Author Topic: Grande Cheese Question (Read 10188 times)

enob · « **on:** January 29, 2006, 04:41:45 PM »

I just got my hands on some grande Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese via and I was not very unhappy with it. It has a sour taste to it and I'm not sure if this is common with this brand of cheese or if i got a bad batch.
Is this common for this brand? I purchased grande natural Low moisture-whole milk in the 7# block

Thanks in advance
Mike

Steve · « **Reply #1 on:** January 29, 2006, 05:01:06 PM »

Quote from: enob on January 29, 2006, 04:41:45 PM

I just got my hands on some grande Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese via and I was not very unhappy with it. It has a sour taste to it and I'm not sure if this is common with this brand of cheese or if i got a bad batch.
Is this common for this brand? I purchased grande natural Low moisture-whole milk in the 7# block

Thanks in advance
Mike

Sour? No. I don't think that's right. What's the expiration date on the wrapper?

Hi Gluten · « **Reply #2 on:** January 29, 2006, 06:38:32 PM »

Grande should have a buttery taste and soft creamy texture to the palette. It even mixes very well with other cheese(s).
I buy it by the block (7lbs.) and cut it into portions, which I vacuum pack and freeze. I take it out as needed.

Most pizzerias want it no younger than 4 weeks old. This is for both taste and melting qualities. I have never had a batch that was anything even near sour.

enob · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2006, 07:57:59 PM »

That's what i thought but figured I would check and since there is no Expiration date on the package I have no clue how old this is.
Interesting I purchased via Pennmac 2 day UPS with some ricotta cheese which was very good.

thanks

Hi Gluten · « **Reply #4 on:** January 29, 2006, 08:34:56 PM »

I've ordered with Pennmac myself with great results. Perhaps you should give them a call and explain the situation.

scott r · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2006, 04:00:22 AM »

I think grande has a subtle sour (well I would call it sharp) , and less of a buttery flavor when compared to some of the other high end commercial pizza cheese. This is the reason it is not my favorite.

gottabedapan · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2006, 04:01:06 PM »

Quote from: scott r on January 30, 2006, 04:00:22 AM

I think grande has a subtle sour (well I would call it sharp) , and less of a buttery flavor when compared to some of the other high end commercial pizza cheese.

Interesting. I like the tanginess of Grande compared to other brands I've tried, but find it a overly salty, which is saying something, given how heavily I salt things!

freshflour · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2006, 08:36:10 PM »

I found Grande to be buttery, but also fairly salty. I prefer Polly-O.

enob · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2006, 10:28:48 PM »

Thanks everyone for the replies I did give penn mac a call today and inquired about the cheese, they also noted as Scottr commented that the grande Whole Milk does in fact have a sour/sharp taste and mentioned that most NY pizza operators usually cut their Whole Milk with their part skim. The good folks at Pennmac also had the regional grande sales rep give me a call and he also confirmed the same. I think i'm going to go back to the Filippo Mazzei Whole Milk Brand. Are the folks on this site that us Grande Whole Milk mix it or use it straight?

Thanks Again
Mike

gottabedapan · « **Reply #9 on:** January 31, 2006, 12:47:37 AM »

I don't think of Grande as sour/sharp as much as I think of it as having a developed flavor profile, in contrast to most other mozzs I've tried, which I find bland.

Most of the time, I use Grande whole milk straight, but, as I said, I like the tanginess. When I do mix it with another cheese, it's with something stronger/sharper, like Meunster, Havarti, or Fontina.

pizza king · « **Reply #10 on:** July 27, 2006, 07:12:26 PM »

Quote from: scott r on January 30, 2006, 04:00:22 AM

I think grande has a subtle sour (well I would call it sharp) , and less of a buttery flavor when compared to some of the other high end commercial pizza cheese. This is the reason it is not my favorite.

Hey wanted to know what your favorites were other then Grande?

Bryan S · « **Reply #11 on:** January 26, 2007, 01:18:36 AM »

Quote from: Hi Gluten on January 29, 2006, 06:38:32 PM

Grande should have a buttery taste and soft creamy texture to the palette. It even mixes very well with other cheese(s).
I buy it by the block (7lbs.) and cut it into portions, which I vacuum pack and freeze. I take it out as needed.

Most pizzerias want it no younger than 4 weeks old. This is for both taste and melting qualities. I have never had a batch that was anything even near sour.

I just got my Grande. The taste is fantastic, Buttery, creamy, it tastes like no Mozz i have ever tasted. Just one question for the Pros here. How and what do you use to grate this stuff. It's so soft and well every Kitchen Aid Attachment i threw at it, it still didn't want to shred/grate, just clogged up.

enchant · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2007, 08:00:34 AM »

I have a cheese slicer that is a simple hand tool that incorporates a roller and a wire that is about a quarter-inch from the roller. Used normally, it will give you quarter-inch-thick slices. But if you angle the tool, you can get them as thin as you want. This is what I do, and I slice several thin pieces from the main block and then tear each one into smaller pieces and toss them onto the pizza. Works pretty well.

csacks · « **Reply #13 on:** February 13, 2007, 10:15:55 AM »

