Newbie and cheese.........

[itzapizza]

Anyone have ideas about  mozza or provolone or blend that tastes kind of  creamy and is stringy  ( stretchy ) when you take a bite of the pizza?

The mozzarella I find at Walmart that comes in little balls seems tasteless and not very stringy  ( stretchy ). Seems to have a putty consistency when melted ( chewy like gum).

The stuff in bags, Kraft and Sargento,  isn't really what I want. The Sargento seemed to have the consistency of a layer of stiff mashed potatoes almost. Too thick maybe?

What can I get on the internet that might work?

Your help is very appreciated (  :

[rcbaughn]

I'll chime in with what has become my new favorite after a Chicago thin crust attempt the other night, and that is Polly-O brand cheese. I have never had anything that melted better and didn't get rubbery despite being pretty brown on the top. It is a higher moisture cheese I think, so you may want to only use it on an outside layer and not in a deep dish application. I tried some full fat mozzarella in a Chicago deep dish the other day and it was quite watery and made the pie a bit soggy.

Polly-O isn't the cheapest, but it isn't extremely high either. I get a 1 pound block at Wal-Mart for around $5. Definitely worth it. Good luck and let me know what you end up finding!

[jeffereynelson]

I just bought some of the 1lb blocks of walmart whole milk mozz. i like it a lot for $2.98 LB

[itzapizza]

Thanks for the replies!

I will try those  (  :

[rcbaughn]

Jefferey, if the great value whole milk mozzarella block beside the Polly-O in your local Wal-Mart? I can seem to only find the Great Value Part Skim 1lb blocks, and I much prefer whole milk for its richness.

[pythonic]

rcbaughn,

I wish the walmarts in Chicago carried poly-o.  We don't have it here.

[dmcavanagh]

rcbaughn,

I wish the walmarts in Chicago carried poly-o.  We don't have it here.

pythonic

Polly-O is made by Kraft, perhaps your Walmart sells Kraft mozzarella, might be worth a try.

[jeffereynelson]

Jefferey, if the great value whole milk mozzarella block beside the Polly-O in your local Wal-Mart? I can seem to only find the Great Value Part Skim 1lb blocks, and I much prefer whole milk for its richness.

Sorry it's a bit late, I had been out of town golfing. I had trouble finding the whole milk at walmart too. It took me a minute to see it. First of all I got it from Super Walmart. So I'd make sure you try there. I kept looking for a cheese like in first picture that said "whole milk" on it, then finally saw the cheese I was looking for off to the side as pictured in the second pic. Maybe seeing the difference will help you find it, it would of helped me.

[Bigfoot21075]

Here was a test of cheeses. Polly-O won, Trader Joes came in second...

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/02/the-pizza-lab-the-best-low-moisture-mozzarella-for-pizzas.html

[itzapizza]

Bigfoot and everybody, thanks for this info!

I'm going to get back into the pizza thing this week and will get my hands on some different cheeses to try.

I'll post how it goes  (  :

[rcbaughn]

I bought the Great Value brand whole milk recently and liked it as well as the Polly-O. I'm definitely swapping over to it for my pies since it is a lot cheaper and melts just as well. It doesn't over-brown either, and the taste is spot on raw too. I nibbled it last time I grated and found it to be pretty tasty.

[mykall]

Bigfoot,

Interesting post about the cheese comparison.   It's funny how I remember back in college (80's) doing the same sort of comparison because French bread pizza was a staple for a college student and easy to make.  I wonder if anyone on this site remembers (or is old enough to..) that Sorrento once sold shredded cheese in a bag like Kraft and Sargento?  Back then in my test Sorretnto was heads and shoulders above the rest.  Of course that was not only a long time ago but my testing IIRC was only shredded in the bag.  I'm working on a DD Chi-pie this weekend and the cheese I'm using is Sorrento.  I've got a Polly-O on deck for the next one as a comparison.   I'm going to take a look for that GV WM at Walmart. 

[dmcavanagh]

A brand of mozzarella I seldom see anyone talk about is Dragone. A few years back it was picked by CU as there top choice. For a long time I couldn't find it locally, but just last week I was in a store in a neighboring town and saw that they had Dragone mozzarella. I plan on returning to that store later this week, I'm curious and have to pick up a pound and give it a try. I will report back when I sample the Dragone cheese.