Ooni – Pizza Cheese
Ooni – Pizza Cheese: Traditionalists will tell you that your pizza should only have Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP on your pizza. It is a great cheese and if you are going to use Mozzarella the proper Buffalo Mozzarella will taste a lot better than the cheap balls of Mozzarella you find in the supermarket but I like to try a few different cheeses on my pizzas.
Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP: Made from pasteurised whole buffalo milk from the Campania region of Italy. If you are going to use Mozzarella, this is the one to get as it’s very rich, milky and almost creamy.
Mozzarella: Standard supermarket Mozzarella. Usually made from cows milk and a lot of it appears to come from Poland. Can be quite wet so I tend to drain the bag then squeeze the ball in some kitchen towel to get the extra moisture out. Easier to slice then but I usually tear strands off. Quite a bland cheese, not much flavour.
Mozzarella Pearls: Smaller balls of Mozzarella, usually in a tub. I found if you put these on whole they don’t seem to melt very well. Better to split them into two before placing them on the pizza.
Grated Mozzarella: A lot of folk don’t like this cheese. It’s grated Mozzarella but usually has a starch based anti-caking agent added. It’s another cheese that doesn’t taste of much but I find it melts well. It’s great on pizzas for the kids.
Grated Cheddar: The grated Mozzarella doesn’t taste of much so grating Cheddar (especially extra mature Cheddar) can add a nice, strong cheese taste. No caking agents either.
Feta Cheese: I made a Greek pizza with Feta cheese on recently and it was so tasty. Definitely recommend adding some to a pizza!
Parmesan and Grana Padano Cheese: I used to top my pizzas with Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese but after I read this report from CIWF I haven’t bought any since.
Footage obtained across nine farms in the Po Valley region of Italy shows emaciated cows forced to live in barren barns with no access to the outdoors, wallowing in their own waste and unable to express many natural behaviours.
I am lucky to have access to Anster cheese which is produced locally to me and is an alternative to Parmesan but produced from cows reared outdoors:
Mature Anster is aged for 7 – 9 months to create something stronger, more pungent with a flaky texture and intense flavour. The flavour and texture of Mature Anster are similar to parmesan
Smoked Cheese: In the colder months I cold smoke a lot of cheese and meat. Some of the smoked cheeses have been fantastic on pizzas and the supermarkets do carry more smoked cheese these days if you don’t have your own smoker. Scamoraza is an Italian smoked cheese which goes well on pizza and is worth trying.
I guess the advice is to buy the best quality cheese you can find but also experiment and try different cheeses on your pizza. If anyone finds a good one please get in touch so I can try it!
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