This is My Ultimate Best Pizza Cheese Blend
If you ask me what the best pizza cheese is, the answer is easy. It’s mozzarella. Many of my pizzas are based entirely on mozzarella. But as much as I love mozzarella, sometimes a mozzarella pizza can taste a little bland. Then it needs something to go with it. That’s why the best cheese for pizza isn’t just one cheese. It’s a blend of different cheeses. Here is my best pizza cheese blend.
The Problem With Using Only One Cheese
If mozzarella is the best pizza cheese, why not just use only mozzarella? Well, it’s perfectly acceptable to use just mozzarella on pizza. I often do that myself. Mozzarella melts well, stretches beautifully, and tastes soft and creamy. Sounds perfect. Almost. While mozzarella is essential, using it alone can create a pizza that tastes a bit flat. Sometimes I want pizza cheese to have a different texture or stronger taste. I don’t need to change the cheese, I just need to blend mozzarella with other cheeses.
By combining different cheeses you can influence how your pizza cheese melts and stretches, how easily it browns when baked, what it tastes and smells like. Mixing different cheeses together is an easy way to change the flavor profile of the pizza. And by experimenting with different cheese combinations you can create completely new taste experiences.
Ingredients for the Cheese Blend
My perfect pizza cheese blend includes tree cheeses; mozzarella, provolone and Parmesan. Individually, each cheese is great. But together, they create an amazing combo. The result is a pizza that tastes fuller, richer, and perhaps a bit more professional. Just like in a pizzeria.
1. Low-Moisture Mozzarella
Mozzarella is the basic ingredient in this cheese blend. It melts evenly, creating a soft and creamy texture, and its mild flavor goes well with pizza toppings. If you are baking pizza in a home oven, use low-moisture mozzarella. It does not release as much liquid, which allows it to melt well and brown beautifully on the surface.
2. Provolone for Flavor
Provolone is an excellent pizza cheese. It has a similar texture to mozzarella, but it’s flavor is deeper and more complex. Provolone melts well, giving pizza a soft and creamy texture. Compared to mozzarella, provolone has a sharper and fuller, slightly smoky flavor. You can use provolone as a pizza cheese on its own, but I find its flavor to be a bit too dominant. Therefore, I personally like to mix it with mozzarella. You don’t need much, even a small amount of provolone changes the personality of the pizza.
3. Parmesan for the Finishing Touch
Parmesan is a splendid pizza cheese, but I wouldn’t use it as the main cheese because it has quite a strong, salty flavor. It has a bit of a nutty richness to it. It enhances the flavor of other cheeses and pizza toppings, and brings a lovely aroma to the pizza kitchen. But don’t use it too much so that the Parmesan doesn’t take over the pizza. Instead of pizza cheese, think of it as a condiment. Parmesan works well in a cheese blend, or as a fine crumble sprinkled on top of a pizza.
My Ultimate Pizza Cheese Blend
My best pizza cheese blend is about 60 percent mozzarella, 30 percent provolone, and a touch of Parmesan for the finishing touch. This mixture is easy to make even without measuring tools. Just add about half the amount of provolone compared to the amount of mozzarella. Then add one-third the amount of Parmesan compared to provolone.
- 60 % mozzarella (low-moisture)
- 30 % provolone
- 10 % Parmesan
Why this Blend Works So Well
This combination is sure to work every time. The mozzarella melts and stretches well, the provolone enhances the flavor, and the Parmesan adds a hint of saltiness and improves the texture. This blend works on almost any pizza. It melts perfectly, forms a tasty even layer of cheese which, browns easily on the surface. It balances saltiness (compared to just using mozzarella), and smells wonderful when you take the pizza out of the oven. This cheese blend gives you that classic pizzeria flavor.
This mixture is also easy to adjust to your taste. If you want a stronger flavor, increase the amount of provolone. Increase the amount of mozzarella, if you want a soft and stretchy cheese layer. If you want a saltier mixture, add more Parmesan.