When I started using Grande I grated it with a salad shooter. The cheese clung together and I lightly pulled it apart with my fingers. I must say I have not been crazy about the taste up until this point. This weekend I used a cheese slicer. The slicer worked very well, and I now think that the cheese tastes very good. I think that I was not getting it on thick enough by grating the cheese. CraiG

Bryan S · « **Reply #14 on:** February 13, 2007, 03:47:50 PM »

Quote from: csacks on February 13, 2007, 10:15:55 AM

When I started using Grande I grated it with a salad shooter. The cheese clung together and I lightly pulled it apart with my fingers. I must say I have not been crazy about the taste up until this point. This weekend I used a cheese slicer. The slicer worked very well, and I now think that the cheese tastes very good. I think that I was not getting it on thick enough by grating the cheese. CraiG

I partially froze it and it grated a lot better. It tastes really good when you slice it and eat it, but when it melts on the pizza i find it pretty much flavorless.

I'll be searching for a new brand of Muzz once the Grande is used up.

scott r · « **Reply #15 on:** February 13, 2007, 05:02:27 PM »

pizza king, sorry I just saw your question about what cheese I like.

I have to say that I totally agree with the people here who dislike grande mozzarella. To me it tastes bland when melted, but surprisingly sharp before melting. I wish other cheeses had it's amazing melting characteristics and resistance to burning, but with better flavor. So far I have had no luck finding that. My favorite is probably the boars head mozzarella cheese, but it is very expensive and not wholesaled through the typical channels. It has great flavor and melting characteristics. At one point I also loved poly-o, but it has since changed and doesn't taste as good anymore. Dragone whole milk mozzarella has really great flavor, but burns too easily for well done pizza because it is so dry. Over on the west coast precious whole milk mozzarella seems pretty good. Maggio is another great brand, but is only available around the NJ, NY, and PA areas.

I have had good luck blending the dryer cheeses, or part skim cheeses with grande whole milk to improve the melt, while still retaining some of the flavor of the dryer cheese.

I really wish I could get my hands on some of that cheese from chicago!

I have found that what cheese tastes best totally depends on how long and at what temperature you cook your pizza. Normal dry mozzarella (polyo,boars head, etc.) is absolutely horrible in a fast bake oven. Even if it has a chance to fully melt and brown a bit it tastes so bland. There is something going on where dry mozzarella needs a long slow melt to develop the proper flavor. Even with typical NY style pizzas the best brand is somewhat dependent on how much top heat you have in your oven, and how long you leave the pizza in the oven. For quick high temp pizza nothing I have been able to find beats buffalo mozzarella or the grande fresh mozzarella. Bel Gioioso cryo pack mozzarella also be very tasty, but for some reason I have a hard time finding it fresh enough and it often breaks down in the oven.

I have also found that if you use part skim mozzarella you can get much more of it on the pizza without it being goopy and sloppy. Some of the better pizzerias use part skim in huge quantities to achieve that special flavor. It took me a while to figure this out. I would research what type of cheese a favorite pizzeria uses, buy it for myself, and be disappointed in the results. I finally realized that it was the ability to use that quantity of cheese, not the quality of the cheese that people liked so much. If you are an extra cheese type of person check into the part skim varieties.

Bryan S · « **Reply #16 on:** February 13, 2007, 07:28:55 PM »

I saw the Sarrento brand Whole milk low moisture mozz at BJ's, It's $9.99 for a 5 lb block.

I'll be trying that out as my first one. They also have Polly O at $4.99 for a 2 lb block but it seems very soft, no idea how i would even grate it.

scott r · « **Reply #17 on:** February 13, 2007, 07:42:19 PM »

Believe it or not I think you will like the sorrento better than the grande.

Bryan S · « **Reply #18 on:** February 13, 2007, 08:11:40 PM »

Quote from: scott r on February 13, 2007, 07:42:19 PM

Believe it or not I think you will like the sorrento better than the grande.

We'll Scott I'm hoping i do and that your right. At $2.00 a lb and i only have to drive 1.5 miles for it, it beats buying the Grande on line and paying all that shipping. Thanks for the info.

EDIT: I just find it amazing that the Grande tastes so good (a lot like Colby) before it melts, then tastes like nothing once baked on top of a pie or metball subs. We used it the other day broiled on top of metball subs, i was wishing i would have just left it off. I still have about 9-10 lbs of this cheese to use up yet. Ugh!!!

doctor_pepperoni · « **Reply #19 on:** February 17, 2007, 07:42:24 PM »

Bryan,

I am really interested in your comparison of Grande vs Sorrento WM.

I've had some really good luck with BJ's Sorrento WM 5lb loaf at $9.99 (believe it or not, it used to be $8.99 before the new year!). There are two BJ's within 10 miles of me, and one is right on my way to work--very convenient.

I'm mixing it 2 parts mozz with 1 part Primo Gusto provolone (I got a 6lb loaf at GFS when I was in Peoria, at $2.13/lb). So far, so good. The Sorrento prov is pretty good as well, but at $3.00/lb I'll use it but more sparingly.

I would definitely like to try some Grande WM, but the price and the hassle of getting it back to Delaware makes me question whether the difference between the two is worth it.

Also, what speed do I run my KA for dough? It was a gift from my father-in-law, and we never got a manual.

Thanks, Ed.