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Debby_Edraos

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Guys- What blend are you all using?
Looking at the offerings from distributors and it’s almost overwhelming for a newbie.
Have MM36Q’s and did try some low- moisture 50/50 and there was quite a bit of burning.
Ovens are currently 535 degrees w/ 6:25 time.
Thanks.
 
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I use low moisture, whole milk mozz/prov 50/50. Bake at 475 for around 10 mins. Although the last week or so, I have been going closer to 500 for slightly shorter time. Time/temp varies slightly from day to day depending on how the deck oven feels that day. I’ve used a couple different brands, but this is the only mix or type I’ve used. It’s worked well so I don’t want to change. We like a slight brown with the cheese. I always thought I heard that that browning is from the provolone, but I don’t know that for sure.
 
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We use a 4 blend cheese. mozz,muenster,prov, and white cheddar. its made by Belmont. Cook time is 5:30 at 450 degrees
 
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Our main cheese is Whole Milk Mozz from Grande, and their romano too.
But we also have add-ons like Smoked Gouda, White Cheddar curds, Swiss, Cream Cheese, and recently we got some Provel in the house, Looks like that stuff will be relegated to Mac & Cheese, and hot ham & cheese sandwiches. I am not a fan of it on pizzas, even in a minority amount. It sticks to your teeth like paste
 
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Does anyone shred their own blends? If so, how do you blend it? Will never buy pre-shred
 
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We tried shredding our own and may again some day as our volume justifies the shredding equipment. When we did it, we cut the logs into blocks and fed them through the shredder together so it mixed as it shredded.

I never priced Grande. To me, it had a really distinct, standout flavor to it. Every time I try it, I can’t tell if I really like it, or don’t like it at all. In the end, for me, I didn’t want it to stand out so much. I like the way ours blends in all the flavors of the pizza together.
 
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Heard that Grande is very expensive? Is that true and thoughts on whether it’s worth it…?
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I wouldn’t call it very expensive, but it will not be as low cost as the run of the mill commodity grade mozz out there.
Call a rep, they’ll bring samples of their products, bake up a few pies and decide if you are willing to pay for the high quality of their product.

I do not have multiple “$5 pizza shops” competing with me, so we decided to make our purchasing decisions on quality as opposed to price. Last fall the prices were painful, but no so bad right now.
Plus pizza is only a fraction of our sales, beef cost is whats killing us right now.
 
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We use 100% mozz. Part skim. Regarding Grande, search the forum and you will find this topic comes up again again over the years.

I will only say that when you get your samples make up a few pies with different cheeses you are considering and get 20-30 people (we use employees of surrounding businesses) to come in for free slices to taste test a basic pizza like just pepperoni using the different cheeses. Make sure it is a blind test so no one knows what they are tasting. Just put a number on each pie #1, #2, #3 etc and ask which they like better. I would limit the test to 3-4 choices. If Grande does not come in clearly in 1st place I can’t see paying the upcharge. In my store the difference would be something like 20K per year.

Your mileage may vary but sauce is a larger component of pizza flavor than cheese is.
 
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bodegahwy said:
We use 100% mozz. Part skim. Regarding Grande, search the forum and you will find this topic comes up again again over the years.

I will only say that when you get your samples make up a few pies with different cheeses you are considering and get 20-30 people (we use employees of surrounding businesses) to come in for free slices to taste test a basic pizza like just pepperoni using the different cheeses. Make sure it is a blind test so no one knows what they are tasting. Just put a number on each pie #1, #2, #3 etc and ask which they like better. I would limit the test to 3-4 choices. If Grande does not come in clearly in 1st place I can’t see paying the upcharge. In my store the difference would be something like 20K per year.

