Author Topic: Polly-O Fresh Mozzarella (Read 8147 times)

Steve · « **on:** February 14, 2005, 01:08:50 PM »

Quote from: pftaylor on February 13, 2005, 04:52:32 PM

I need to talk about the Polly - O Fresh Mozzarella cheese for a moment. That may have contributed to the quantum leap in flavor as well. Or it may have been that the biga aged a few weeks. Or maybe it's all the above. It's almost as if I've unlocked a combination to a safe.

Can you tell me more about this Polly-O Fresh Mozzarella that you bought from Sam's Club? What size loaf was the cheese? 2 pounds? 5 pounds? Is it low moisture? Did it come packed in liquid (whey)? I stopped by my local Sam's Club today and they only carry the Polly-O whole milk mozzarella in a 2 pound block. I want to ask my local grocer (who carries Polly-O products) if they can get this "fresh" cheese for me but I want to specify exactly what it is. Do you have a UPC code for the cheese?

So far the only information that I can find about the Polly-O fresh mozzarella is the stuff that comes in a plastic container and it truly fresh -- balls of mozzarella cheese in a bath of whey. This looks entirely different than the cheese pictured in your post.

Steve · « **Reply #1 on:** February 14, 2005, 01:21:44 PM »

Well, I found a little more information about this cheese. It's sold in 32 oz. loafs.

pftaylor · « **Reply #2 on:** February 14, 2005, 01:28:51 PM »

That's it. Here are the ingredients: Pasteurized milk and skim milk, vinegar, milkfat, salt, artificial color, enzymes.
Nutrition facts: Total fat: 7g, Sat fat: 4g
Protein: 6g
Carbo: 0g
Calories per 1oz serving: 80

Exp. Date on my loaf: March 20, 2005
For more info call: 800.765.5462

I trust you'll find the above info useful.

Steve · « **Reply #3 on:** February 14, 2005, 01:40:08 PM »

How about the UPC code?

pftaylor · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2005, 01:57:29 PM »

Steve,
My pleasure: 7104006360

Steve · « **Reply #5 on:** February 14, 2005, 02:00:23 PM »

Thanks!

Did you say that you had tried the Grande mozzarella cheeses? And would you say that the Polly-O tasted as good or better than the Grande?

pftaylor · « **Reply #6 on:** February 14, 2005, 02:16:19 PM »

Steve,
My answer is: It depends on the type of pie you are trying to create.

Each product has it's own specific application where it is awesome. The Grande product is best suited for the typical pizza parlor taste which can be had anywhere in the US. It is yellowish in color, very oily and creamy when cooked. It is not well suited for what I will call a fresh Mutz pie typically associated with elite pizzeria's in NYC (which is the type of pie I prefer). It would be perfect for NY street pizza though. Flavor is okay but nothing to write home to mamma about.

The Polly - O cheese is very, very close (if not identical) to the cheeses I have consumed at NYC elite pizzerias like Patsy's & Grimaldi's. In fact it is more comparable to fresh mozzarella cheese like Bufala. I consider the taste to be excellent. It is very white, not overly wet (like fresh Buffala cheese), it is designed to be sliced rather than chunked on a pie. In general, I have found that I do not need to add an extra sprinkling of oil and salt on the top of the pie to achieve a great flavor from it unlike Bufala or other cheeses stored with water (they taste almost tasteless to me and need encouragement).

Finally, the melting characteristics are excellent when compared to the fresh stuff. The other fresh stuff tends to "puddle" on the pie with lots of water that makes the crust soggy. Here the Grande product is close but it still is not the same. Grande tends to melt in a glob and holds up to very high heat without burning easily but it doesn't leave a puddle. The Polly - O tends to melt into a dry splotch just like in the elite pizzerias. Cost is no contest, the Polly - O is dirt cheap compared to Bufala and Grande.

vitoduke · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2005, 03:02:35 PM »

I am unable to get Polly-O locally. I will be going to Southern Cal this weekend and have a source down there. How long can you freeze it if it is kept vacuum packed. Thanks---Mel

wayno · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2005, 07:40:35 PM »

I found a page on the Kraft Foods site that had some information on POLLY-O Fresh Mozzarella. They have some info on storage and availablility. They indicate you might be able to ask your local grocer to stock it.

They also indicate it is mainly available in the eastern states.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?m=contact_us/contact_us&cat1=103&cat2=105&cat3=63

Wayno

pftaylor · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2005, 08:45:52 PM »

My understanding is that you can store fresh mozzarella for a long time - 6 months or so in the freezer. I also understand that the preferred way to store cheese long term is shredded so that you can break off a chunk or two as is necessary.

vitoduke · « **Reply #10 on:** February 28, 2005, 08:59:54 PM »

My cousin in Irvine Ca. said she thought that Gelson's Market carried Polly-O . If they do I'm going to buy a bunch of it and vacuum seal it in smaller packages and freeze it. I want to see how it compares to the Precious Cheese I'm using now. --- Mel

Arthur · « **Reply #11 on:** March 01, 2005, 04:29:06 PM »

I still need to get my hands on this cheese. Yesterday I made 4 pies and because of the local weather I could only get to my local supermarket to pick up polly-o mozz (not the "fresh" kind) and some fresh mozz wrapped in plastic - I forget the name. I tried using both on the pies and it actually came out great.

