Everyone loves a gooey cheesy pizza, but what is it about cheese that makes it such a perfect match for pizza? There are so many cheeses to explore – stracciatella, fior di latte, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, gorgonzola, parmesan, vegan cheese, goats cheese, lactose free cheese, buffalo ricotta… the list goes on! We take a deep dive into the types of cheeses used at 11 Inch Pizza to see why they taste so good.
Why Cheese and Pizza are a Match Made in Heaven
If you love pizza, chances are you have eaten a lot of pizzas with cheese. It’s a popular base ingredient that really brings all the other toppings together and makes them sing. But why do pizza and cheese work so well together?
All cheeses have fat content, which is what makes them so tasty. When added to pizza, cheese provides that yummy foundation of flavour that can then be built upon with your other ingredients, like vegetables, meats, seafood and herbs.
Plus, cheese melts on pizza, creating a sort of glue that binds the best of the toppings together. This stops all your other tasty ingredients from sliding straight off the slice! There is nothing better than that melted cheese stretch when you pick up a piece of pizza.
Our Amazing Cheeses
We use a range of different cheeses on our extensive menu of pizza options. Find out why we love all our beautiful cheese types, and which work best for different flavour combos!
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is the most popular cheese to put on a pizza – and for good reason! Mozzarella is a light, creamy cheese that melts quickly, smothering your pizza is delicious gooey goodness. It is traditionally made from Italian buffalo’s milk using a special method called pasta filata, which is a technique of kneading milk curd in hot water. This gives mozzarella its signature stretch. You can eat mozzarella on its own or in different dishes, such as caprese salad. Low moisture mozzarella is the perfect type for pizza, because it melts faster than high moisture varieties.
Fresh Ricotta
Ricotta means ‘recooked’ in Italian. It’s a special type of cheese that is created from the whey leftover from making cheese. Ricotta is light, fresh and slightly sweet – it is often used in both savoury dishes and desserts! The texture of ricotta adds something special to your pizza dish, with a thick and slightly grainy texture. Unlike mozzarella which melts easy into your pizza base, ricotta does not melt much at all. That means you’ll be left with delicious formed pieces of this tasty cheese scattered around your pizza, for a creamy mouthful with every bite.
Shaved Parmesan
Freshly shaved parmesan is a delicious addition to lots of Italian dishes, from authentic bowls of pasta to a fresh rocket salad. It’s also tasty on pizza, especially plant-based slices. Parmesan is one of the stronger flavours of cheese, with a rich, sharp and complex flavour profile that is often described as tangy or nutty. It also tastes quite salty. Like ricotta, parmesan has a high melting temperature, which means it won’t melt and cover your pizza like a mozzarella cheese. Instead, it stays in tasty melty pieces that are delightfully gooey and soft.
Goat’s Cheese
Goat’s cheese is a white, creamy cheese that often tastes mild and earthy. It is similar in texture to feta cheese, but usually less salty. Goat’s cheese can be quite an overwhelming flavour and it’s best used sparingly on a pizza, but it does add something special!
