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Q. “We love homemade pizza in our house! What kind of cheese works well, besides mozzarella? Should we be cooking some toppings before adding them like mushrooms?” —Jean, Menasha

A. According to our friends at the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, “perfect” pizza cheese is 45% skim milk mozzarella cheese for browning, 45% whole milk mozzarella cheese for creaminess and 10% cheddar cheese for color and flavor. That said, many of our great Wisconsin cheeses work well, and it really depends upon what kind of pizza you are making. We make a Reuben pizza with corned beef, sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing and Swiss cheese. We also make a breakfast pizza with sausage gravy, ham, bacon, eggs and a blend of pepperjack and cheddar cheeses. Monterey Jack cheese has a creaminess that also makes it an excellent choice for pizza. As for precooking selected toppings, I would recommend it. Mushrooms, for example, are very wet and can add significant moisture to your pizza which may not be desirable. Italian sausage, one of my personal favorites, can be greasy and it would be best to precook it in order to prevent excess pork fat from cooking into your pizza. The same is true for other toppings like bacon and hamburger.