Grated Mozzarella...

[SidewinderINC]

Hi All,

I've recently started making my own pizzas and many variants on the pizza theme and one thing that frequently bugs me is grated mozzarella.

I hate having to buy the pre-grated bags as they're a massive rip off, I mean how hard can cheese be to grate yourself?!
However the only other mozzarella I can seem to find is the incredibly soft stuff in the watery bags, very useful on pizzas no doubt, but not grateable.

Where can I buy mozzarella that I can grate myself, preferably cheaper than £2 for 250g.

Can anyone help me on my quest for this elusive block of cheese?!

[divine]

TBH I just buy the Sainsbury's value grated mozzarella - it tastes absolutely no different to the expensive bags they do (that are also impossible to close) and last time I checked was cheaper than buying the other kind of mozzarella anyway.

Never seen 'grateable' blocks of it in a supermarket.

[LeperousDust]

AFAIK the cheese is soft and rubbery (horrible word but describes it fairly well). It doesn't lend itself to grating like hard cheese I thought, you use a cheese wire and make cubes or mechanically cut it (like the supermarkets but) into grated sections, but i think the difference is they're almost cut not grated as it just makes a mess.

Saying that i could be very wrong, but the blocks of mozza i've handled in work didn't "feel" very grate-able and we use cheese wires to make mozza blocks.

[leowyatt]

if you were using fresh moz I'd just rip it and put it on the top

[Mark]

AFAIK the cheese is soft and rubbery (horrible word but describes it fairly well). It doesn't lend itself to grating like hard cheese I thought, you use a cheese wire and make cubes or mechanically cut it (like the supermarkets but) into grated sections, but i think the difference is they're almost cut not grated as it just makes a mess.

This is what I've heard. Mozzarella of the supermarket variety doesn't lend itself to grating so the supermarket stuff is actually shavings. I use the Asda version when I can get it, but any version that isn't in a bag will do for me.

[SidewinderINC]

Thanks for that, Mark. If i didn't know that the fresh stuff didn't grate well I wouldn't have put it in my first post!!

The bagged mozzarella is well and truly processed, and must be in block form somewhere to buy, this was a request for anyone knowing where you could buy some.

Using fresh stuff to cover the entire base of a pizza is not a viable option, its not the right kind of cheese.

[Mark]

Humble apologies. I read it that you wanted to grate it, not the other way around. Side-effect of having a sight problem, or a concentration problem, or both. :)

[volospian]

To grate it I think you need to find "block" Mozzarella. Not sure where you can get it from. Have you thought of buying the "normal" mozzarella from the supermarket, draining the brine and freezing it? That may make it gratable?

[Tak]

http://www.jjfoodservice.com/product.cfm/Granarolo%20Block%20Log%20Mozzarella-1x1kg/PIZ149

[SidewinderINC]

Sorry Mark, I didn't mean to snap - I was just already aware that fresh mozzarella doesn't lend itself to being grated, hence putting it in my first post.
Unfortunately store stuff being "shavings" is still different to fresh mozzarella.

volospian, That would make it grateable and grated... however it wouldn't make it "grated mozzarella", as soon as it gets warmer and softens up it'll just be like regular mozzarella again which unfortunately isn't what I'm after.

It's low-moisture mozzarella that I'm after, which can be bought in blocks and looks remarkably like regular cheddar cheese. But it doesn't appear that anywhere in the UK sells it / nobody on here has used it :p

Unfortunately, Tak, that's just regular soft mozzarella in a block shape :( Nice try though ;)

[Will]

if you were using fresh moz I'd just rip it and put it on the top

That's what i'd do. :)

I don't know if you can find the "dried" stuff?

[SidewinderINC]

I do, however...


Using fresh stuff to cover the entire base of a pizza is not a viable option, its not the right kind of cheese.

[Muban]

Seems really awkward to get over here. Only those expensive packs of pre grated stuff in the supermarket :/ I remember you could get big tubs of the stuff in the US stores. Not that it's any help to you, sorry.

[Mark]

Might be worth enquiring at somewhere like Selfridges or Fortnum & Mason. It'll be expensive, but if you really must then they are the sort of specialist place that might.

The food court in the basement of Selfridges Bullring was something to behold. I expect other stores will be equally diverse.

[Will]

We're not being very helpful are we?! ;D ;D :p

[Will]

How about buying the regular soft stuff and drying it out?

