Best cheese for pizza
Mozzarella is the cheese for pizza. It is a stretched-curd cheese that melts in the oven.
Stretch
A pizza cheese should melt and stretch. Stretched-curd cheeses do that. A brined cheese stays in salty pieces.
A finish is not the base
A hard grating cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano belongs on top at the end. It does not replace the melting cheese.
The cheeses
- MozzarellaFresh stretched-curd cow's milk. It melts into the stretch people want on a pie.
- ProvoloneA drier stretched-curd cheese. It melts and tastes stronger than mozzarella.
- FontinaSemi-soft pressed cow's milk that melts. A useful second cheese on a white pie.
- Parmigiano-ReggianoHard cow's milk for grating. Finish the pie with it. Do not use it as the only cheese.
A poor fit
Questions
- What cheese is best for pizza?
- Mozzarella. Provolone is the stronger stretched-curd choice.
- Can you put Parmesan on pizza?
- Yes, as a finish. Parmigiano-Reggiano does not melt into the base of the pie.