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You may not have a brick oven that cooks your pie perfectly in three minutes, butyou can experimentwith toppings and flavor combinations that aren’t readily available at restaurants. Varying the cheese is the easiestwayto do this.

Cheeses for Finishing Several styles of cheese make amazing finishers for pizza. They’re best when combined with mozzarella or other good melters and used for an additional burst of flavor and complexity. I recommend adding them for the last three-four minutes of cooking so they have a chance to soften and meld with the other toppings. Parmesan or aged Pecorino Romano are so dry and low moisture that they won’t go gooey, but they will soften into the other cheese and toppings, giving you a beautiful dimension of nutty, sharper flavors. For people who are looking to cut fat, I strongly encourage a sprinkling of one of these at the end of baking in lieu of a pizza blanketed in fat-free mozzarella. The bit of fat and flavor hits from these cheeses are much more satisfying and delicious. These hard grating cheeses also pair well with toppings such as prosciutto or arugula, that are also best added at the last minute, or even as the pizza is coming out of the oven. Blue cheese is another unexpected finisher that can add a massive flavor pop from a restrained sprinkling of chunks. Blue’s high salt and acid content can become metallic-tasting with too much exposure to heat, so a few minutes is plenty. I balance the intensity of the cheese with caramelized onion, bacon or cruciferous vegetables like broccoli.

rind off. That orange, brine-washed exterior imparts flavors of cured meat and added salt that make it such a great topper. This cheese pairs especially well with licorice-y flavors. One of my favorite combos is caramelized fennel and fennel-laced, Tuscan-style salami or crumbled breakfast sausage. Asiago comes in a younger, semisoft style and a hard, aged, grating style. For pizza, go with the younger version. Cut off the rind before grating and expect a fresh, milky flavor akin to fresh mozza- rella but with better meltability. Another option in this flavor camp is Fontina . Both are delicate and do well with veggie pizza — I like spinach and black olive with Fontina. Cheeses for Dolloping I described fresh mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella as being more about intermittent bites of cheese; several other fresh cheeses don’t melt well but are lovely in combination with low-moisture mozzarella or as dollops across the top of a pizza. Goat cheese , or chevre , won’t melt and go gooey but it will soften under heat. The cheese has bright, tart, citrus flavors. That makes it well-suited to pairing with strong and intense toppings, against which it offers a burst of clean, milky flavor for contrast. For people who don’t care for the lemony flavors of goat cheese, spoonfuls of high-moisture, full-fat ricotta work the same way. I love either one with figs, caramelized onion and bacon.

Cheese Cheat Sheet

“Fresh” Mozzarella; Buffalo Mozzarella; Burrata SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department; half-pound balls to one-pound logs COOKING NOTES: High- moisture will melt smoothly but use sparingly; too much makes wet, soggy pizza BRANDS: Galbani

Low- moisture Mozzarella SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the dairy department; whole milk and not pre-shredded are best

Young Asiago or Fontina

Goat Cheese, Ricotta

Parmesan, aged Pecorino SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department; requires grating BRANDS: Parmigiano- Reggiano, Pecorino Romano COOKING NOTES: Finely grate and add in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking

Provolone

Blue Cheese

SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department; requires grating

SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department

SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department

SHOPPING NOTES: Sold in the deli department; requires grating

BRANDS: Mountain Gorgonzola, Statesboro Blue Cheese

BRANDS: La Bonne Vie, Galbani

BRANDS: Kraft, Sargento

BRANDS: Rio Briati

COOKING NOTES: Small spoonfuls or dollops across the pizza; consider combining with low-moisture mozzarella

COOKING NOTES: Always grate before using; smooth, even melt blankets the crust FLAVOR: Like low- moisture mozzarella but fuller, saltier TOPPINGS: Roasted red peppers, chili flakes, spicy salami

BRANDS: Polly-O, Sargento, Kraft

COOKING NOTES: Always grate before using; smooth, even melt blankets the crust FLAVOR: Like fresh mozzarella, milky and fresh

COOKING NOTES: Crumble with a fork into penny-sized chunks; add in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking

COOKING NOTES: Always grate before using; smooth, even melt blankets the crust

FLAVOR: Tart, lemony, milky

FLAVOR: Salty, mushroomy, intense

FLAVOR: Neutral, milky, salty

FLAVOR: Nutty, sharp

TOPPINGS: Spinach, black olives

TOPPINGS: Fig, caramelized onion, bacon

FLAVOR: Mild, milky, fresh

TOPPINGS: Caramelized onion, bacon, broccoli

TOPPINGS: Any

TOPPINGS: Prosciutto, arugula

TOPPINGS: Fresh tomato sauce, basil, oregano

34 JANUARY•FEBRUARY 2020