Rising Cheese Prices Bump Cost of Pizzas

The Associated Press reports that block cheddar cheese - the benchmark for mozzarella and other cheeses -- reached $2.08 a pound recently on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 78 percent from $1.17 a pound a year ago. Industry observers attribute the price surge to strong demand and higher production prices -- from the cost of milk to the cost for dairy farmers to feed their herds. Some big pizza chains, which use mountains of cheese, already have responded. Both Pizza Hut and Papa John's International Inc. have raised the price of their cheese-only pizzas to the same amount as one-topping pizzas at company-owned stores. The higher cheese prices have exacerbated pressure companies already face from higher wages and fuel costs, said Chris Sternberg, spokesman for Louisville-based Papa John's. Papa John's uses about 100 million pounds of cheese each year, and the cheese typically makes up 35 percent to 40 percent of the food cost in making a pizza, he said.

IN THE NEWS: The Tribune's sltrib.com Mary Brown Malouf gives one star to Five Alls (1458 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City), while Best Bites stops at Caffe Niche (779 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City). ... Deseret News' desertetnews.com Stacey Kratz gives three and a half stars to the pizza at Settebello (260 S. 200 West) and three stars to the gelato at Dolcetti (1751 S. 1100 East).

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com