A new study has evaluated the pizza baking performance of different cheeses in conjunction with a new quantifiable evaluation technique to see how it affects the look of the pizzas.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) how composition and functional differences of mozzarella, cheddar, colby, Edam, Emmental, Gruyere, and provolone affected browning and blistering.Most consumers have an idea what they want their pizza slice to look like.
The study found that the elasticity, free oil, moisture, water activity and transition temperature all influence the color uniformity of cheeses. Blisters were not formed for cheddar, colby, and Edam cheeses because of their small elasticity.
The researchers found that a sufficient amount of free oil prevents moisture evaporation, and thus less intensive browning on Gruyere and provolone, and hardly at all with Emmental. Therefore, these cheeses can be combined with the easily blistering mozzarella to create a gourmet pizza with a less burnt appearance.
The study was published in the Journal of Food Science.
