When it comes to the best cheese for pizza, let’s face it, it doesn’t get much better than Mozzarella.
While there are other types of cheese you can use, mozzarella has the best consistency, you can’t beat that cheese pull it provides.
Making pizzas at home is fairly easy to do. However, if you have never purchased mozzarella before, you may be surprised when you open the packaging.
This is because fresh mozzarella cheese is purchased in a ball, which is then placed in packaging or a rub filled with water.
Naturally, before using the mozzarella, you will want to ensure that it has been dried off, to prevent your pizza from becoming soggy.
If this is something you have never done before, it can seem slightly daunting.
However, this is super simple to do. In this article, we will be talking you through how to dry mozzarella cheese for pizza in just a few simple steps.
What Is Mozzarella?
Mozzarella is a soft cheese that is white in its color. It originates from South Italy, and it is commonly made from buffalo milk. However, standard cow’s milk can be used too.
Due to its soft consistency, and great texture, it is the perfect cheese to be used on pizza. It is not overwhelming in its taste, and its flavor complements the pizza sauce and other toppings well.
Being a soft cheese, mozzarella is naturally watery, and it is stored in water for purchase to help keep it fresh and moist. Without the water, mozzarella can quickly become too dry.
How To Dry Mozzarella Cheese For Pizza
To dry the mozzarella, first, you will need to take the mozzarella ball out of the packaging.
We would recommend doing this over a sink and making sure to shake off any excess water before placing it onto your chopping board.
Once you have done this, you will want to chop up the mozzarella into generous slices or chunks and place them into a sieve. The sieve should then be placed over a large empty bowl.
Once done, you will want to place this into the refrigerator to keep the cheese cool. This will then allow any more excess water to drip through the sieve and into the bowl.
After an hour or two, you can then remove everything from the refrigerator and take the mozzarella out of the sieve.
Next, take some clean paper towels and lay these flat on top of the chopping board.
Place the mozzarella on top of this, even spaced out. This will allow the paper towel to soak up any leftover water. You can dab them slightly too.
You will want to leave the mozzarella to settle for around 30 minutes after doing this. It should then be dry enough to use on top of your pizza.
It is worth noting that the mozzarella will not dry out completely when using this technique. Instead, it will dry out enough so that it will not ruin the pizza when using it.
After you have done this, you can then go ahead and add the desired amount of mozzarella needed to the top of your pizza, and cook it as you normally would.
Summary
As you can see, it is super easy and simple to dry mozzarella cheese. It does not take too long to achieve, and it will make all of the difference when it comes to the taste and cooking of your pizza.
Always remember that you don’t want the mozzarella to dry out completely. Instead, it should still be slightly moist.
