BelGioioso fresh mozzarella

[cava]

Just thought I'd share my experience with BelGioioso fresh mozzrella.  I bought a 1 lb package at my local market and I was quite pleased with it.  It was fairly dry in the package, sliced nicely, melted perfectly and tasted quite good.  After I layered it on my pizza I added ( very sparingly) a mixture of caciocavallo, edam and smoked Polly-O mozzarella.  It had a fantastic taste!
I've always made a fairly good pizza but I will have to say that after checking this site out the 2 pizzas I've made since then have been the best I've ever made.
I ordered 12 cans of 6 in 1 tomatoes from Escalon and I will have to admit that they are great.  I wish I would have looked around in my little town a little more  first as I found a little Italian import store that carries them for $1.49 a can.  I found that mixing a can of 6 in 1 with a can of Don Papino pizza sauce  and adding oregano, basil, fennel, crushed red peppers,  salt and pepper makes a perfect sauce for my taste.

[Nathan]

I've tried the BelGioioso too.  The kind you're talking about and the stuff packed in water.  I thought it was pretty good too.  Unfortunately it's almost $8 a pound or something like that. 

We had a Wal Mart Supercenter open here yesterday and the first thing I checked out in there was the cheese.  They don't have Polly-O or anything but they do have a "Wal Mart" brand and it's only $2.50 a pound.  I haven't tried it yet but I plan to soon.  Does anyone know who is supplying this?

The 6in1's are awesome.  I kind of screwed up a little over a year ago and ordered a case of #10 cans of them from a local foodservice.  I used them all but what they failed to tell me when I ordered them was that they carried them in single #10 cans for the same price per can.  She told me on the phone I had to order a whole case.   

[scott r]

I did a shootout of the cryo pack mozzarellas available in my town.  Bel Gioioso had the best flavor of the bunch I tried.  I know some people on the forum have had trouble with it breaking down, even Pete-zza in his 550 degree oven.  Age probably plays a big role in the performance.  I quite like the stuff.  I usually have been able to call or email cheese company's to find out the distributors in my area.  Usually the places that supply pizzerias have the huge 6 pound loaves and don't want to deal with small orders.  I have had luck buying a case at a time of the 1, or 1/2 pound packages from places that service small markets and Italian specialty stores.    Usually you can find three pound blocks, or packs of 8 1/2 pound chunks.  Four pounds is still a lot, but at least they are individually cryo packed.  You will be amazed when you see how much the grocery stores mark up these products.

[isburma]

Costco carries the Belgioso fresh Mozzarella, I always buy it there. Packaged as two pieces of 1 pond.

[Ronzo]

We had a Wal Mart Supercenter open here yesterday and the first thing I checked out in there was the cheese.  They don't have Polly-O or anything but they do have a "Wal Mart" brand and it's only $2.50 a pound.  I haven't tried it yet but I plan to soon.  Does anyone know who is supplying this?

Bro... that stuff IS Polly-O Mozzarella cheese, believe it or not. You did say the $2.50 a pound stuff, right? Whole Milk Mozzarella? Yep, that's the stuff.



I live in Austin, TX, and it's hard to find really good whole milk mozzarella down here (w/o going to Central Market or Whole foods and losing my shirt for some cheese).


I'm originally from NY (Orange County) and I grew up on stuff like Polly-o, etc.

I went to Polly-o's site a while back and did a search on local markets that would carry their stuff. Walmart supercenter was the ONLY one listed in my area. So I tried it... and sure enough. It's the real deal.

The stuff ROCKS, bro. I kid you not, my friend.

It has just the right amount of moisture, and 'fat'. It melts beautifully... it should. It's Polly-o.


Buy it...

[Nathan]

Awesome    I wondered if it could be Polly-O.  I've kind of taken a break from making pizza lately because I've been working on my kitchen but I've pretty much got it done now.  I'll get some and try it out.   

[pyegal]

Nathan,
I found Polly O at my local WalMart, but it is labeled as Polly O. The WalMart brand called Great Value may or may not be Polly O.

Perhaps you could request your WM to carry Polly O, since it is a regularly stocked item at other WM stores.

pyegal

[Pete-zza]

I checked the Polly-O (Kraft) website and in the FAQ section it says that the Polly-O is sold mainly in the eastern part of the country. I sent an email to Kraft on Friday inquiring as to its availability near where I live in Texas and also whether they are private branding the Polly-O for Wal-Mart. I was at my local Wal-Mart yesterday and did not see the Polly-O.

I will let everyone know if I hear anything back.

Peter

[Nathan]

They only carry the Great Value here and nothing else.  I bought 4 pounds of it last night and we made calzones and a small pizza. IMO it's definitely good cheese and way cheaper than the only other brand I can get locally (Bel Gioioso).  They want close to $8/lb for the Bel Gioioso at Meijer here. 

Peter, hopefully they email you back.  It'd be nice to know who's making it.

[Randy]

I tried WalMarts Great Value cheese and it is more like Grande than Ploy-o.  Ploy-o is very mild flavor and more white than the Great Value.  If you prefer a bolder taste cheese then Great Value may be the one you are looking for.
I like a very mild taste myself.

Randy

[Pete-zza]

When I got an email response back from Kraft that was clearly nonresponsive to my original inquiry, I decided to call the Kraft 800 number and speak with a customer service representative about the Polly-O mozzarella cheese in relation to Wal-Mart's Great Value mozzarella cheese.

The woman I spoke with told me that Kraft's customer service reps are not privy to private branding information and, even if she were privy to that kind of information, it is proprietary information of Kraft that cannot be revealed to people like me. However, she did tell me that Polly-O is a very small company in the eastern part of the country and sells its products primarily in that part of the country (as the Polly-O/Kraft website indicates). She also added that Polly-O cannot keep up with demand as it is and she doubts that the company could fulfill the needs of a giant like Wal-Mart because of Polly-O's small size and limited production capacity. So, while she couldn't answer me directly (and she said she highly doubted Wal-Mart would tell me either), she made it fairly clear that it was unlikely that Wal-Mart's Great Value mozzarella cheese is sourced by Polly-O under a private branding arrangement.

Peter

[Randy]

Pete, I can tell you by looks, taste and smell they are not the same product.
I think Great Value my be much closer to Grande in taste and smell.

Randy