Quality Ingredients Make Quality Pizza
When Minsky’s created Gourmet pizza a standard was also set. Gourmet meant that Minsky’s would only choose exceptional ingredients, even if that meant spending a little more on ingredients to ensure high quality. A pizza is only as good as its ingredients is a principle that Minsky’s founder, Gregg Johnson, has stood by since day one.
“Since 1976, we’ve always chosen to use the highest quality ingredients. We could cut corners, but then it wouldn’t be Minsky’s.”
– Gregg Johnson
What are the lengths that Minsky’s goes to in creating KC’s best pizza? For one, each Minsky’s pizza location hand prepares dough every 4 hours – it’s never frozen and there are no preservatives. Natural sea salt and olive oil are applied to the crust before Minsky’s signature red sauce is added – also created on-site from citric acid-free Escalon tomatoes. Minsky’s only uses fresh-cut veggies and the finest meat toppings for each Gourmet masterpiece. On top? A crown of Mozzarella cheese. In fact, some say the cheese is the most important element of Minsky’s pizzas – which is why Minsky’s has been using 100% Wisconsin Mozzarella since the earliest days. So, what makes Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese the best?
It Starts With… Cows
Great cheese begins in northern Wisconsin. As the dairy capital of the United States, there’s no better place to start when searching for the best mozzarella. In the beautiful countryside, just east of Green Bay, sits one of America’s largest, privately-owned family dairy farms, Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy in Kewaunee, WI. At Pagel’s, over 5,500 cows are cared for 24/7 by over 100 diligent employees, all of whom are expertly trained in animal care and handling.
Gregg Johnson meeting one of the cows at Pagel’s Ponderosa.
Minsky’s founder Gregg Johnson and the Minsky’s food management team recently traveled to Pagel’s Ponderosa to see where the milk that becomes Minsky’s 100% Wisconsin Mozzarella comes from. The Minsky’s team took an extensive tour of the facility so they could thoroughly understand what makes this cheese so great.
Their guide, Isabella Haen, took the team to an observation point over the milking parlor. From there, the Minsky’s team was able to see the innovative rotary milking system at Pagel’s Ponderosa. The dairy cows walk onto the carousel-like wheel – with no extra nudging – and then exit when they are finished milking and are then fed – it’s an easy and stress-free routine.
Next, Isabella brought the group from Minsky’s to the maternity barn where expecting cow mothers and newborn calves are cared for. The barn is temperature-controlled and filled with fresh hay each day to keep the cows happy and healthy. Outside of the maternity ward, other barns at the dairy provide over 500,000 square feet for the cows to live and sleep comfortably.
The Minsky’s team also learned what the dairy feeds their cows: which is a total-mixed-ration diet, including a balanced mixture of grains, alfalfa, and proteins, adjusted based on the cow’s age. Calves receive vitamin-enriched pasteurized milk until they are old enough to switch over to the TMR diet.
The attention and respect that Pagel’s Ponderosa puts into raising and caring for their cows provides the reward of the highest quality milk. So why does this milk make such amazing cheese? According to Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy:
“To achieve high-quality cheese, you must begin with high-quality milk. That’s why Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy works to always maintain the highest standards when it comes to the treatment of our cows and the milking process from start to finish. The happier the cows, the better the milk.”
Experts in the Art of Cheesemaking
For over 180 years, Wisconsin has been refining and fine-tuning its cheese-making techniques – perfecting the process, always in search of even minor improvements. It’s no surprise then that the state is ranked as one of the world’s top cheese-producing regions in the world. In fact, Wisconsin cheesemakers alone produce over 1 billion pounds of mozzarella a year!
Brent Wittrock and Gregg Johnson standing next to a few of the dairy’s giant tanker trucks.
Each week, Pagel’s Ponderosa sends seven to eight giant tanker trucks full of their premium milk to Saputo Cheese USA, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It’s at Saputo where the milk is transformed into the 100% Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese for Minsky’s.
Refrigerated trucks deliver the 100% Wisconsin Mozzarella from Milwaukee to Kansas City, where it is divided between the 18 area Minsky’s locations. The blocks of cheese are then shredded in-house, keeping it fresh and flavorful until it is piled high on your favorite Minsky’s Gourmet pizza and served up piping hot at your favorite Minsky’s location – or delivered directly to your front door.
High-Quality Ingredients = World Class Pizza
The Minsky’s Pizza team works hard behind the scenes to bring together the highest quality ingredients to create Gourmet pizzas that truly are special. And maybe now it’s less of a wonder why Minsky’s Pizza has been named the Best Pizza in Kansas City year, after year, after year!
The next time you’re about to settle in and enjoy one of Minsky’s Gourmet pizzas, maybe remember the wonderful dairy in Wisconsin that helps make it all possible by contributing the best quality milk that becomes Minsky’s 100% Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese toppings!
Hungry? Stop by your nearest Minsky’s and pick up your own world-class Gourmet pizza today!