Shredded, Diced or Sliced Mozzarella…How do you decide what’s best for your operation?

Is managing labor costs a major challenge in your pizzeria or restaurant? If so, you are not alone as 64% of operators say it is.¹ Not only can Grande’s convenience forms improve back-of-house efficiency, but they can also ensure that your customers are getting a consistent product every time they order your pizza. Achieving both results is crucial for long-term success. Grande’s pre-shredded, diced and sliced products add value to your bottom line through:

• Reduced labor costs
• Improved food costs by eliminating cheese losses during prep
• Increased consistency compared to in-house prep and more!

Whether you are opening a new restaurant or looking for ways to streamline your back-of-house operations, how do you decide which ‘convenience’ option is best?

Ultimately, the form you select usually comes down to preference. But here are some things to consider for each:

Grande Shredded and Diced Cheeses

Whether you prefer shredded or diced cheese, they offer many of the same benefits. Grande’s shredded and diced cheeses are all natural and contain only simple ingredients traditionally used in the cheesemaking process – packaged without any anti-caking agents like starches or cellulose to ensure consistency in performance. These cheeses will melt evenly with a consistent yield, giving both Grande’s shredded and diced products a similar appearance once baked.

When comparing these two formats in raw form, shredded cheese is easier to grab with your hands and apply to the pizza, which makes it important to have portion control methods in place to help manage costs and consistency. While diced cheese isn’t as easy to grab with your hands, it works well with Grande’s portion control cups. In either form, if your standard practice is to “free-hand” the cheese, you run the risk of using more cheese than you need and creating an inconsistent experience for your customers. In this example, an excess of 1 oz. of cheese being used on a 16” pizza can add up to one case of Grande shredded or diced cheese each week!

Grande offers portion cups that are uniquely designed to accurately measure both our shredded and diced cheeses, available to all Grande 100-Percenters. Interested in learning more about portion control? Check out our portion control video.

Grande Sliced Cheese

For portion control without using cups or a scale, sliced cheese can be a great solution. Each slice is the exact same weight, every time! When using sliced cheese on pizza, it is most commonly used for applications where the sauce is applied on top of the pizza. Since the slices of cheese are larger than individual shreds or dices, they cover the pie like a blanket, with a fully covered appearance. Not only is sliced cheese the ultimate in portion control, it will save you time back-of-house by not slicing your own. We found it takes an average of 70 minutes to slice a case of cheese!² Leveraging pre-sliced cheese allows you and your kitchen staff to focus on creating the pizza, sandwiches and entrees your customers love.

No matter which direction you choose to go, you can’t go wrong with Grande. Grande shredded, diced and sliced cheeses all provide the benefits you’ve come to expect from Grande Cheese:

Exceptional Flavor

• Clean and full flavored, with distinct dairy notes and rich, buttery tones
• 100% natural ingredients, free of additives, fillers and preservatives
• Complements the taste of your other ingredients

Outstanding Reheat Qualities

• Maintains flavor, appearance and mouth feel from oven to table whether your customers dine in, carry out or get delivery
• Guarantees consistent quality of your dishes, even when your customers reheat their leftovers the next day
• Consistent performance and flavor in slice shop applications where product is reheated before serving from the display case

Melts Evenly

• Consistent, complete and even melt, providing full coverage
• Favorable yield, so you may use less cheese per pie or application

Resists Burning and Oiling Off

• Resistant to burning, enhancing the look and flavor of your pizza and other applications
• Adds mouthwatering flavor and texture without being oily or dry

Excellent Stretch, Tender Mouth feel

• Hearty, yet tender body with a full, smooth stretch
• Appealing texture that enhances the dining experience

Consistent performance

• High quality, consistent milk supply
• Our traditional cheesemaking processes ensure dependable flavor and performance to keep your customers coming back!

All Grande Mozzarella is designed for consistency in flavor, melt, and baked appearance day-in, day-out so that you can focus on other aspects of your business. Click here to request a free product tasting for your pizzeria or restaurant.