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Improve my Cheese

apostle

New member
Hello,
I do a pan pizza in 1" pans. I bake them in a deck oven about 10 minutes.
I have been always using a straight blend of good quality white cheddar cheese.
I have never had issues and never got a complaint about it.
On the other hand I never get a compliment like I do with our crust all the time.
I am looking to blend something little in it to give a little something.
I was thinking about 10-20% mozzarella whole milk, low moisture(not to burn).
Any other recommendations?
 
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What was the complaint? was it flavor, texture, mouth-feel, stringy, not stringy enough, salty, not salty enough, stinky, not stinky enough?

We do Grande’s whole-milk mozz with heavy sprinkle of their Romano on top for a little stank and some bite.
 
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I never got a complaint about it I said, but never got a compliment either
I would like to modify it. I dont want to completely remove cheddar.
 
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Cheddar on pizza?

(Yes I know it’s a regional thing on other places… but one of those things that is a total mystery to me)
 
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We have Cheddar as a topping, not a cheese. Not a big seller, but there are enough people who order it to keep it on the menu.
 
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Yes its a New England thing with “greek style pizza”.
It is a regional thing. We used Edam and Gouda as a standard at our pizza places back in Europe…to expensive here…
 
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I’m not sure I would want to use Mozzarella cheese as a blending cheese due to its mild flavor. This is why cheddar or other types of cheese are commonly blended with the Mozzarella to improve the overall flavor and to some extent texture. I’ve found that Parmesan and Romano make excellent blending cheeses when combined with Mozzarella either of these will add depth as well as intensity to the cheese flavor. I’ve not tried either of these with a straight white cheddar cheese but it might be worth a try. A good way to see if you like the flavor is to make a pizza with your white cheddar and then sprinkle on an ounce or so of shredded Parmesan or half an ounce of grated Romano. By knowing how much cheddar you put on the pizza and how much Parmesan or Romano you put on you will be able to calculate the blend needed to replicate the flavor. Be sure to experiment with different amounts of Parmesan and Romano (or even blends of the two). Also look at other type of cheese with a more pronounced flavor for something different. Keep this in mind though: A number of years ago we did a survey where we asked people what they liked best about their favorite pizzas, most respondents answered “the crust”, or some characteristic of the crust. A good number also responded by referencing the amount of toppings on their favorite pizza (including the amount of cheese) but there were VERY FEW who mentioned the flavor of the cheese, in fact, the flavor of the sauce won out over the flavor of the cheese. I did the survey at both the NAPIC Show and also Pizza Expo so I had a pretty good cross section of pizza consumers in the survey. I mention this so you don’t go out and try to fix something that isn’t broken. If you find something that you like in a cheese blend offer it along with your regular cheese but menu it as a “savory cheese blend” or something like that, and see if your customers make the switch, if not, just drop it from the menu.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
 
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Great advice Mr Lehman.
I actually did try tonight sprinkling a little Parmesan on a couple pizza before cooking.
I agree with the crust and sauce playing the major role.
Its funny because after telling customers the cheese we use
they seemed puzzled and said “you dont use any mozzarella”.
Well they have been loyal customers for years…
 
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Putting parmesan on top after cooking stops it getting a bitter taste. It will melt into the mozz as it is so finally shaved
Dvae
 
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What was the complaint? was it flavor, texture, mouth-feel, stringy, not stringy enough, salty, not salty enough, stinky, not stinky enough?

We do Grande’s whole-milk mozz with heavy sprinkle of their Romano on top for a little stank and some bite.
Grande has a great Romano product and the price is incredible unlike their mozz price. I dust every pie with romano and oregano. The difference in the look and taste is mind boggling compared to not at all, especially on the plain jane cheese pizzas. My favorite thing I learned at my first pizzeria I worked at in college was to dust all pepperoni pizzas with parmesan before cooking. Gives even an average pepperoni product great flavor and crisps up the pepperoni a bit while baking.
 
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Apostle, since your in NH, all the greek places are using some ratio of chefdar to mozzarella. With all that cheddar (which I love) your pizza often gets that greasy pizza type look. If you add some part skim mozzarella to your all cheddar Im pretty sure youll get those compliments youre after. Also defintly do a three finger pinch of Romano cheese on every pizza. Grande romano is far and away best bang for your buck its flavor is so strong youll know its there.
 
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Grande has a great Romano product and the price is incredible unlike their mozz price. I dust every pie with romano and oregano. The difference in the look and taste is mind boggling compared to not at all, especially on the plain jane cheese pizzas. My favorite thing I learned at my first pizzeria I worked at in college was to dust all pepperoni pizzas with parmesan before cooking. Gives even an average pepperoni product great flavor and crisps up the pepperoni a bit while baking.
Do you put the Romano after baking or before?
 
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If you’re using grated/powdered Romano it can go on either before or after baking. My personal preference is before, but try it both ways to see what you like best. If it is a shredded Romano put it on before baking for best flavor release. Remember to go easy on the Romano, the flavor is pretty sharp.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
 
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