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Makeline Itemization - CHEESE!

J

j_r0kk

New member
Of course, it’s been a bit of a debate as to which way is the best way to portion pizzas… namely the cheese. I’ve re-discovered a way to cheese a pizza, and though it’s not completely accurate (and to those of you who want complete accuracy with the amount of cheese put on the pizzas I challenge you to make every pizza the exact same size - down to a fraction of an inch - and have the same sauce border - also down to a fraction of an inch - in order to achieve truly consistent results)… and it’s fast. Read on and I’ll explain.

I went to Wal Mart the other day. In the baking section of the store I found stainless steel measuring cups made by Farberwear. This package contained cups in 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup sizes if I’m not mistaken. They all had handles wrapped in a black plastic. The price is around $8.

I went back to the store and pulled the handle off the 1 cup size measuring cup (by twisting it back and forth until the rivets snapped off). I spread the cheese over the pizzas with the old Papa John’s style method and couldn’t recall why I ever abandoned this approach. Here are my measurements:

…size…regular cheese…extra cheese…

10" pizza…1 cup…1 1/2 cups…
12" pizza…1 1/2 cups…2 cups…
14" pizza…2 cups…3 cups…
16" pizza…3 cups…4 cups…

It worked great and it’s extremely easy to train people how to use this method. It keeps speed in mind while still accounting for consistency and accuracy. Any comments, suggestions, or ideas?

-J_r0kk
 
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I totally agree %100!!!

This is a tried and true technique that has worked for me for many years. My cheese usage is right on mark and use the 2 cups for my 14" pies.

I tried scales for awhile… very expensive - the lcd on my digital scale goes crazy - slower process - tare-ing out the scale for every pie and then cheesing until the weight climbs… tedious and cumbersome!

Why fix something if it isn’t broken… yaknow? I’m back to the two cups measuring process - it works!
 
Do you use diced or shredded cheese. I am concerned about losing volume/weight variance with the shredded cheese I use. I cannot find diced mozz/prov blend with my 2 suppliers so far.
 
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Would there be any difference in useage say from someone that scoops the cheese and someone that grabs a hand full and packs the measuring cup? I would think the hand packed would have less volume using a little more cheese on the product. Kind of like packing snow into a snowball.
 
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what exactly do you mean when you said “papa johns style method”
 
ramano,

Step 1 scoop the cheese into the cup
Step 2 hold the cup with your thumb on the bottom and the bridge of your palm around the rim, allowing your fingers free movement
Step 3 turn the cup outside down, shake in a side to side manner, allowing the cheese to flow over your fingertips. Spread the cheese over the outside edge first, then work your way towards the middle
Step 4 clean cheese off edges by lifting the sides of your pizza, thus creating a cheese “seal” at your sauce border.

-J_r0kk
 
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…size…regular cheese…extra cheese…

10" pizza…1 cup…1 1/2 cups…
12" pizza…1 1/2 cups…2 cups…
14" pizza…2 cups…3 cups…
16" pizza…3 cups…4 cups…

Do these measurements include both the bottom layer and top layer of cheese? So you need to save some for the top?
 
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Wow, I though you were a die hard free thrower rokk. What made you ‘see the light’?
 
pizza master6000 writes:
Wow, I though you were a die hard free thrower rokk. What made you ‘see the light’?
Click to expand...
LOL. Well you guys kicking my butt on that last post a couple months ago made me think twice about it for one. But in all seriousness, we had an issue at my first store the past couple weeks where the standards I’d put in place have dropped a few notches… to say the least. I haven’t been able to spend too much time in there due to the construction of my second store and it all kinda started getting away from my manager. I could see he needed help so we regrouped and decided there would be an emphasis on training and standard enforcement.

I also realized, while I am on site, in the restaurant I can keep an eye on everything. However, with expansion it’s impossible to do so. With that thought in mind I decided I’d better come up with something easy that the crew can feel comfortable with and won’t wane from. Thus, the cup idea I remembered from my days with PJ’s.

-J_r0kk
 
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Yo J,

What weight in ounces do these measurements equate to? Ie 1 cup=X oz.

Thanks,

Kyle
 
Do you shred your own cheese? The reason I ask is because we do and everybody pushes on the shredere different if I do it it is very thick if the girls do it it is much finer. That makes a difference when you measure but not if you weigh.I have been measuring for 8 years but after going to Pizza Expo and talking to people about food cost etc I am convinced that weighing is going to be the most consistent. I just bought 2 scales and am doing food cost pro but I have already watched my food cost go down because of more accurate portionong. At least you are measuring but you can do better if you weigh, and that is comming from a guy that thought scales were a waste of money and to slow!
 
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you have to use your own “style” of portioning cups & get your “accurate” measure…

I did the Big Dave thing a while back, because the folks used shred over my desire to use diced…

I went to Wal-mart and bought several hundred plastic tumblers (big) and in 2 different colors…

I measured/scaled 2 portion sizes, one for each color of cup…

stored 'em/stacked 'em in dough trays under the make line…

then we took out a mess of 'em & put 'em in a lexan where the cheese would normally be…

order came in, ya grabbed the right “color” cup for the size of the pizza and that was all the cheese available…

it dropped our cheese useage immediately…

ya, this way is a bit more hassle over diced, but worth it…
 
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Hello guys and gals, just my opinion on this,diced mozz.w/ the raindrop affect is to me hands down the most accurate and fastest way possible to bang out pies in a busy establishment.I couldn’t even fathom taking the time out to put chse.,ect…on a scale before every pizza order!I’ve been in da bizz 17 years in very busy places and I never seen that.Not saying it ‘can’t’ work.Guess I’m just an ole dawg…Ruff…lol
Niccademo
 
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We used the two cheesecup method for about 20 years until I read about the Big Dave method and started using it for the last 5 years. I could have been a very rich man if we’d have been doing this all 25 years. Experiment guys…believe me, if you have 40 employees scooping cheese, none of them will be the same and they all will have too much cheese. With the price of cheese in flux and going higher this is an easy place in your kitchen to save/make a ton of money…it costs next to nothing, is faster etc. If I remember right, my mozzarella cheese usage went down about 200 pounds a week (give or take, depending on the business), using the Big Dave method.

John
 
you need to find the “right” cups that the staff will only fill to the “top” and make sure you measure/weigh & spot check as part of your training…

diced is the key to “measure” on the fly…

BigDave’s method is for those that prefer shred…

It only takes 20 minutes to knock out 200 portions…well worth the savings…the cups @ Wal-mart were less than a quarter a piece
 
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ok dont kill me but right now we just do it old school grab and go, BUT when we get in the new shop we will have some sort of portion control,
DO YOU GUYS PORTION ANYTHING ELSE?
 
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