Cheese And Pizza: Perfect Melty Combinations

Chicago-style pizza is prepared according to several styles developed in the city. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas. The deep-dish pizza is baked in a pan that gives it a high edge, providing ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. The cheese used in Chicago-style pizza is typically mozzarella, which goes directly on top of the crust, followed by the sauce. The sauce is usually slightly sweet, incredibly thick, and flavorful. The pizza is often eaten with a knife and fork due to its thickness.

Mozzarella is the most popular pizza cheese

Mozzarella is also prized for its meltability and stretchability. It is super meltable and stretchable, and browns well without burning. It is sold in both fresh and low-moisture variations, each offering unique characteristics that make them worth experimenting with. Low-moisture mozzarella is denser and saltier, with a longer shelf life, and is the choice for a classic, dependable pizza. It has a low water content and releases little to no moisture when it melts, so you're less likely to wind up with a soggy pizza. Fresh mozzarella has a softer texture and a much higher water content, so it can cause a soggy crust if you're not careful.

Mozzarella is also versatile. Depending on what you’re looking to achieve with your final pizza, you can choose from fresh or aged, and part-skim or whole-milk mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella melts beautifully without browning too much at high temperatures, so it is more suited to a classic Neapolitan pizza. However, some people don't like the traditional soupy finish of the pizza, so you can dry out fresh mozzarella using a cloth for an hour or two before using. Aged mozzarella is better for slower bakes, as it has low moisture and beautiful browning abilities.

Mozzarella is also a great base cheese to pair with other cheeses. Many pizzerias use a blend of mozzarella and provolone, which offers both stretch and flavour.

Pizza Hut modified its recipes for the Chinese market

Pizza Hut is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas. It is currently headquartered in Plano, Texas, and operates 19,866 restaurants worldwide as of 2023.

Pizza Hut has tailored its menu to local tastes in international markets, including China. Before establishing restaurants in China, Pizza Hut was informed that many Chinese consumers do not like cheese and may not be able to digest it. The company was also told that tomatoes are not used as a culinary ingredient in China. As such, Pizza Hut was warned that Chinese consumers would not eat pizza.

In response to this, Pizza Hut modified its pizza recipes for the Chinese market, using less tomato sauce and cheese, and including indigenous ingredients that were more agreeable to Chinese consumers, such as tuna, crab sticks, soy sauce, chicken, and corn. The company also created new pizzas for the Chinese market, such as the Homemade Sweet and Creamy, which resembles apple turnovers, and the Thousand Island dressing pizza, which does not include tomato sauce.

As of 2024, Pizza Hut has over 3400 outlets in over 700 cities in China, with a particularly strong presence in Shanghai. The company's success in China can be attributed to its planning and research, as well as its willingness to adapt its recipes to suit local tastes.

Chinese pizza is made with traditional Asian ingredients

Chinese pizza is an interesting blend of Italian and Chinese flavours. It is made with traditional Asian ingredients and combines the usual elements of pizza like tomato sauce, cheese and a good pizza crust with toppings like onions, pea pods, water chestnuts, flavoured meat (usually chicken), soy sauce and ginger.

One Chinese pizza recipe includes chicken, ginger, tomato sauce, chilli puree, and soy sauce, topped with water chestnuts, pea pods, onion, and mozzarella cheese.

Some people prefer to omit the cheese and sauce from Chinese pizza, which becomes more like tujia shaobing, a Chinese dish similar to American pizza. Tujia shaobing is a round or oblong dough, usually containing soy milk, topped with ground spicy pork, scallions, and ginger.

There are also Chinese pizza places in China, which are an interesting interpretation of American pizza.

Chinese leaders once considered cheese too barbaric for the national diet

Cheese is an integral part of any pizza, with mozzarella being the most popular choice due to its delicate, milky flavour, and insane meltability and stretchiness. However, in China, the inclusion of cheese on pizzas is a relatively new phenomenon. Chinese cuisine is not famous for its dairy products, and in the past, Chinese leaders even considered cheese too barbaric for the national diet.

This aversion to cheese in China can be attributed to a combination of factors, including cultural, economic, and ecological reasons. Historically, there was a tradition of dairy consumption in premodern China, but it faded from the elite Chinese diet in the eighteenth century. One reason for this shift could be the high rate of lactose intolerance in the country, estimated at 90%. As a result, dairy products like butter, milk, and cheese were absent from the mainstream Chinese diet for centuries.

The introduction of Western fast food, including pizza, has gradually changed this perception. Pizza Hut, for example, is expanding rapidly in China, opening new stores at a rate of about one per day. This growing appetite for American-style fast food has increased cheese demand across Asia. Supermarkets in Chinese cities now stock blocks of cheese, and China's cheese imports surged by 70% from 2009 to 2014.

While the stigma surrounding cheese in China has faded, some consumers still express concerns about its potential impact on their health and weight. Nevertheless, with the increasing availability and demand for cheese, China is witnessing a shift in its culinary landscape, embracing new flavours and ingredients, even if they were once considered "barbaric."

Cheddar, fontina, gouda, and other cheeses can be used on pizza

Cheddar, for example, is a greasier alternative that doesn't melt as smoothly. Younger, softer cheddars are ideal if you're using it as the primary cheese on a pizza. It also works well in a mix of cheeses, adding a great undertone of flavour.

Fontina is a good melting cheese with a mild flavour and a hint of sharpness. It is a popular choice for vegetarian pizzas, pairing well with toppings such as mushrooms, ricotta, and fig preserves.

Gouda, especially the smoked variety, is another cheese that melts well and has a mild, somewhat buttery flavour. It can be paired with toppings such as Italian sausage, red onions, and tomato sauce.

When choosing a cheese for your pizza, consider both meltability and stretchability. Harder and more aged cheeses tend to be less willing to melt, while softer, younger cheeses melt more easily. As for stretchability, mozzarella is the classic choice, with provolone as a close runner-up.

Remember, you don't have to limit yourself to just one variety of cheese. Feel free to experiment with different combinations of cheeses and toppings to find your perfect pizza!

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