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Hungry diners may argue about pizza toppings, but most people agree the cheese on their pizza should look golden, taste great and have just the right amount of elasticity.

Now food scientists have identified the best combination of cheese to ensure an optimal amount of stringiness and flavour.

And they say that a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar makes for the perfect pizza. 

The secret to grate pizza: Food scientists have identified the best combination of cheese to ensure an optimal amount of stringiness and flavour on pizzas. They say that mozzarella can be mixed with other cheeses such as cheddar to make 'gourmet pizzas'

Scientists at the University of Auckland evaluated different cheeses - mozzarella, cheddar, colby, Edam, Emmental, Gruyere, and provolone - to see how well they melted.

They evaluated how the cheeses' composition and texture affected how well it browned and blistered – a desirable quality for pizza toppings.

Elasticity, oil content, moisture, water activity and 'transition temperature' all influence the colour uniformity of cheeses, they explained in the study, which was published in the Journal of Food Science.

The scientists found that blisters – the dark spots seen on cheese – didn't form using cheddar, colby, and Edam cheeses because of their small elasticity.

Scientists at the University of Auckland evaluated different cheeses - mozzarella (pictured left), cheddar (right), colby, Edam, Emmental, Gruyere, and provolone - to see how well they melted

A sufficient amount of 'free oil' prevents moisture evaporation, so Gruyere and provolone did not brown easily, while Emmental would not go golden at all.

'These cheeses can be combined with the easily blistering mozzarella to create a gourmet pizza with a less burnt appearance,' they said.

This is the first study to look at the composition of the ideal pizza, without relying on humans' taste buds, the researchers said.

They have developed a computer vision technique to help manufacturers make better pizzas.

Last year, a mathematician devised a formula for the 'perfectly proportioned' pizza, taking into account factors like the ratio of topping to base.

She said that pizza lovers get more topping per bite in a smaller pizza, but a more even spread of bites in a larger pizza.

Size matters: A mathematician believes that a larger pizza must have a larger base to compensate for most spread-out toppings, while a smaller pizza needs a thicker base