Mozzarella is a pizza staple but some work better than others. Here’s a quick guide to help you through.
Fior di Latte
Fior di latte is a cows milk mozzarella that has a low moisture content. Its easy to use and can be purchased as a block, in cubes or chips. This is very popular in pizzerias in Italy as it melts nicely, can be easily frozen/defrosted and good value for money. Typically available from Italian outlets/wholesalers.
Fresh Cows Mozzarella
This mozzarella is quite wet and contains high amount of moisture. This can cause your pizza to end up soggy if not used carefully. Some brands have more water in them than others, so its worth looking around. If it has too much water content then you can remove some by leaving it open in the fridge for 24hr to let the moisture out. Sit it on some kitchen paper or on a sieve rested on a bowl. Galbani Maxi is a great mozzarella, the water content isn’t too high, its melts very nicely, it tastes great and really takes the pizza up a level in terms of class. However its an expensive option by comparison so make sure to use it with appropriate nice toppings (or no toppings) otherwise it can be a waste.
Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella
As with the fresh cows mozzarella, this is a wet mozzarella. Its more expensive than cows mozzarella but is even nicer. A great option for buffalo mozzarella is to add it on to a pizza made without cheese, after its been cooked. Tear off pieces and dot around the pizza adding some olive oil & black pepper on top – delicious!
Mozzarella Pearls
These are usually a variety of the fresh cows mozzarella however they don’t tend to melt so well on pizzas so they aren’t the best option.
Supermarket Grated Mozzarella
Packets of grated mozzarella tend to have potato starch in them to avoid the cheese clumping together. The problem with this is that it burns when used at temperatures that you get in a pizza oven. Some don’t mind this but others avoid it.