A pizza cheese tip
I've just got a short post for you today, because I spent my weekend blogging time updating my deep dish/pan pizza post with less terrible photos.
I've been shredding my own mozzarella for ages, because the blocks are almost always cheaper.
And the blocks don't have any ingredients but cheese, whereas the bagged stuff sometimes has odd ingredients added.
I've bought the 8 ounce blocks from Aldi for a while now, but recently, they had some of the larger, softer blocks of mozzarella, and I discovered that this type definitely tastes better on pizza.
Aldi doesn't always have it, but regular grocery stores do. I buy the store brand sometimes, or the name brand if it's on sale.
This is not the fresh mozzarella that you'd use for a Caprese salad...it's just a medium-soft mozzarella and it usually comes in squares rather than rectangles.
It's a little tricky to shred due to the softness, and it wasn't until recently that I realized I could cut the square in half for easier shredding.
Duh.
(I use my box grater for shredding because it feels like less work than lugging out and then washing my food processor.)
So. That's my small tip: Try the square mozzarella! It's tasty!
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What cheese do you use when you make pizza? Do you noticed a difference between pre-shredded and shredded-at-home?
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About the deep dish pizza: I updated the deep dish pizza recipe with new photos that, while not perfect, are a sight better than the dark, yellow ones I took 7 years ago (!). The recipe should be more pinnably appetizing now.
I read in either Better Homes and Gardens or in America's Test Kitchen that when you have to shred soft cheeses, putting them into the freezer until they are firm makes it a lot easier. I haven't tried this myself yet, but after looking at your pizza pictures I think I'm going to in the near future 🙂
Yes, that's just what I was going to say. I have tried it, and altho your fingers might get chilly, it works great. I just put the mozz in the freezer when I buy it.
Oooooo, that's a fabulous idea! Thanks for the tip!
I don't like it anymore with just the Aldi block cheese...I though will often blend the 2 (soft and block) because it's cheaper but still greatly improves the taste.
Also...to solve the too soft thing I throw mine in the freezer for just a bit to harden it a little
The preshredded mozarella is just gross. It even ruins English muffin pizzas because the stuff they add to keep it from sticking also keeps it from melting properly.
I use the same medium soft mozarella you do, but I always see it sold as a big ball. It's different from the 'fresh mozarella' because the ball is dry, not packed in liquid. At some stores you can also get the softer mozarella made with whole milk, which is definately better tasting.
Also, don't ever use your food processor on such a soft cheese. I had to buy a new bowl for mine, because I used to always (about once a week) shred soft mozarella in my food processor, and part of the bottom where the bowl attaches to the base broke off. I know it was the mozarella because that was what made the machine work so hard and wobble.
Oh, that's good to know. I gave up on shredding soft mozzarella in the food processor long ago just because it didn't work out very well! It would get all mushed up rather than shredded and it did seem to make my poor food processor work a little too hard.
Sometimes a simple box grater is a fabulous thing.
I used the bagged, shredded from Aldi. But our pizza looks opposite of yours--way less sauce and way more cheese. I may try the square block cheese for a change.
I work in the food and bevergae R&D industry and actually worked for a company that was an ingredient supplier for shredded cheese manufacturers...most of the additional ingredients you see on a shredded cheese package are food safety and quality related for anti-caking and mold inhibiting. The anti-caking agent is a powder made up of cellulose powder and atomized (lightly sprayed) water; and the natamycin is added as the mold inhibitor.
Just your FYI for this Monday 🙂
Oh yeah, I'm not saying that pre-shredded cheese is going to kill us all or anything. I just find that the block stuff performs better, and I figure that if I can avoid mold-inhibitors, save money, and enjoy tastier cheese at the same time, then so much the better.
I agree! I love buying the block cheese from Aldi - it seems so much lighter and soft (does that make sense?!) rather than the heavier pre-shredded cheeses!
As a child I often helped my Mom shred mozzarella- and that's exactly how we did it; cut the squares in half and use a box grater. Even once she got a food processor, this is always how we did the cheese!
Thank you for triggering that happy memory today. It's been 3 years and I still miss my Mom so darn much.
Well... I'm lazy, my husband doesn't like homemade pizza anyway, and the kids aren't picky. So I buy five-pound bags of pre-shredded mozz at Costco and portion it up to freeze it quart bags.
I don't bother grating (shredding) mozzarella- I slice it thinly and just lay it on. Less faff and less washing up 🙂
Even the harder mozzarellas melt enough that you don't end up with big cheese-less gaps on the pizza!
