Hello. I’ll share my experience with the ingredients I use for NY-style pizza at home in Canada. I put a TLDR at the bottom so you can skip right to the things.
CHEESE:I think I’ve tried all the low-moisture mozzarella available to me in Ontario. I’ve come to the conclusion that the most delicious (that I’ve found) and best melting low-moisture cheese is Saputo Brick (42%), which is kind of like if a cheddar melted like a mozzarella. I’ve only found Saputo Brick at a Wholesale Club but maybe you can get it easier. Brick cheese is also what's traditionally used for detroit-style.
St. Albert’s Mozarella is also really good (44%). You can find it at Costco or Costco Business Centre in larger blocks, or you can find smaller amounts at most grocery stores in the Eastern Ontario / Quebec zone.
Armstrong's Pizza Mozzarella is also very good and the easiest to get (for me) so it's what I use most often. Melts really nice, and is a low moisture (42%). Most “pizza mozzarellas” don’t actually fit NY style but this one does.
What I avoid:
They sound perfect but I avoid most "pizza mozzarellas" – for example; Saputo's Pizza “Mozzarellissima”. It melts sort of like how cheese curds melt. It would be pretty good on a Neapolitan-style pizza becuase it has good flavour but in general “pizza mozzarellas” are too high moisture. I think anything over 48% isn’t great for NY-style.
For parmesan – I don't think you can really go wrong if you buy the real stuff. It's kind of essential in NY-style becuase low moisture mozarellas in Canada are a bit light on flavour.
TOMATOES:Tried many, many kinds but I’ve landed on one called Bianco Di Napoli from California, which is probably the best canned tomato I’ve ever had. You can find it at specialty stores since it’s a bit hipstery now or online at
https://store.berchicci.ca/Bianco-DiNapoli. You can get whole peeled or crushed – not a huge difference once it’s out of the oven so go with whatever is cheaper at the time although I tend to get whole. IMO you don't have to cook this one, and you barely have to salt it. I put a little salt & olive oil or sometimes even sugar if I'm feeling like I want a bowling alley pizza.
Costco also has two brands that are very good called La San Marzano” whole peeled. They also carry “Pastene” which are very similar.
When I’m in a clutch, canned Mutti are decent and at most grocery stores. A bit thinner in flavour and consistency compared to the thick marinara the brands mentioned above are packed in. Still fine.
OLIVE OIL:I fluxuate between two brands, one being really easy to get and one being kinda pricey and not that different but different enough.
My favourite one is Frankies 457 from Brooklyn. I order it here:
https://erinandco.com/products/frankies-457-spuntino-extra-virgin-olive-oil. The picture shows a 500 mL bottle, but it’s actually 1 Litre (as you can see in their description).
Second go-to is Terra Delysssa Tunisian olive oil, which I find at most grocery stores and/or Costco. It's very similar to Frankies, and is more affordable.
FLOUR:I won't really get into this since bread flour has been a bit hit/miss in my area in terms of what brands are available so I just grab whatever I can get right now (which is really basic grocery store stuff that ends up being perfect after proper dough-making and ferment time). I will however shout out my friends at
https://almanacgrain.ca who make my absolute favourite '00' flour which I use for stretching (I use a 50/50 bread/00 mix). Sometimes I'll hop across the border and get King Arthur which is great. Costco Biz Centre also carries a protein-rich bread flour for pizza specifically but I haven't tried it yet.
TLDR:CHEESE: Saputo Brick, St. Alberts Mozz, Armstrong Pizza Mozzarella
TOMATO: Bianco Di Napoli, La San Marzano (Costco), Pastene, Mutti Whole Peeled
OLIVE OIL: Frankies 457, Terra Delyssa
FLOUR: Basic Robin Hood or Five Roses or King Arthur bread flour, Almanac 00 for stretching
That’s it. Hope this helps in some way. (I realize this is a way late reply).