Your mileage may vary but sauce is a larger component of pizza flavor than cheese is.
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I agree 100%
Thats exactly what we did, many of our test people really liked the Grande east coast blend, but their 100% whole-milk mozz kept coming up on top, especially with regards to the texture…
I accurately weighed out the cheeses for the test pizzas just so there would be no variations due to extra or lighter cheese on each pie.
We ran Grande against what is available from our other distributors and ran Grande blends against their whole milk mozz. We didn’t just limit the test to other Grande products

I even did a reheat on pizza slices that were left to sit, just to see how it reheated.
I’m not trying to be a Grande Fanboy or anything like that, but I have been very pleased with their product. I may be biased though because it is produced within a few miles of us too.
 
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Thanks… and sorry for what may seem like stupid questions.
When you guys say “whole milk” I assume that is as opposed to “part skim” which is what we currently use.
I have to say that the list from the distributor is almost comical- a hundred different pizza cheeses; 80/20, 60/40, 75/25, 60/30/10, part, whole, skim… and it goes on and on and on.
 
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Yes. That is right whole milk vs part skim. I would ask your rep for some suggestions to narrow it down. There is a lot of regional variation in cheeses too. We couldn’t give away a mozz/provolone blend but in some eastern parts of the country that is the cheese that customers want. In other places I hear people putting cheddar blends on pizza.
 
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GotRocks said:
I agree 100%
Thats exactly what we did, many of our test people really liked the Grande east coast blend, but their 100% whole-milk mozz kept coming up on top, especially with regards to the texture…
I accurately weighed out the cheeses for the test pizzas just so there would be no variations due to extra or lighter cheese on each pie.
We ran Grande against what is available from our other distributors and ran Grande blends against their whole milk mozz. We didn’t just limit the test to other Grande products

I even did a reheat on pizza slices that were left to sit, just to see how it reheated.
I’m not trying to be a Grande Fanboy or anything like that, but I have been very pleased with their product. I may be biased though because it is produced within a few miles of us too.
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What do you pay per pound for Grande?
 
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Is it correct to assume that “whole milk” is better than “part skim”
My first impression is that WM would be richer, creamier, better melt and coverage, etc.
 
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Joe said:
Does anyone shred their own blends? If so, how do you blend it? Will never buy pre-shred
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We shred ours. LMPS Provolone and Mozzarella. We cut the provolone block in 5. Put in a mozz block for each piece of prov. After shredding, we mix by hand as we put it into containers for use.
 
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Is it correct to assume that “whole milk” is better than “part skim”
My first impression is that WM would be richer, creamier, better melt and coverage, etc.
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Yes, all of the above. We have always used whole milk and always will. Where you can run into problems with WM is that it can oil up a bit more than PS, giving the customers the impression of a “greasy pizza”.
I do get a complaint every now and then about that. Usually it a new customer that has ordered a double pepperoni and extra cheese pizza. By in large our customers love the WM.
 
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Joe said:
What do you pay per pound for Grande?
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My latest invoice shows it at $2.75/LB for Grande Whole Diced

@Debby Edraos
the word “Better” doesn’t enter the equation when determining which cheese, it mostly goes towards local tastes.
Lets use St. Louis for an example, they go mental over “Provel” cheese in that area, where some localities may find it gross and disgusting, I found it disgusting on a pizza, but I love it on a hot Ham & Cheese sandwich, or in Mac & Cheese.
It also depends on your oven & baking procedure, I would suggest you find what your local population likes the most. Also, Some WM mozz can oil out and leave a yellow layer of butterfat on top of the pizza, and some do not.
 
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Thanks for all that.
Have about 8 different cheeses coming tomorrow (to try)- one is Grande.
Nothing too crazy- some straights, some blends (P/M), different brands, etc
The Grande rep will be calling tomorrow, as well. Don’t expect unbiased infor from him but anything I can learn will be helpful.
I’m in New England and Prov/Mozz is king.
I currently use PS Mozz.
 
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Checked invoices today. We are paying $1.88 for 100% mozz. Price is the SAME for whole milk or part skim. We prefer the part skim because the whole milk comes out oily. With no price difference, we use the one we like best.

If my cheese was $2.75 I would just cut my throat and close.
 
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