I think some of what makes it better cheese is that it's whole milk mozzarella (the square) instead of part-skim (the rectangle). Let's face... more fat usually means better tasting and better melting.
We use that same brand mozz when we can pick it up on a great sale. This is good to know, we have had shredding problems in the past. Not sure what the Chef (my other half) does now, but we've gone through a few techniques to try and make it easier. We prefer making pizza at home for the taste and knowing what went into making it. Plus it's on par or cheaper than store bought frozen.
I used to use just mozarella on our pizzas, but then someone told me that the neighborhood pizza place that makes such awesome pizza uses provolone, so now I scatter a few torn up pieces of that on with the mozarella, and oh boy, is it good.
As far as the block mozarella goes, last month I accidentally grabbed a block that was part skim instead of the whole milk kind I usually buy. There was a big, big difference. They are right beside each other in the cooler, and the packaging is nearly identical. I look twice now. We've discovered in the last year that full fat dairy is not the demon it has been made out to be. My taste buds are very happy.
I used to use part skim mozzarella, either shredded or the Pollyo squares. Then we discovered Shoprite's 4 Cheese Pizza blend. It has whole milk mozzarella, provolone, Romano and Parmesan cheese. Now my pizza tastes like it comes from the restaurant, and my family no longer complains about saving money by making it myself. As others said, the full fat cheese makes a big difference! I do serve pizza with salad, so we don't go overboard on the pizza alone.
CatMan always complains that plain mozzarella is too salty - but if I use the 4 cheese blend he's happy. I wonder if one could blend those cheeses oneself? Not sure it's really worth the hassle though...
That does seem like a big hassle unless you had a food processor.
We usually dont get aldi cheese because we live in WI. There are a ton of awesome local cheese producers that are even found in big grocery stores and artisan cheese here isnt really much more than the cheap stuff. We r cheese snobs. Even the kids vetoed aldi.
OK... so reading this has me thinking I should try shredding my own cheese again - I gave up on it years ago because I got really tired of shredding the skin on the backs of my fingers. Is there some sort of a trick to doing it without injuring yourself?
Do you have a food processor with shredder attachment?
Hmmm... well, my food processor broke a few years ago and I never replaced it because I just hate washing the thing. But that is a thought...
I hate washing mine too! Thus the hand grating.
I just try to be careful to keep my knuckles away from the edge. I'm not sure there's a super special trick to it. But I can understand buying preshredded if you keep shredding your skin!
I s l o w right down when the cheese I'm grating is about an inch thick. Then I turn it endwise and continue slowly till I'm done or decide to pop the remainder in my mouth. Those graters are really sharp!
We buy high quality cheese on sale and shred it with the food processor, put in a ziploc freezer bag and store in the freezer. Haven't had any problems with moldy cheese and it thaws in 2 seconds. Have gone to an almost 0 waste household when it comes to groceries going bad.
That is awesome! Go, you!
I've always purchased a 2# block of Mozzarella and shredded it w/ my food processor then stored the shreds in the freezer. Yes, they freeze together but are easily separated by slicing the mass with a knife.
I try to avoid buying anything that is cut into small pieces, as most of the time it's a lot more expensive than the product in its original shape. Seems as if the food companies think that as they have cut it up, they can now ask double for it. Also, as others have comented, often there are ingredients added that have nothing to do with the original, but are only there to make sure the small pieces don't stick together again.... Not good! So fully agree with you: Buy in one piece and then cut up or grind as you need it. This is cheaper and you know exactly what you get!
We buy the big 5-lb (now 6-lb) block of mozzarella from Sam's Club. It works out to about $2/lb, so it's cheaper than Aldi's and is much softer. If I wrap the cheese tightly enough, most of the time it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. I don't like freezing smaller blocks usually because they crumble after they've been thawed, and I've tried preshredding everything too and then freezing it, but it's kind of a pain to get out of the bag because of moisture content, so I've resorted to the big block-in-the-fridge arrangement. I have to say, even though I'm a big Aldi fan, I like the Sam's Club cheese better too. I also buy their big 3-lb bags of pepperoni and freeze them in smaller 1-lb bags, and they are much cheaper and just as good as the Aldi brand.
Just adding a little tip I learned long ago. For those who hate to wash their food processors or blenders---after you empty out the cheese (or whatever food you have processed) fill it about half way with water and add a squirt of dish soap. Then run it on pulse for a few seconds, pour it out and it will be almost clean!