I have to confess that making fresh Mozzarella Cheese may seem intimitating, but I assure you it is a rewarding task!

How to make Mozzarella Cheese is a question that many have searched for on Cook-Italian.com!

Flashback:  I remember opening a large walk in refrigerator door, I could barely reach the handle.  The door was made of wood and cork.

  The inside of the refrigerator smelled sweet, of citrus and yeast doughs waiting for the next days creations.  In this dimly lit refrigerator there was a wooden barrel which my father told me not to go into.

 I moved over the lid and there they were these white round mounds of what I now know as fresh Mozzarella Cheese , Dad called it, "Scamotz" they were floating in this milky salty liquid.

  I reached into the cold whey and grabbed one!  I've seen this practiced before by my father and like him, I took a bite into the chilled salty and creamy ball of Mozzarella Cheese.  The brine running down my cheek, wiping it quickly with my sleeve.

This is my first me memory of eating Fresh Mozzarella Cheese!

We take for granted these days the time and effort it takes to make cheese.  Everything is done for us!

  In our instant society no one has the time to prepare food, because of this our food is made for us, especially cheese.

  I have personally tasted many a Fresh Mozzarella, especially true Mozzarella di Bufala with its salt brine flavor and distinctive taste it is indeed the true Mozzarella cheese.

Cows milk Fresh Mozzarella has a slightly sweeter taste and soft texture, but when I made my own Fresh Mozzarella I was excited and proud!

 After all, I was now able to boast that the cheese my family and friends were enjoying was made by me! (it's a Chef thing)

 This by far is one of the most rewarding culinary tasks that you may do akin to bread baking!

Many restaurants and Chefs are conducting cooking classes on how to make Mozzarella Cheese as well. 

 I feel it's exciting that people have gained an appreciation of artisan cheese making!

Don't deny yourself the great taste of a homemade pizza made with fresh quality ingredients. 

  It doesn’t matter how round your pizza is or if it’s in a pan, thin, thick, traditional or with exotic ingredients! The pizza was made by you, your family and guests will appreciate it! So make some pizza today! 

If you've never made pizza before it can be intimating, what if I mess up? I never did it before? forget it I'll just order out!  Trust me, it's worth the time and effort! Making Pizza at home is one of the most rewarding culinary tasks.

All anticipate when the pizza will be ready, take a sneak taste of the cheese and ingredients ,savoring the aroma as it permeates through the kitchen!

For me, it is most rewarding when I see the face of my children when the pizza comes out of the oven! It's a family event where all participate.

I roll out the dough; the kids add their sauce and toppings (of course I have to make sure they don’t go crazy with the sauce and ingredients). 

When the pizza is topped, I man the oven baking each one at a time on a preheated oven stone.

I also like pan style, fantastic for a fried crust bottom and a foccacia pizza taste.  

Pizza in a pan is a must for those who love the Sicilian Pizza where it it’s simply topped with herbs, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.  This was my Mother, Anna Marie's favorite who loved it also with slivers of onions on top. Making Sicilian Pizza is great for the all day pizza graze!  I’ll make a few and just leave them on the counter and we whittle away on them thru the day!

Are you inspired to give it a try?  Great!

Pizza is different for everyone!

  The most ordered Pizzas are Pepperoni, Italian Sausage then followed by combination's of Italian Sausage and Mushrooms, etc.  I have included here some of my favorite Pizza Toppings as well as a list of other Pizza Toppings that may inspire you.  The most important thing to remember is to always use the freshest highest quality ingredients when possible!  Keep your cooking clean and simple; let the flavor of each ingredient shine through!

Across the world you will find many different version of Pizza as well as Pizza Sauces.

Thanks to Wolfgang Puck and chains like CPK you will find many non traditional pizza sauces like BBQ, Thai Peanut or even Hoisin Sauce.  These sauces are great and have their place, but today I offer to you some of the basic sauces that you may find in an Italian Pizzeria.  Pizza is a genre to itself and deserves the respect of your time.

After all you deserve to experience the freshness and quality of a great sauced and topped Pizza.  Here are the basic Pizza Sauces, more on the toppings for Pizza to come in future posts as well as actually baking Pizzas for those who need help.  Feel free to comment, it is always appreciated!