Could It Be Grande?

[Glutenboy]

A buddy of mine and fellow pizza enthusiast was chatting up the manager at our local Trader Joe's.  He asked him who makes the 1-lb. unsliced, cryo-pack fresh mozzarella log that they sell under the TJ's brand.  The manager replied that it was from Grande.  Can anyone here confirm or deny?  My friend has a high cred factor and knows the significance of the name; so I'm inclined to believe that he did not misunderstand what he heard.  It just seems that if it were true, someone here would have been onto it before now.  Anybody know anything?

- GB

[scott123]

GB, I can't speak to the fior di latte, but I know, for a fact, that TJ's aged brick isn't Grande.  Just last night, I spent about 5 minutes analyzing the aged bricks in the case. I was crossing my fingers that I'd find that telltale yellow hue, but, alas, it's supermarket quality all the way- good supermarket quality, but definitely not wholesale.

[Glutenboy]

Scott -

It's not the aged brick, nor is it the fior di latte.  There is a 1-lb log of dry-packed fresh mozzarella.  This is the one that was said to be a Grande product.  There is also a 12-oz presliced log that looks similar but but is not the same product.  That's not the one.  Just the 16-oz cryo-pack log.  I have never seen an actual Grande product that resembles it, but you're more of a student of their wares than I.  It's not their aged gratable mozzarella in any event.  Perhaps they make it exclusively for TJ's, or perhaps the guy didn't know what he was talking about.  If you have or can get any more info, I'd love to know.

- GB

[scott123]

GB, as far as I know, 'fior di latte' and 'fresh mozzarella' are interchangeable terms- at least when discussing cow's milk mozz.

I emailed TJ's customer service in hopes that they might shed some more light on this subject.

Edit: I emailed Grande as well.

[PetersPizza]

The thing with Trader Joe's is they tend to repack from several different sources depending on the availability, so it is possible some could be Grande.

-Peter

[Glutenboy]

Scott - Point taken.  I was just trying to draw a distinction between the more traditional fresh mozz packed in brine (which they also carry) and the dryer (almost hybrid fresh/low moisture) vacuum packed log.

Peter - I've found TJ's mozzarella products to be extremely consistent over the years.  If they vary the sources on these regularly, they do a great job hiding it.  However, I have noticed the switch in other products (most notably canned tomatoes) from time to time.

Back to you, Scott - Please let me know what you hear from Trader Joe's.

Thanks guys!