I thought of this idea after seeing Di-Fara do it (using multiple mozz's). I'm sure the polly-o would have been better if I have the "fresh" bag, but I didn't fully want to use the other fresh mozz since sometimes that's too watery and changes the consistency of the dough after baking. My best 4 pies yet. Mixed some Vantia with Bonta for the sauce.

duckjob · « **Reply #12 on:** March 28, 2005, 02:52:46 PM »

for the socal people, Claros in Tustin had pre packaged polly o whole milk moz, but it was $7.99 for 16 oz. Much more than i wanted to pay. It happened to be the most expensive mozzerella there.

Arthur · « **Reply #13 on:** April 02, 2005, 09:54:52 PM »

Quote from: pftaylor on February 14, 2005, 02:16:19 PM

The Polly - O cheese is very, very close (if not identical) to the cheeses I have consumed at NYC elite pizzerias like Patsy's & Grimaldi's.

Pftaylor,

Now I now patsy's uses 2 different cheeses - 1 pie contains fresh mozz; the other is not. I prefered the fresh mozz. Was the fresh mozz the loaf-sliced type - did you notice? or was in the type stored in water/whey? Also, how does the patsy's fresh mozz compare to the sams club polly-o loaf cheese similar. Is that what you are refering to above. Sorry for the confusing message, but I'm confused

I've tried making my own mozz (other post) but I'm not sure I'm going to come close. So far the best mozz I've tried has been some I got from corona pork store (who supposedly supply's some of the elite places and my local costco has 1lb ball "fresh mozz" wrapped in plastic.

Arthur.

pftaylor · « **Reply #14 on:** April 03, 2005, 06:29:57 AM »

Arthur,
Patsy's uses a somewhat moist, but not stored in water, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese which is probably wrapped in plastic. I saw the reuseable container Jose kept it in and could not tell if it was sliced from a block, loaf, or a ball. From the pictures of the slices he laid down on the pies they use a loaf sized at about 2" high by 4" wide by 1/8th" thick. I do know that it is not originally packed in water like what Di Fara's uses. That is bufala fresh mozzarella. A totally different animal.

Take a look at the Patsy's reverse engineering thread and view my latest effort for a sense of what the Polly-O looks like compared to Patsy's. I ran out of Polly-O so I had to mix a little Grande Whole Milk in the middle of the pie but the super white cheese near the rim area is Polly-O. Here's my read, I prefer the Polly-O cheese because it is not as wet. The pie I had at Patsy's was swimming in sauce and the cheese didn't hold up particularly well as a result. Finally, the Patsy's cheese didn't have a lot of flavor either. It was overwhelmed by the sea of sauce and couldn't command the harmony of flavor that a Patsy's pie is noted for.

The Polly-O cheese is very flavorful and, so far, is the hands-down best cheese I have found for home pizza use. Top 10 advantages as I see them are:
- It's dirt cheap. I bought two 32oz logs last night at Sam's for about $13.00
- It is pure white in appearance. Even the mighty Grande is yellowish.
- It has flavor which a lot of mozzarella would die to claim
- It has great consistency and can be sliced thinly or chunked
- It has a texture which works well with pizza
- Splash a little Sicilian sea salt on it and the flavor explodes. EVOO kicks it up another notch
- It doesn't burn easily
- It splotchs nicely when it melts and doesn't get gooey
- When you bite into it and pull the slice away from your mouth it gets that stringyness unless you have a super clean bite
- I have easy access due to it's availability at Sam's Club

Arthur · « **Reply #15 on:** April 03, 2005, 10:26:53 AM »

Thanks. Now I just have to find a Sams Club close to me

PizzaBrewer · « **Reply #16 on:** April 03, 2005, 01:47:12 PM »

I just got back from the local Sam's Club (Wilkes-Barre PA), and they don't have the Polly-O. The only mozz they had was a 1 lb. lump of Biazzo (new to me) for about $4.50. Not a great price but I got one. The flavor is OK, mild, not much to it. I haven't made a pizza with it yet but I don't have high hopes based on sampling a chunk.

I did make a great buy at Sams--Fleischmann dry yeast, 2 lbs. for $3.14. Since I've been paying about $1.60 for three 1/4 packets at the grocery store I'd say I'll be saving money pretty quickly. I've never seen such a price difference in *any* product before!! But yeast should be cheap, it doesn't cost much to produce. I guess someone enjoys a good mark-up on those little packets.

---Guy

Arthur · « **Reply #17 on:** April 03, 2005, 06:19:34 PM »

My local sams in virginia didn't carry it either.

pftaylor · « **Reply #18 on:** April 03, 2005, 06:56:50 PM »

Arthur,
I tried the Biazzo today and was favorably impressed. While it wasn't as tasty as the Polly-O it was slightly more creamy somehow. It held up to the intense heat quite well. Just a little bland is all. I would try extra salt to bring out the flavor next time.

pizzaluvr · « **Reply #19 on:** April 03, 2005, 09:00:33 PM »

I bought some Casa Della of Brooklyn NY (mozzerella) at Costco. Anyone know how it is? I will try it this week and report back.

Mark