--- title: Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, Science Says description: No word yet on the best topping canonical: https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-27T17:22:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:12:49.160Z og:title: Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, Science Says og:description: No word yet on the best topping og:url: https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f3a30c3fad8e65/6986a119cd684890ad096396/475623249.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 475623249 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, Science Says twitter:description: No word yet on the best topping twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f3a30c3fad8e65/6986a119cd684890ad096396/475623249.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, According to Science  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Aug 27, 2014 5:22 PM UTC  Food Porn Food PornFabio Sabatini—Getty Images/Flickr Open  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Aug 27, 2014 5:22 PM UTC Mozzarella is the best pizza cheese because it melts, bubbles and browns better than any other cheese, according to a [new study](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1750-3841.12540/abstract) published in the August issue of the _Journal of Food Science,_ titled “Qualification of Pizza Baking Properties of Difference Cheese and Their Correlation with Cheese Functionality.” Researchers in New Zealand compared pizzas using mozzarella, cheddar, Edam and Gruyere cheese using software specifically designed to measure browning, blistering and oil. Mozzarella, they found, was stretchier than other cheese, which allowed bigger bubbles to form when water evaporated from the pizza. And since mozzarella isn’t as oily or as filled with moisture as, say, Gruyere, it browned more easily. The scientists concluded that these factors make mozzarella the most appealing to both the eye and the taste buds. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/"},"headline":"Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, According to Science","datePublished":"2014-08-27T17:22:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:12:49.160Z","description":"No word yet on the best topping","url":"https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f3a30c3fad8e65/6986a119cd684890ad096396/475623249.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt83f3a30c3fad8e65/6986a119cd684890ad096396/475623249.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"475623249","caption":"475623249","creditText":"Fabio Sabatini—Getty Images/Flickr Open","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3195723/pizza-mozzarella-cheese/","name":"Mozzarella Is the Best Pizza Cheese, According to Science"}}]}] ```