Really disappointed in Grande 50/50 blend

[Chicago Bob]

Some people be trip'in....then they leave the building.  Soooo  Elvis man!! 

[pythonic]

The 50/50 blend is actually too provoloney to me.  I prefer the straight whole milk grande and I add my own provolone in.

[communist]

. Additionally, the addition of about an ounce (a good pinch) of shredded Parmesan cheese to replace an equal portion of Mozzarella does a lot to bring out the cheese flavor of the pizza.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

  Love Grande, especially its resistance to browning and oiling off.  But yes, the flavor is very mild - I do add a healthy dusting of Pecorino Romano also.  Just cranked out 8 pies for my daughters birthday and had rave reviews from many of the teens.  Mark

[pythonic]

Chuck, baby....are you nuts man? 
You obviously have no idea how old I am dude.....

But I will sponsor you if you think we could get close to my cheese from the 70's....we could become Cheese Barons together my friend!! 
Think it over. 

Bob

Bob,

Go to your favorite pizza place and become buddy buddy and see if u can purchase some cheese from them.  I am currently getting east coast blend for 3.50lb.

[Vesuvi0]

Additionally, the addition of about an ounce (a good pinch) of shredded Parmesan cheese to replace an equal portion of Mozzarella does a lot to bring out the cheese flavor of the pizza.

Tom I agree.  Ive also been using about 40% muenster in my cheese blend...excellent taste addition

[elohel]

  Love Grande, especially its resistance to browning and oiling off.  But yes, the flavor is very mild - I do add a healthy dusting of Pecorino Romano also.  Just cranked out 8 pies for my daughters birthday and had rave reviews from many of the teens.  Mark

I literally came here just to ask about this.. I just bought a huge block of pecorino romano (I make cacio e pepe with it, delicious if you want to try a new/simple recipe). Is this common to put on pies? It has a great taste, I just never thought about using it on a pie.

[scott123]

I literally came here just to ask about this.. I just bought a huge block of pecorino romano (I make cacio e pepe with it, delicious if you want to try a new/simple recipe). Is this common to put on pies? It has a great taste, I just never thought about using it on a pie.

Elohel, while it is very traditional for New York area pizzerias to have a jar of cheap grated cheese on the counter, I would say that the number of places that put hard  grated cheese on the pizza could be a minority. It's much more pervasive in New Haven.

One thing to keep in mind, and you might find different opinions on this, is that the places that do use Romano may not use a high-end version. Freshly grated Locatelli, depending upon how much you use, can get pretty overpowering. Pre-grated might lose enough of it's intensity to be used in larger quantities, but based upon my knowledge of how cheap pizzeria owners generally are, I have a strong feeling that they're using a lower grade– not Kraft, but not Locatelli either.

As far as using grated cheese in general, it's something I do occasionally, but, for a well melted/bubbled, high fat, buttery tasting wholesale cheese, grated cheese shouldn't be mandatory.

[Chicago Bob]

I literally came here just to ask about this.. I just bought a huge block of pecorino romano (I make cacio e pepe with it, delicious if you want to try a new/simple recipe). Is this common to put on pies? It has a great taste, I just never thought about using it on a pie.

I use it(when I remember)in place of a light final dusting of Parm. on top of the tomato's on a Chicago DD.
But I'll bet it would be good to try as a blender with whatever cheese you normally use on whatever pie you want to make....probably won't take much though so be careful.  Try it...you might like it! 

[MrPibbs]

Bob, I know what you mean about PennMac being expensive, but I have ordered the East Coast blend at least 5 times over the last year, also adding in 1-2 lbs of the smaller Enzo pepperoni, and have gotten in the groove of adding a "healthy grating" of Pecorino Romano on top of the sauce.  I cook at about 650-700F in my 2Stone Weber Pizza Grill, and if necessary put it in the oven broiler for a couple mins to get nice browning.  Flavor is incredible, and I can't stop buying East Coast Grande from PennMac.  Shipping is easier if a little larger quanity ordered.   It is now too important of a perfect flavor.   I have excellent freezer flavor retention by putting in the Foodsaver 6 Qt vacuum canisters.

I have enough friends and family who have tasted this and ask when I'm making pizza again, that I could literally be cooking pizza 5 nights a week.  I know I don't have the wood ovens like some of you guys, but the BBQ Delight pellets work pretty darn well at imparting a nice smoke flavor.