Pizza quattro formaggi


Pizza quattro formaggi is a variety of pizza in Italian cuisine that is topped with a combination of four kinds of cheese, usually melted together, with or without tomato sauce. It is popular worldwide, including in Italy, and is one of the iconic items from pizzerias's menus.
Traditionally, the cheeses include Mozzarella, as the fundamental component, which maintains humidity during cooking, partially protecting the other cheeses from the strong heat of the oven. Gorgonzola is almost systematically present and the completing duo consists of other local cheeses, depending on the region, with Fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano as the typical complements, but other variants include Pecorino, Ricotta, Stracchino, Robiola, Taleggio, smoked Provola or Caciocavallo. Mass-produced pizzas use, beside Mozzarella, non-Italian cheeses such as Edam, Emmental and Blue cheese. The choice of cheeses is not random, they should be full-fat or semi-fat and vary in flavour. Besides Mozzarella, the quattro formaggi usually combines a blue or mature cheese, a soft cheese or a creamy cheese, and a hard cheese.
Unlike other pizzas, like the Napolitan or the Margherita, which have an old, rich and documented history, the Quattro Formaggi, despite its popularity and preponderance, has a less clear origin, certainly due to its composition being so obvious. It is believed to originate from the Lazio region in the beginning of the 18th century. Its less obvious and more recent versions, like the Quattro Latti pizza, can be on the opposite tracked in the history of gastronomy.