Science Declares Mozzarella The Best Cheese For Pizza

[FWS]

Science declares that mozzarella is the best cheese for pizza

By Robin Burks
Tech Times
August 27, 2014



All over the world, pizza is one of the most loved foods. However, part of what makes it special is the layer of cheese that's usually put on top. But which cheese is best on pizza? A group of scientists recently asked that question, and after tests, came up with an answer: mozzarella.

So what makes mozzarella better than other cheeses? The obvious reasons are that it melts and blisters, without burning, better than other cheeses. However, food scientists at University of Auckland in New Zealand wanted to find out the science behind pizza cheese, so they started baking pizzas to get their answers.

"So at first sight it seems really trivial, but actually it's a huge combination of things that contribute to that discreet patch of brown blistering across the pizza," says Bryony James, PhD in the video below.

The researchers cooked a variety of pizzas using different cheeses, such as mozzarella, cheddar, Edam and Gruyere. Each pizza was then carefully studied with cameras and computer software, which measured how the cheese browned and the exact amount of oil, water and elasticity. They made detailed diagrams of each pizza based on these measurements.

The researchers immediately noticed mozzarella's special bubbling capability. It's a highly elastic cheese, thanks to it having channels of fat content surrounded by protein. When baked, the water in cheese evaporates and becomes steam. This creates bubbling. Mozzarella's stretchy nature allows those bubbles to become big, which causes oil sitting on top of the bubbles to slide down and brown. Eventually, the bubbles pop, leaving a perfectly browned top layer.

The other cheeses aren't quite as flexible and don't have the same fat content, so they don't perform as well when baked.

Of course, these results don't take into account other pizza toppings, like sauce, meat and vegetables. Finding the perfect combination that's right for you might require a bit of experimentation.

The implications of this research, however, could lead to better food preparation, allowing for other research in how to manipulate specific properties in foods. Wouldn't it be nice to have a low-fat cheese that tastes just like its fatty counterparts? Or maybe scientists can create a pizza crust that doesn't get soggy after sitting in the fridge overnight. The possibilities are endless.

"When we understand food right down to its micro-structural level," says James. "It gives us the levers we need to change the way it behaves."

[jim]

All that and I didn't see anything about taste!

Jim

[trappincoyotes39]

I guess science forgot about provel cheese which was created in St Louis,MO.

[FWS]

All that and I didn't see anything about taste!

Gonna be a wide variety of tastes between cheeses of even the same type, fresh made mozzarella is generally better than the supermarket stuff.

Lot of interesting reading at Cheese.com

I guess science forgot about provel cheese

No, they didn't forget. It's probably just that they were testing what was legally cheese, you know, what the FDA recognizes as real cheese, not the ultra processed cheese like products such as Provel.

[trappincoyotes39]

Sorry provel is cheese.

What do you get when you combine Cheddar, Swiss and Provolone into one gooey cheese? If you're a resident of Missouri, you probably already know, but for the rest of the country — allow us to enlighten you. We just can't keep our state secret or our undying love for this super tasty treat quiet any longer!

Provel was originally invented in St. Louis, Missouri back in 1947. (It is now owned by Kraft.) Local pizza owners turned to Costa Grocery (now known as Roma Grocery on the Hill) and the Hoffman Dairy of Wisconsin to help them create a cheese that melted, but didn't leave long "cheese strings" when you took a bite. Most typically found on IMO's pizzas, the cheese has been adopted by other Italian eateries around town. You can find message boards filled with praise for this white cheddar, swiss and provolone combination, and Missouri natives who have since moved elsewhere in the country are having this tangy taste sensation shipped to them to get their hometown-taste fix.

Provel, like American cheese, doesn't meet the FDA's requirements for moisture content in cheese, so it's labeled as a "Pasteurized processed cheese," but that doesn't stop anyone from enjoying its taste. It's softer than mozzarella and turns to lava once it hits the oven (and retains that temperature for a solid 10-15 minutes after being out of the oven). It makes pizza eating super tasty in many places around Missouri, but in our own personal kitchen, we use it to make the best macaroni and cheese ever.

We've heard of several pizza joints around the country using Provel (usually run by Missouri transplants) on their pies, so keep your eye out for it on a menu near you. It can be found in local grocers (and many in Chicago) by either the brick, the bag or in these tasty extruded "worms" which is our favorite way to eat it. It's like string cheese but not dry and far more satisfying. Oftentimes we buy two packages, one for snacking on and the other for use in an actual dish or meal.

[FWS]

Sorry provel is cheese.

No it's been adulterated so it can't be labeled as cheese, so it's a pasteurized prepared cheese product.

It's just the St. Louis version of livermush, which is popular in some towns in North Carolina but outside that area nobody eats it.

I like real cheeses, like Brie,



Had a pizaa made in a wood fired oven that had fresh spinach leaves and slices of brie melted on it. I copy that at home on my grill now.

[trappincoyotes39]

Yep your a 100 percent California for sure


If you look up the definition on processed and pasteurized cheese it states this.


* Pasteurized process cheese - contains 100% cheese
* Pasteurized process cheese food - contains at least 51% cheese.
* Pasteurized process cheese product - contains less than 51% cheese.

Provel is cheese good grief......

They didn't test I am willing to bet. THe end............

[trappnman]

Gonna be a wide variety of tastes between cheeses of even the same type, fresh made mozzarella is generally better than the supermarket stuff.


whaaaat??? taste IS subjective?

my oh my.......

[bblwi]

Here in WI produce a few more than 450 varieties of cheese and yes there are small factories we go to get the specific variety we like. There are differences between varieties in texture, taste, etc. etc.

Bryce

[FWS]

Yep your a 100 percent California for sure

So is 100% Missouri centered around processed foods ?

whaaaat??? taste IS subjective?

my oh my.......

Not really since were talking about quality here, just as we were talking about quality on other foods.

[bblwi]

Two of our quite large cheese producers Grande' and Bellegosio provide a lot of cheese to the mom and pop pizza restaurants in New York City along with several of the smaller more artesian chees makers. I ate in one in 2005 and they do make some good pizza in New York and use good products as well. Not low cost either.

Bryce

[trappnman]

you stated taste was subjective- now its not?

quality?

ok- whats your definition of quality concerning things one puts in their mouth?

and make it definitive, since you seem to want to go in that direction