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shredded vs. ground cheese

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bennyspizza

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we currently grind block cheese with a butcher style grinder using a plate with small holes.we have to break it up as we grind it so it`s easier to use and not a long spaghetti shape. we break it up and put it in the cooler,by the time we are ready to use it it forms back together in the tub.it is easy to break up.
I was wondering if we buy a shredder and use the same process,will it be as easy to break up the shredded cheese after it sat in the cooler as it is the ground cheese or will it be more difficult?
would anyone recommend going from ground to shredded?is there any advantage?which shredder would you use?I would like one that would cut labor times so they can do other chores and not be stuck doing cheese for an hour.we currently use a hobart 1.5 hp machine.
 
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I “dice” my cheese in a hobart HCM450 but if shredded cheese were a necessity for some reason(precooked appearance if doing a take and bake) I would go with a Palazzolo shredder. It is much faster than using a hobart pelican head. http://cheesegratershredder.com/
 
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I have looked at their machines in the past.this seems to be faster then what we are currently doing.I just want to make sure this is the way to go,and that it wont form into a giant block after it sits in the cooler for a day.
before we make the investment I want to see what everyones opinions are and weigh the pros vs. cons.
 
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I have found that any method of taking cheese from the block state to an easy to apply to pizza state the cheese will tend to clump back together. The pre-shredded cheese I have sampled has all been treated to eliminate clumping.
 
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We use a Stefan VCM. I guess what we do would have to be called “chopped”. The machine will do 20-24 lb block into chopped in about 25 seconds. It is easy to break up if it sets up a bit in the cooler and easy to spread consistently.
 
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I call cheese from a VCM “diced” and, in a volume store, is a bit faster to measure & spread, but the ending characteristic is the same…
 
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would shredded cheese be quicker to spread on the pizza?there is a whole lot of people looking at the topic but not many replies,has no one here switched from ground to shredded before??
 
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Shredded is a lot slower. I don’t see why one would switch to shredded. In my view the reason to go with shredded is that the equipment you have is limited to that. Otherwise, portion control and speed are better with “diced”
 
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Having used both, there’s no real difference in speed of spreading either. If you spread cheese fast and faster and faster, the more waste is likely to occur. I found less waste with shredded, frankly. Whatever works best for you, given equipment and/or vendor.
 
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we have never used diced so I wouldn`t know much about how that works.the only reason I want to switch to shredded from ground is because the palazzolo shredder can shred in 1/3 the time we take to grind it.I just want to make sure that is the best decision before I spend several thousands of dollars.
 
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Our VCM turns 20 lbs of block into “diced” in 25 seconds. I am not kidding about the time. 25 seconds is the setting we use.

I have worked in a lot of different stores including a couple that used shredded. I found it slower to get spread evenly… but then I only worked there for a year or so maybe I just did not get fast.

Also, portion control is fine as long as you weigh but once things drift away from that (and we all know they do) shredded does not portion well by measuring cup while diced does.
 
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bodegahwy:
Also, portion control is fine as long as you weigh but once things drift away from that (and we all know they do) shredded does not portion well by measuring cup while diced does.
Click to expand...
That I will agree 100%.
 
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we weigh it out so it wont matter.we have never used diced, we had to use shredded ,and we worked fine with it.the type we bought had an anti caking agent in it.that is what made me wonder how bad it solidified after being shredded.
I have never worked with diced cheese.who sells some already diced the way you use it?
 
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ok thanks guys.I am a bit nervous about all this.this is a decent sized investment and I want to make sure we make the right choice.
 
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Bennyspizza-

A shop I used to work at used the Palazzolo shredder and it worked great. This was an older model that was a tabletop model. I preferred that to what is now offered as the new floor models are at an awkward height for both putting a container down to catch the cheese as well as putting pressure on the lever that pushes the block through the blade. We found that one pass through the machine made the cheese a bit longer than what we liked. We wound up running the cheese through once, then attaching a “funnel” that we rigged and ran the cheese through a second time. this resulted in a final product that spread better than any product I’ve used elsewhere including prediced cheese and cheese out of a VCM. You may be able to skip a step and get a similar product by using their smallest blade but I’m not sure. Maybe they’ll let you test multiple blades when you purchase their machine. When you talk to Palazollo you are talking to the person that will manufacture your machine when you order. This is not a large company it is truly a mom and pop company that does right by their customers. When I ordered parts, I was shocked at how cheap they sold them.
 
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Benny having delt with equipment vendors on so many levels from one-offs to hundreds of an item… give them a call… describe your needs… and ask for a hands-on demo. You will never know how something will work for you, with your product, in your space, and with your employees until it is brought in and used. I have never had a mfg of anything say “NO, you cannot demo it!” It is in their interest to get more of their product out there. I learned long ago…it never hurts to ask. Good luck to ya!
 
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