Choosing the Perfect Cheese for Every Kind of Pizza
Until fairly recently it was frowned upon to use anything other than traditional ingredients as toppings for your pizza.
Today, however, it seems as though creativity is now the key when it comes to making your own pizzas – and it is all about individual taste.
Yes, the pizza has been liberated! Bring on the pineapple, broccoli, curry mince and whatever else takes your fancy.
Having said this, afficionados seem to agree that there are still a couple of unwritten rules to follow to ensure that you end up with a great-tasting pizza.
One of them is the concept of ‘less is more’.
Don’t overwhelm your pizza with a dozen different toppings. You will end up with a mishmash of flavours and a soggy base.
Instead, stick to two or three and make sure that they are quality ingredients that complement one another in terms of flavour.
The other is that the cheese is pretty much non-negotiable. It needs to be there.
A pizza without the traditional tomato sauce base can still be tasty and delicious, but a pizza without cheese is much like a day without sunshine – dull and dreary.
However, when it comes to the cheese, you no longer need to feel limited to using only the traditional mozzarella.
Yes, mozzarella still holds its place as the ideal cheese topping for any type of pizza, but you can now feel free to experiment with other cheeses and perhaps discover whole new taste sensations.
There is a world of cheeses out there just waiting for the chance to shine on your pizza.
There is virtually no cheese that is totally unsuitable as a pizza topping, but what you do need to bear in mind is how well the cheese melts and whether it will turn golden brown without burning.
Generally, the harder and more aged the cheese, the less willing it is to melt.
Also, full-fat cheeses melt more readily than low-fat cheeses, which can end up with a rubbery texture.
Luckily, there are a number of cheeses with good meltability and stretchability which can be used very successfully on your pizza, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one variety.
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is known for its assertive flavour and strong presence, and it is a great option for any pizza where you want the cheese flavour to take centre stage.
Cheddar is a versatile cheese that complements other ingredients and brings out unique flavours in the foods it touches.
It pairs particularly well with spicy ingredients like pepperoni, bacon, ham, caramelized onions and capers. A red cheddar will add colour to any pizza, and, if used together with mozzarella, will offer the perfect combination of punchy flavour and meltability.
Gouda cheese
Gouda cheese has a mild, delicate, almost sweet taste. It melts easily to become smooth and buttery, and it will not overpower the flavours of other ingredients on your pizza, but rather enhance them. It pairs particularly well with ingredients like pulled pork, barbecue chicken, sausage and bacon.
Feta cheese
Feta cheese is lower in calories than many other cheeses and, for this reason, is growing in popularity as a pizza topping.
Creamy, salty and tangy, feta is hugely flavourful on its own, but combining it on a pizza with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes takes it to a whole new level of deliciousness.
Parmesan cheese
Parmesan cheese, a traditional Italian hard cheese, is one cheese that should not be used as a pizza topping in the traditional way.
Parmesan does not easily melt and the heat of the cooking process ruins it’s delicate umami flavour.
Parmesan can be only be used on a pizza once it is cooked. Shaved or grated on top it will enhance the flavour of the whole pizza.
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So, next time you are making pizza and deciding on toppings, remember that mozzarella is great, but it is not your only option.
Have some fun experimenting with other cheeses and discover some of your own new and delicious combinations.
