Fat-Free cheese?

[tuberacer]

Has anyone tried Kraft's fat-free mozz on their pizza? How well does it melt, and does it burn as fast as other whole milk mozz?

[Fio]

I once used Fat free "Cheese-like food product substance" on a pizza.

Don't bother.  No taste whatsoever.  Feh!  It's foul, an emmissary of hell.   

My man, fat-free cheese is indeed the curdled smegma of Satan himself!  It is a feculent substance, passed off on an uwitting public as the deus ex machina of culinary decline. 

Here's the deal. There are certain things in life that can be eaten in a low-fat or reduced fat mode.   Cheese is NOT one of them.  If the platonic ideal of a food is to be a fatty, guilty sin (chicken wings, fettucine alfredo), that is the way God intended it and to reduce the fat is to emasculate it's essential goodness. It's an insult to you and the food itself.

To make a good NY pizza, I strive to find the creamiest, most flavorful cheese money can buy.  Full-fat whole milk mozz for NY-style pizzas. 

If you want a lower-fat pizza, try to emulate a style that is naturally low in fat: The pizza margherita.  Dough made with no oil, unadulterated tomatoes, fresh basil, and a modest amount of creamy cheese.       You'll be doing yourself a favor - the skill to coax essential goodness out of small amounts of good ingredients is a challenge in itself.

Strike any thought of fat-free cheese from your mind.  Go forth and sin no more!

 Rant off,

 - Fio

[tonymark]

I must agree, skip the fat free cheese.

Fat free pizza --->  Leave the cheese off all together ---> Marinara.  If Chris Bianco is willing to do it, so can you.  Just put on sauce and other quality flavorful ingredients.

You could also sparingly add a premium hard cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano.  A little cheese provides a good bit of flavor.

TM

[mivler]

TM,

I realize that I am probably in the minority here. I often make pizza with part skim mozzarella. It is not even close to as good as regular cheese, but I justify that I can eat it that much more often if I reduce the fat. (50%/50% part skim and regular mozzarella is a pretty good) Fat free cheese on the other hand is more like plastic. I have tried more than one brand and there is no way around it. You can’t even mix it with great cheese because the texture it terrible. As Fio suggested if you really want fat free, don’t add any cheese.

Michael

[Jack]

>  curdled smegma of Satan himself!

But Fio, how do you really feel? <Sarcasm>

Mivler, I too often use part skim Mozz.  Much of our family has some fat related (BP/Cholesterol) health issues,  so I'll add a few tablespoons of EVOO on top of everything, just before I slide the pie into the oven.  While not nearly as good as the full fat cheeses, it's certainly a great meal.

Jack

[Ronzo]

I actually made some pizza with the kraft Fat Free Mozz stuff... it's actually not bad, in my opinion. Also looking to use the reduced fat stuff as well.

I'm a pizza snob and I actually didn't puke... so... it can't be all bad.

[wildfire]

Oh god, I tried it once (I should have been worried when it didn't melt as quickly as regular cheese).  I actually couldn't eat the pizza! It was just vile.  I am a a huge cheese lover in general, but I was trying to make something that my diet-fanatic best friend would at least try. Needless to say, I re-made the pizza with real cheese and just lied when she and her hubby came over for dinner.    I am probably a bad person for that, but I refuse to sacrifice that delicious cheese taste for a few less calories.  I mean, honestly, some fat is actually good for you, so ti may as well be in my pizza!