Mozzarella

[dunnes2002]

Hi,
just had a bit of a experiment of different types of Mozzarella last night and was very suprised how much taste it can add to a pizza.

We normally use Tesco Finest Mozzarella Di Bufala Campana
which is very good but we thought we would try out a few cheaper options for when we have parties and require quite a bit of it.

So we also tried tesco own, Gallbani Mozzarella Ball, and Galbani Mozzarella Maxi. The Gallbani Mozzarella Ball wasnt too bad but the others added nothing to the pizza at all. So im pretty much going with the finest buffalo mozerella as above.

Does anyone use anything different or have a good source of Mozzarella that i should use?

I think i may have ruined the test by only trying the best quality cheese first over many pizza nights and now trying the cheaper stuff.

[spinal]

I use either the galbani mozzarella, or the nifeislife buffalo one (they're 10 mins away from my house, so I shop quite often there). The galbani is great if you have large groups of people as it's good enough to taste better than 90% of pizzas in the UK, but at about £1 a pack it wont breal the bank.

To be honest, my bigger qualm is how to delivery the mozzarella to the pizza... grating takes too long and is too messy, cutting/shredding leaves chunks which are too big...

M

[adm]

I use the Tesco Finest and also M&S Buffalo Mozz - sometimes they have them on offer at 3 for £5. Other than that, the Galbani is also OK.

I actually prep the mozz early - I either slice it or cut it into halves and then leave it to sit on kitchen towel for a few hours before cooking the pizza (you need to change the towels a few times). This way it dries out a bit, isn't so wet on the pizza and is easier to shred/crumble etc...

[rockrocky]

Just cut it up and put it in a colander over a bowl a few hours before you use it.

[Gaelceltic]

I've found putting the mozzarella in the freezer for about half an hour or so, before grating, makes it quite easy to grate, but do this after removing all the extra liquid. You can then either freeze or refrigerate until you need it in a plastic container or a ziplock bag.
You can use the cheese straight from frozen, no need to defrost first.

I did this a lot in Scotland when I was making pizza in the house oven for a few. Was enough hassle without mucking about grating a load of cheese at the last moment. Food processors are made for grating a load of cheese!

I automatically grate and freeze mozzarella here, as it's very hard to come by, and also very expensive. Hopefully will get some next week on a shopping trip to the south side of the island.

[swatson]

I break mine up and squeeze it in kitchen roll changing the sheets regularly, I also use the Galbani when it's on offer at Sainsbury's at £1 each, but usually use the Sainsbury's own make. I bought a couple of balls from Lidl the other week but haven't tried it yet.

[cannyfradock]

...what a brilliant idea from Gaelceltic....never thought of that!...I haven't pushed things on the commercial front (it's been about a year since I used my mobile wood-fired oven commercially)..but I've used lidl..and the Morrisons own Mozzarella with great success. I'm sure quality improves with quality ingredients but a wood-fired oven seems to be able to turn out the best pizzas with even the most modest...but fresh ingredients.

Terry

[Gaelceltic]

Personally, if I was having a few close few friends round, I would use a good mozzarella. A big pizza party, I would use a cheaper one.

Lidl's mozzarella is absolutely fine and probably better than most budget ones, and what I would use for a load of folk. Not tried Aldi's but probably similar.

[culinaryscience]

I would always go for a wet mozzarella, dry mozzarella is usually coated in starch.

[culinaryscience]

I'd love to know if anyone has tried using burrata cheese on pizza.

[dunnes2002]

i like my trips to lidl even if it only for a packet of vegetable crisps and some perlenbacher

Will pop in next week and try some of thier mozzerella and see what else they have in the form of pizza toppings!

[hotdog]

In my experience mozzerella tastes of bugger all ! Good for getting the stringy affect but tasteless . I know it's not italian and therefore not authentic but a mix of cheddar and edam makes a nice pizza.
For those who want Mozzerella but struggle to cut it Lidl do a packet of grated Mozz' in a plastic bag that you just throw on....cheers.

[Gaelceltic]

You can get some lovely mozzarella....there's a place in Edinburgh that I go to when I can. It's not cheap, but it is divine, and it does have a taste. www.valvonacrolla.co.uk/ Well worth a visit if you are in Edinburgh, but take plenty dosh, you won't just come out with mozzarella!

Afraid that I've been having to substitute what they call here Taze Kasar. It's not as soft as mozzarella, but it almost has the same stringy effect.

[adm]

Aug 30, 2013 19:01:03 GMT hotdog said:

In my experience mozzerella tastes of bugger all ! Good for getting the stringy affect but tasteless . I know it's not italian and therefore not authentic but a mix of cheddar and edam makes a nice pizza.
For those who want Mozzerella but struggle to cut it Lidl do a packet of grated Mozz' in a plastic bag that you just throw on....cheers.

Yeah, but.....

The grated Mozz in a bag is a totally different animal to "real" mozz. The balls of fresh mozz have a really delicate taste and are lovely on Neapolitan style pizzas, which are usually a bit more subtle than the typical Dominos/Pizza hut style. They're also not very stringy.

For the Domion/PH style though, grated Mozz, plus a bit of cheddar works well. Dutch cheese on a pizza kind of freaks me out though.....so no Edam here, despite the fact I quite like it.

In any case, fresh Mozz is easy to cut - but like so many kitchen tasks it is really made much easier if you have a supersupersharp knife! Otherwise it squishes a bit.

It also benefits from being drained for a few hours before use as it is too wet fresh for use on pizza if you want the best results. Too watery otherwise.

[tonyb]

I'm not sure I can taste the difference between good buffalo mozarella or supermarket own mozzarella balls on pizza, so tend to use the latter. Getting rid of the excess moisture is the problem and kitchen roll doesn't work all that well for me. I find the block mozzarella quite a bit drier and increasingly, though not exclusively, use this. I tend to be sparing with the toppings including cheese focussing more on the tast of the bread.