Author Topic: Grande question (Read 10070 times)

pizzoid · « **Reply #20 on:** November 29, 2006, 04:52:53 PM »

Freezing it was part of the experiment I wanted to do. Once I get the operation at the club going, I shouldn't need to freeze it.

Which was the Boston location selling single 5 lb. bags of diced?

Right now, though, there's simply too much food to go through, while I'm choosing products and finalizing my recipes.

I haven't seen the burning, but last batch of pies I certainly got a lot of puddling. Might have also been the freezing of the sauce, though. I don't have the oven yet, so I'm still using my home one that only goes to 500F

- Al

Quote from: scott r on November 29, 2006, 04:46:27 PM

have you guys exhausted all your resources for finding it locally?

If you email grande they will put you in touch with your regional rep. When I talked to mine he contacted a few of the pizzerias that used the product and found one near me that was willing to sell it to me for 4$ a pound.

Also if you email grande asking what wholesalers in your area sell the product they will give you that list. There were five around Boston and after contacting them all I found one that was willing to sell cash and carry as long as I ordered at least one loaf or bag (5lbs). They were even cheaper.

I just hate to see you guys paying all that and freezing it. I forgot to mention earlier that it tends to burn easier after freezing.

DNA Dan · « **Reply #21 on:** November 29, 2006, 04:53:31 PM »

Quote from: pizzoid on November 29, 2006, 04:04:47 PM

When the Grande rep. brought samples and I made a pie for us, we were talking about the after-chew. That might be that bubble gum like chew you refer to.

ROFL... "Afer-chew".. I like that. Being a scientist I just love these technical terms they come up with to explain tastes and textures. I could have blown bubbles with this cheese. I should have just asked them what they use. My hunch was Grande 50/50 provolone/mozz blend, so that's what I bought. Just waiting on the brown guy to deliver my curds!

pizzoid · « **Reply #22 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:00:34 PM »

That's just what _I_ call it. Heaven knows what a food scientist would label it. I'm a lowly engineer.....

Once the flavor from the sauce diminished, and the resistance of the crust was much reduced, there was still that cheesy, rubbery, delightful chewing sensation. What would the rest of you call that?

- Al

Quote from: DNA Dan on November 29, 2006, 04:53:31 PM

ROFL... "Afer-chew".. I like that. Being a scientist I just love these technical terms they come up with to explain tastes and textures. I could have blown bubbles with this cheese.

scott r · « **Reply #23 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:13:33 PM »

pizzoid, unfortunately there is nobody selling diced that will sell to me.

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #24 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:16:19 PM »

Quote from: scott r on November 29, 2006, 04:46:27 PM

have you guys exhausted all your resources for finding it locally?

If you email grande they will put you in touch with your regional rep. When I talked to mine he contacted a few of the pizzerias that used the product and found one near me that was willing to sell it to me for 4$ a pound.

Also if you email grande asking what wholesalers in your area sell the product they will give you that list. There were five around Boston and after contacting them all I found one that was willing to sell cash and carry as long as I ordered at least one loaf or bag (5lbs). They were even cheaper.

I just hate to see you guys paying all that and freezing it. I forgot to mention earlier that it tends to burn easier after freezing.

I think I've exhausted all local resources but the idea of getting info from grande is a great one, thanks! I will try that!

I've been at this a bit longer than since I've shown up here on this forum. I've tried every supermarket from Gilroy to SF. I've tried Costco. I've tried any foodservice place that would let me in. I've tried Smart-n-Final. I've tried every cheese shop I could find (remember Monty Python??). I tried the one (and only one) good pizza place in the South Bay. My wife thinks I'm freakin crazy.

So far, the only place selling what I believe to be real grande chunks is Whole Foods @ $8/lb (last I checked).

However, in the case of SA pepperoni, I think the Hormel stick (slice it yourself!) comes pretty close. Especially if you nuke it for a few seconds to draw out some of the oil before putting it on a pie. I emailed SA a long time ago asking for a local outlet (or if I could swing by and pick some up?) and got no answer. So screw them, Hormel is good enough for me. But, in the case of Grande whole milk mozz loaf, I've not yet found anything close. I hate to gush so much about grande but I'm really shocked, especially living in the land of the California Happy Cows that I can't get something even close. So, I'm left with either ordering it in bulk and freezing it or paying $8/lb.

But, with Scott's suggestion, hopefully I can get around this one...

I'm off to email Grande now!

DNA Dan · « **Reply #25 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:28:34 PM »

Quote from: pizzaJoe on November 29, 2006, 05:16:19 PM

I tried the one (and only one) good pizza place in the South Bay.

Whoa there pardner.... that's a pretty bold statement to be making on a pizzamaking forum! Care to enlighten me where it's located??

