Rather than bake and top 10 pizzas, I’ll take a quicker road and simply use split English muffins as my pizza crust base. Let’s gather some traditional (and not so traditional) pizza cheeses and put them to the test. But which will not only melt but stretch into those gooey, messy strands that can make pizza eating such a delightfully challenging endeavor? We’ve established that most cheeses will melt when baked atop pizza. Also, while Velveeta and processed American cheese are supremely meltable, I’ve ruled them out simply because I’m looking for cheeses with a bit more character. But I’m choosing to stick with those easily obtainable at your local supermarket. There are other cheeses that melt nicely atop pizza Wisconsin brick cheese springs immediately to mind. In addition, I’ll test my own homemade blend of Parmesan, Asiago, and sharp cheddar, which I’ve pretreated to increase its meltability more on that later. I’ve chosen to test “young” (minimally aged) cheeses with a low melting point since I assume most of you wouldn’t care for pizza topped with lumps of semi-melted cheese.Ī bit of research yields the following list of cheeses with good meltability: cheddar, fontina, Gouda, Jack, mozzarella (both fresh milk and standard), Muenster, provolone, and Swiss raclette (or just regular Swiss cheese). Soft Jack cheese melts in a matter of minutes two-year-old Parmesan, barely at all. In general, the harder and more aged the cheese, the less willing it is to melt atop your pizza. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing: paired with spicy sausage or hot peppers, mozzarella is the perfect foil.īut what about a pizza topped with the gentle flavors of mushroom and bell pepper, or black olives and onions? Wouldn’t it be nice to beef things up with a more interesting cheese - all without sacrificing meltability (and its sibling, stretchability)?
Sure, it’s got some of the milky/tangy flavor of cheese in general, but all in all, it’s fairly neutral. The block of mozzarella you’d typically use is pretty plain if you ask me. Mozzarella, America’s favorite pizza cheese, is all about the ooey-gooey textural experience but how does it stack up, flavor-wise? One of life’s sublime experiences is grabbing a triangle of hot pizza and seeing melted cheese stretch itself into aromatic strands as your hand moves from pan to mouth. Is mozzarella really the best cheese for pizza? Or can other varieties offer mozzarella’s signature meltability, but with a richer, more complex flavor? At last, you’re ready to put your pizza together, so you get out the mozzarella cheese … but wait. You slow-simmer a batch of your aunt’s secret tomato sauce. You’ve decided: “Enough with the takeout! This weekend we’re having homemade pizza.” You make your favorite cool-rise dough, one that develops flavor overnight in the refrigerator.
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