Pizza cheese – The best 6 from Italy

Which cheese for pizza?

Choosing the right pizza cheese depends on your taste and the type of pizza. Fior di Latte is a mild and versatile option, while buffalo mozzarella tastes more intense and creamy. Smoked provola and scamorza bring exceptional smoky flavors to the pizza. The only way to find your favorite is to taste, taste, taste!

1. fior di latte – classic and best mozzarella for pizza

Fior di latte is a special mozzarella made from cow’s milk that is traditionally used in pizzerias in Naples. But why do Italians use this cheese? Fior di latte is somewhat drier and firmer than normal mozzarella. This is because it is allowed to drain properly after production and is not stored in brine. It is either used fresh or sold vacuum-packed.

When baking pizzas, a dry cheese is an advantage because it prevents the pizza from watering down. However, fior di latte also contains moisture, of course. To prevent too much liquid from ending up on the pizza, it is important to cut the cheese correctly.

How to cut fior di latte for pizza

The pizzaioli in Naples usually cut their fior di latte into a kind of julienne: not too thick and not too thin, just so that all the water can evaporate during the baking process in the oven. To do this, the mozzarella is cut in half and then each half is cut into 3-4 mm wide strips (French julienne). The even size ensures that the cheese pulls beautiful strings during baking – the best moment when eating pizza!

If the fior di latte is cut too thick, this becomes a problem, because traditionally the pizza is only in a pizza oven in Naples for 90 seconds. In this short time, the water cannot evaporate, the pizza becomes watery, the cheese wobbles back and forth and in the end does not pull any strings.

If the pieces of fior di latte are cut too small, the fat separates during baking and oozes out. This is not nice to look at and even in this case the mozzarella hardly pulls the wonderful strings. In addition to julienne, there is also “taglio a dadini”. This is much smaller than julienne. These are cubes. They are often used for calzone pizza or pizza with a filled crust. They are cut so small that the water can evaporate from them even in a filling and the whole thing doesn’t get soggy.

Professional tips on the topic of Italian pizza cheese

Watch world pizza champion Davide Civitiello explain why fior di latte, buffalo mozzarella and provola are the stars of your pizza – and how to slice it properly for the perfect topping.

2. buffalo mozzarella – for modern pizza

Buffalo mozzarella (Italian: mozzarella di bufala) is made from the precious milk of water buffalo. It is a DOP product (protected designation of origin). This means that it can only be produced in certain regions – mainly in Campania. Buffalo mozzarella is not a traditional pizza cheese in Naples. Its potential was only discovered in Naples at the end of the 1990s. Today it is an option in local pizzerias, but not necessarily the rule.

How to slice buffalo mozzarella

Gustini’s pizzaiolo recommends dividing a 125 g ball into 8 slices per pizza. Cut in this way, the buffalo mozzarella will be optimally distributed on the pizza and will also pull strings when baking.

Because buffalo mozzarella is moister than a fior di latte, it should ideally be cut the day before and left to rest in the fridge. This allows some of the liquid to escape, which minimizes the risk of a soggy pizza base.

3. burrata – always after baking

Burrata, the mozzarella with the creamy filling, cuts a fine figure on pizza. Burrata shows what it can do best when it is added to the pizza after it has been baked. The cheese has a heart of cream and should not be baked. It would be a shame for its great consistency and it would soften the pizza base.

4. smoked provola – aromatic melt in the mouth

Another popular dairy product on pizza is smoked provola. This cheese is made from cow’s milk, has an intense smoky aroma and a straw-yellow color, which is created when it is smoked with beech shavings. It adds depth of flavor to your pizza.

The cut of Provola is similar to that of Fior di Latte. Here too, the slices or strips should not be too large or too small so that the liquid can evaporate quickly.

5. scamorza – nutty, smoky aroma

This smoked cheese is similar to Provola, but slightly drier and therefore has a longer shelf life. Scamorza is a frequently used pizza cheese because it hardly releases any liquid and is easy to work with.

As Scamorza has a more intense flavor, you should use this cheese sparingly if you don’t want to mask other flavors. Scamorza combines well with a milder cheese such as fior di latte or ricotta. The cheese melts quickly and evenly, but does not melt as much as mozzarella.

6. ricotta – for calzone

A versatile pizza cheese that can be made from cow’s, buffalo or sheep’s milk: With a few dollops of ricotta, you can make a pizza wonderfully creamy and varied. Ricotta is also a good filling for calzones.

The cream cheese, which is made from whey, contains a relatively large amount of moisture, which could soak the dough. The solution? Drain the ricotta well before applying it. You can place it in a clean cloth or on kitchen paper to remove excess liquid. Also be careful when baking: ricotta is sensitive to heat and can become dry and crumbly if baked for too long.