Say if I get convinced on the grande that I already bought, I would be willing to go 50/50 on a bulk purchase with you. I think you are close to me, (especially with a comment like that!)

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #26 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:43:34 PM »

Quote from: DNA Dan on November 29, 2006, 05:28:34 PM

Whoa there pardner.... that's a pretty bold statement to be making on a pizzamaking forum! Care to enlighten me where it's located??

Say if I get convinced on the grande that I already bought, I would be willing to go 50/50 on a bulk purchase with you. I think you are close to me, (especially with a comment like that!)

Ahhh, someone took the bait!

Note that my tastes run to NY or Neapolitian pizza. Before I say it, I have no affiliation, I'm just a VERY happy customer. In fact, I would probably move back to the east coast if I didn't know about this place. Or start making my own pizza en masse. Hey now...

*Every* single NYer (no, I'm not one...) I've met in the Bay Area picks one of two places as the best pizza in the area. The one I *LOVE* is
Vito's Famous Pizza
1155 Reed Ave
Sunnyvale, CA

Do NOT confuse this with the Vito's in Fremont nor the one on Skyport near the SJ airport. They are not bad places but the Vito's in Sunnyvale is the original and has the best.

Second to Vito's (to me and the NYers I know) is Giovanni's on Lawrence, in Sunnyvale also. Honorable mention to Amici's in Mt View but there's too much grease on their pie and sometimes I just don't want a fully charred crust.

That's it', PizzaJoe's review of the local joints! Thanks, I'll be here all week and everyone drive safely!

P.S. Dan, I've emailed Grande for local wholesalers per Scott's suggestion. Let's see what I can find (I'll share info...) and barring that, I will take you up on your offer to go in on a bulk purchase!

DNA Dan · « **Reply #27 on:** November 29, 2006, 05:48:29 PM »

ROFL

Dammit, I always fall for those tricks!

That's like within 10 minutes to my house! You're totally my neighbor! I am definitely going to check it out. No worries about the high rating, if it sucks I'll just chalk it up to the crappy style. haha. I am a cracker type crust fan myself. I have some American style suggestions too which may be able to make a thin style for you. I can pm you if you like, I don't want to detract from the thread topic completely.

Lydia · « **Reply #28 on:** November 29, 2006, 09:06:39 PM »

Joe!

You've been holding out on all the good places !?!?

Have you guys tried Pizza ANtiqua in Santa Row for neo-neoplitan? There alittle pricey, but the last time I was in, they were making the cheese on the premises.

Why didn't anyone tell me WF had Grande

or is that only in Walnut Creek?

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #29 on:** November 29, 2006, 10:49:21 PM »

Note to self, try Pizza Antiqua!

Back to the cheese

The WF I frequent is in Cupertino on Steven's Creek. Ya know, the one with the extra tiny parking lot and mad drivers. (I never thought a parking lot would so sway my opinion of a supermarket but I've nearly been hit 4 times there, twice in my car and twice on foot).

I believe a new WF opened on El Camino in Mt View near San Antonio. I haven't been over there yet so I can't comment on what they do or do not have. I've heard that the store is BIG though.

DNA Dan · « **Reply #30 on:** December 01, 2006, 03:04:56 PM »

I tried that pizza. It's okay. I think I just don't care for the style much. The atmosphere is quite stuffy too. Can you say "yuppie"? I mean the place is practically next to Escada and across the street from Gucci. I personally think you're better off spending your duckets at Vintage Wine Merchants down by the movie theater. The owner there (Joe) is an awesome guy and had great recommendations on reasonably priced Italian wines. He goes there like 3-4 times a year to buy wine and knows a lot of history of villages there.

DNA Dan · « **Reply #31 on:** December 02, 2006, 02:22:19 AM »

I received my Grande today. All I can say is.... ditch the cheese you are using and try this stuff! This is straight dairy bubblegum! It is somewhat bland as others have noted, but I have the 50/50 blend with provolone. It's actually quite okay on flavor for my tastes. What's great is the texture. Great stretch.

Vern's cheese is kick ass. I ordered earlier in the week and it was here by Friday. 4 days total shipping once they processed my order. Give me a few weeks and I will be ready for the group buy on this stuff! Certainly penn mac or vern's might be open to a group buy with a discount. Damn that pizza conspiracy!

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #32 on:** December 02, 2006, 11:04:41 PM »

Double update:

First off, I heard from the Grande rep for NorCal (thanks Scott for the suggestion!

). I will advise when I find a local wholesaler that does cash-n-carry.

Second, I visited the new WF on El Camino in Mt View. Parking is better than Cupertino and also, I walked out of there with a 7lb loaf of whole milk mozz for $41.15. That's a hair under $6/lb. I actually prefer the loaf over pre-shred so I'm set.

Caputo pizza flour? Check.

