What mix or cheese do good New York Style pizza use/have?

[mryumyum]

Hi, I'd like to make a good New York style pizza, but what cheese do I use?  When I use pure mozzarella I can't seem to make the same sort of substantial cheese layer without it being too heavy. 

Does provolone mixed with mozzarella work for New York style? Other cheeses or mixes?

[chickenparm]

I seem to find a good whole milk mozz block,shredded by hand,works best.Also find a hand grater than has very large holes.Most of them are all standard size and shred small pieces.I found a shredder at walmart that has larger size cuts that helps alot too.

When you say pure Mozz,do you mean the fresh mozz?What brand?

 

[mryumyum]

When you say pure Mozz,do you mean the fresh mozz?What brand?

I just meant mozzarella only; either fresh, skim, whole, shredded or a mix thereof.  (The only true fresh mozz I tried was from debruno bro. on a margarita type pizza with some san marz. , it was good ) 

But what I mean is, when I try to emulate the local pizza place, and make a thicker layer of cheese, if I only use a mozz it is too much cheese, it is too heavy or something.  The pizza places must use something other than mozz to get that nice thick gooey layer...  Right?

[dmcavanagh]

I would guess that if pizzeria owners are using anything other then straight mozz, it would probably be cheddar, provolone or a provo/cheddar mix. That said I would thing that straight mozz is the most prominent pizza cheese. Cheddar will oil off to a great degree then mozz in most cases, so if you encounter a very oily pie, chances are that some cheddar may be involved.

[mryumyum]

I didn't know that about cheddar, thank you.

[pythonic]

Try 50% mozzarella, 25% provalone and 25% white cheddar for a nice tasting cheese blend.

[AimlessRyan]

I'd say brand of cheese is more important than type of cheese. Grande cheese is awesome, and it is what you'll find on most great New York slices. It really doesn't matter if it's part-skim mozzarella, whole milk mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, or provolone (although Grande's provolone is very strong and is probably best used as a 50/50 mix with mozzarella). Unfortunately it's not always easy to get your hands on Grande because it's usually only available by the case, from foodservice distributors. However, you can have it shipped in 5-lb bags from Vern's Cheese or Pennmac, or you might be lucky enough to find it in Italian specialty shops in some cities.

I'm sure there are some other great cheese makers, but I can always tell a huge difference in the quality of my own pizzas whenever I get my hands on Grande cheese. Some kinds of pizza don't need Grande, but to me it's not New York style pizza without Grande.

[chickenparm]

I'd say brand of cheese is more important than type of cheese. Grande cheese is awesome, and it is what you'll find on most great New York slices. It really doesn't matter if it's part-skim mozzarella, whole milk mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, or provolone (although Grande's provolone is very strong and is probably best used as a 50/50 mix with mozzarella). Unfortunately it's not always easy to get your hands on Grande because it's usually only available by the case, from foodservice distributors. However, you can have it shipped in 5-lb bags from Vern's Cheese or Pennmac, or you might be lucky enough to find it in Italian specialty shops in some cities.

I'm sure there are some other great cheese makers, but I can always tell a huge difference in the quality of my own pizzas whenever I get my hands on Grande cheese. Some kinds of pizza don't need Grande, but to me it's not New York style pizza without Grande.

Grande is good but over rated.I tried some and it wasnt that great.Anyway,I emailed a old friend of mine that used to own a Pizza shop in NY,he said he did not use Grande cheese,he got his mozz from a supplier from the Bronx.That was one of the best mozz I ever had on a pie or sub.

Im trying to track down where he got his cheese and if hey would sell to the public.

[scott r]

I have done many cheese shootouts over the years with both home and professional pizza ovens.   Grande has many strong points, but the flavor is not mind blowing.   Its especially good at melting and reheating after being melted once already without oiling off.  It also is very consistent from batch to batch, and it can hold up to the heat of higher temp ovens without burning.  Many of the better tasting mozzarellas out there dont have the positive attributes of grande, so sometimes people go with it for other reasons than flavor, and add in flavor with other cheeses.   Unfortunately grande has become saltier in recent years and this makes it harder to use enough of the popular flavor cheeses that have always been salty.   

In the NY, NJ, CT area (where pizza is the best in the us if you ask me) cheddar and provolone are not popular flavor cheeses that are added to the mozzarella.   Romano is the most popular (and my favorite) flavor cheese, and parm  or a blend of romano/parm is used at some places.

Provolone is used in the western PA, Ohio area and mild white cheddar is used in the New England area.   There are some good pizzerias in these areas, but they are not classic NY style places if they are using these cheeses.