese is quite salty, so adjust your other cheeses accordingly.
- Talegio: An Italian soft rind cheese with a fairly strong aroma and slightly sweet taste.
Of course there are more cheeses you can use on your pizza. This is just a list of my favorites at the moment.
Be Careful with Salt!
Some cheeses such as Parmesan, matured and mature cheese and most blue vein cheeses are quite salty. So make sure you don’t combine too many salty cheeses on your pizza. Always try to find a good cheese mix of mild and spicy.
Wrap-Up!
Now that you know best cheese for pizza by knowing characteristics of each cheese type and the flavors of pizza. You can begin experimenting by adding in some specialty cheeses. Whether you’re making a pizza as a staple on your menu, it’s important to find a cheese that works for your pizza! Enjoy making wonderful pizza.