Escalon tomatoes? Check.

Grande cheese? Check.

TIME FOR PIZZA!

Lydia · « **Reply #33 on:** December 03, 2006, 03:07:31 PM »

Dan

You've used the 50/50? how much if any difference in strechable characteristics when compared to shredding the Grande itself?

DNA Dan · « **Reply #34 on:** December 04, 2006, 12:06:24 PM »

PizzaJoe,

Did I read your post correctly that the WF on Elcamino in Mt. View carries Grande by the loaf? Did you get over to the GM yet?

Lydia,

Since the RT ratio is 3:1:1, I bought the 50/50 hoping to spike it with more mozz and a little cheddar. This was my first Grande purchase so I can't really say how it compares. One thing I noticed is that commercial pizza cheese still has stretch after reheating it the next day from the fridge. The latest batch of pizza I made with the Grande 50/50 had very little stretch after reheating. The whole commercial cheese thing has me baffled. Are commercial places using some form of rubber in their cheese? I swear.

If I locate a loaf, what has more stretch, the whole milk or the part skim?

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #35 on:** December 04, 2006, 12:24:48 PM »

Quote from: DNA Dan on December 04, 2006, 12:06:24 PM

PizzaJoe,

Did I read your post correctly that the WF on Elcamino in Mt. View carries Grande by the loaf? Did you get over to the GM yet?

If I locate a loaf, what has more stretch, the whole milk or the part skim?

Hi Dan,

Yup, I walked out of WF on El Camino with a 7# loaf of whole milk Grande on Saturday! They didn't have it in the display case but had individually chunks. I scooped up all that I could get when one of their employees noticed and said "Man, you like cheese!".

I mentioned that if they had a whole loaf, I'd buy it. She popped into the back storage room, returned a few minutes later, the loaf was on the scale and in my greedy little hands shortly thereafter. I haven't used it on a pizza yet but made calzones last night. It's funny to cut into a calzone, watch the cheese oooze out and see how far you have to stretch it to get it to cut loose so you can eat it!

Haven't made it to GM yet! I did try to get to the Cheesesteak shop but children-interruptus nixed that deal.

As for stretchability, I have two novice comments so take them FWIW.
First off, I always buy the block/loaf of cheese. I do this because although the pre shredded stuff is more convenient, I think the shred-it-yourself path makes for more stretchable final product. I determined this empirically but now think it has something to do with the anti-clumping stuff they put on the pre-shredded cheese.
Second, I'm sort of in an odd situation as my wife won't eat just about any cheese except mozz. So, I end up making just about all my pizzas with only whole milk mozz (shredded from a loaf). I found that when I do slip in a mix of cheese, the stretchability is reduced.

Joe

DNA Dan · « **Reply #36 on:** December 04, 2006, 12:33:09 PM »

Quote from: pizzaJoe on December 04, 2006, 12:24:48 PM

Hi Dan,

Yup, I walked out of WF on El Camino with a 7# loaf of whole milk Grande on Saturday! They didn't have it in the display case but had individually chunks. I scooped up all that I could get when one of their employees noticed and said "Man, you like cheese!". I mentioned that if they had a whole loaf, I'd buy it. She popped into the back storage room, returned a few minutes later, the loaf was on the scale and in my greedy little hands shortly thereafter. I haven't used it on a pizza yet but made calzones last night. It's funny to cut into a calzone, watch the cheese oooze out and see how far you have to stretch it to get it to cut loose so you can eat it!

YOU BASTARD! Save some Grande for the rest of us locals!! You realize you're calling for all out GRANDE WARS don't you? That's it, I'm off to create my dough lightsaber so I can come get you, Darth Grande.

pizzaJoe · « **Reply #37 on:** December 04, 2006, 01:23:35 PM »

Quote from: DNA Dan on December 04, 2006, 12:33:09 PM

YOU BASTARD! Save some Grande for the rest of us locals!! You realize you're calling for all out GRANDE WARS don't you? That's it, I'm off to create my dough lightsaber so I can come get you, Darth Grande.

I've got a window cube at work and I'm ducking every time a car passes now!

Don't worry Dan, like I've mentioned, I've made contact with the local Grande rep and will share any/all info I get about a local wholesaler with cash-and-carry support for individuals. I'm sure there's got to be one in an area as populated as the SF Bay area...

DNA Dan · « **Reply #38 on:** December 04, 2006, 01:43:00 PM »

The closest "cash n carry" to me is on San Carlos near Valley Fair Mall in San Jose. I am going to stop by and witness the WF aftermath in Mt. View on my lunch today. Quick princess Lydia, get in the speeder. . . .

Lydia · « **Reply #39 on:** December 04, 2006, 01:48:24 PM »

First I have to slay PizzaThe HUT!