[Tak]

Unfortunately, Tak, that's just regular soft mozzarella in a block shape :( Nice try though ;)

Meh - I just stuck in "block mozzarella" into google :p

How about asking at a local Italian restaurant? I'll try to remember to look in the 3663 catalogue at work today

[volospian]

Having had my interest piqued, I have had a look around and the common method seems to be to dry the mozza a bit between paper towels, but not to grate it anyway. Slice it thinly with a cheesewire and place in on the partly cooked pizza a few minutes before the end of cooking. That way you get the creamyness of fresh "wet" mozza without a soggy pizza...

That's what I have read a few times on Google anyway... :-)

[SidewinderINC]

All good and well, but what do I put on the base of the pizza at the start of cooking? a pizza coated in cheddar isn't very appetising, edam works well and swiss cheeses work well but are quite different to the flavour of mozz. ;)

It's all good guys, if this thread has done anything it's shown that it's nigh on impossible to buy at a regular supermarket and as Mark has just said, it'll be even more expensive at the extravagant department stores with food courts.

I'll just stick to buying the bags :D

[Glaucus]

Why do you need it grated. Sod the pre grated rubbish.
Get the stuff in liquid and either just thinly slice it, or chop it up and sprinkle on.

Edit - should read entire thread before posting.

I like a 50/50 mix of fresh moz and cheddar. Moz for the really stringy texture and cheddar for taste. Although you don't always need the strong cheese taste. Just depends what flavour you are doing.

[Belmit]

I find that the wet mozzarella and the stuff you get grated in bags to almost be two completely different cheeses. They may taste similar or the same but when it comes to cooking you can't really substitute one for the other. No idea why the hard stuff isn't available as a block, and in fact until now it hadn't crossed my mind to question it.

Trying to find it on Google though I came across this. How good does it sound?!

Burrata cheese
For something truly decadent, look for burrata cheese. It's available in some high-end or Italian grocery stores. It's been popular in Italy for years but has only caught on in the United States recently. Burrata is basically a ball of hard mozzarella with a center of heavy cream. The creamy center oozes out when you cut into it and combines with the cheese. It's fantastic and excellent with tomatoes, prosciutto, or on pizza.

[volospian]

All good and well, but what do I put on the base of the pizza at the start of cooking?

Provolone? I'd use a mix of cheeses for the "base", possibly something like provolone and parmesan, or edam and parmensan perhaps, to give it an underlying cheesiness... and add some fresh creamy mozza on top in the last few minutes.

Alternatively, you could try this (http://alcovecafe.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/fresh-mozzarella-on-pizzas/) method of cooking the pizza....?

[volospian]

Oh, and some poeple seem to suggest smoked mozza...?

[Lozza]

you can buy this stuff... I used to buy it all the time ... until I found it was the cause of migraine headaches for me... Eat a lovely homemade pizza then 30 min later bang massive headache. Now have to use the other type and it makes my pizza so soggy :(

As I haven't purchased it in a while the packaging is different from what I remember but i think this is the stuff: http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=255087569

[Joe 90]

On the subject of pizza, try putting the cheese on the bottom & tomato sauce on the top instead.

I tried it tonight after seeing it on Man vs Food & it makes a pleasant change :)

[SidewinderINC]

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/304736_10150299797046225_503226224_8187764_4237972 _n.jpg

Been and done :p hehehe

[Princess Griff]

Hey - in my local Tescos they do Pizza Mozzerella for £1.65 - all the mozzerella goodness but no watery goo!! http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=255087569

Hope that helps!!!

[Mark]

Waiter in Zizzi's arrived at our table with a block of mozzarella and a grater. I was so tempted to ask where they got their moz from! :)

[LeperousDust]

They didn't, that was Grana Padano, a hard Italian cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, in fact one of the oldest hard cheeses there are...

[Mark]

That's not what I was told, but that doesn't mean you are wrong.

[Kitten]

They didn't, that was Grana Padano, a hard Italian cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, in fact one of the oldest hard cheeses there are...

Yep, afaik Zizzi's don't offer parm her either unless it's in a dish :)

[Jonny69]

Mozarella:

http://www.finecooking.com/assets/uploads/posts/5332/ING-fresh-mozzarella1_sql.jpg

Not mozarella:

http://www.dairyworks.co.nz/assets/Grated-Mozzarella-500g.jpg

"Italian style cheese"