Mozzarella or fiordilatte, what's the difference?

The question is of fundamental importance for pizza lovers, dairy enthusiasts, and generally for anyone who appreciates good food: what is the difference between mozzarella and fiordilatte? Is there any variable in the production process, in the sourcing of raw materials, or in the taste between these two dairy products? What is the best mozzarella to use on pizza?

By reading the following lines, you will find an answer to all these questions. Probably, you'll also crave a nice Margherita pizza with stringy mozzarella, and at Fra Diavolo Pizzeria, we are ready to satisfy you: find the nearest location to you on our store locator and taste a delicious contemporary pizza!

What is the difference between mozzarella and fiordilatte?

The main difference between mozzarella and fiordilatte is in the milk, the raw material without which there would be no dairy product.

Fiordilatte is a mozzarella made exclusively from whole cow's milk, while true mozzarella is made only and exclusively from buffalo milk.

In the case of fiordilatte, the milk arrives raw at the plant and is subsequently processed through various steps: no exceptions are allowed in this regard!

Why is mozzarella called that?

The word mozzarella derives from the most symbolic gesture of the production process, the mozzatura, which gives it the various known shapes (spherical, knots, braid). The mozzatura happens when the mozzarella's stretched curd is immersed in the cooling liquid after reaching the stretching temperature, and the cheesemaker tears off a piece of the curd to then shape it as desired.

In the guidelines of mozzarella STG, there is no mention of the type, quality, or origin of the milk to be used for production; consequently, the initial choice to use cow's milk or buffalo milk distinguishes the mozzarellas. In fact, the production processes for buffalo mozzarella, fiordilatte, or a widely consumed industrial product are practically identical. The milk makes the difference, along with the type of starter culture.

Processing of fiordilatte and mozzarella: differences and methods

Mozzarella is a generic product classified in Italy as a “Guaranteed Traditional Specialty” (abbreviated as STG), which regulates the methodologies and practices of production that are practically identical across all different types of mozzarella.

To better understand the differences between mozzarella and fiordilatte, it is certainly useful to look at the initial stage of the production process, when the milk reaches the appropriate temperature and the rennet is added to start the fermentation. At this stage, starter whey for mozzarella, a liquid containing lactic bacteria, is added to aid fermentation and inhibit the development of pathogens. The starter culture lowers the pH of the milk and provides aromatic nuances to the cheese.

A difference between fiordilatte and mozzarella is that in mozzarella, lacto-starter culture is used, which is a product that helps with milk fermentation, derived from fresh milk that is first brought to 65°C and then cooled and stored at 4°C.

In fiordilatte and Campania buffalo mozzarella, however, whey-starter culture is used instead. The latter has a higher overall acidity compared to the lacto-starter, which is due to its origin. Whey-starter culture is a product extracted from the curd of previous cheese-making processes, and this ensures that the lactic bacterial microflora present in the whey-starter is always different, giving different organoleptic nuances from one production to the next.

Types of mozzarella in Italy: how many exist?

In Italy, there are four types of mozzarella recognized and protected by various marks that certify their quality, with guidelines filed with the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the Italian authority responsible for regulating and controlling the national food and wine production sector. Here is the complete list of types of mozzarella recognized by the Ministry, to learn about their flavors and peculiarities.

1. Fiordilatte of the Southern Apennines

Fiordilatte, or Fior di Latte of the Southern Apennines as registered in the guidelines kept by the Official Gazette, is produced in several provinces of Central-Southern Italy: not only in Campania but also in Frosinone, Latina, Campobasso, Bari, Foggia, Taranto, Potenza, and Cosenza. The Fiordilatte of the Southern Apennines is made with cow's milk from cow farms located in the respective areas; the cows must be fed with the typical forage of the area!

In terms of taste, the Fiordilatte of the Southern Apennines must have a characteristic, fresh, delicately acidic milk flavor, and as indicated in the , it should appear:

of a milk-white color with a fibrous structure in thin layers; of soft consistency with slight elasticity more pronounced at origin, releasing a homogeneous milky liquid when cut or lightly pressed.

It must have a fat content on dry matter of no less than 40% and a moisture content between 55% and 65%.

Fiordilatte is good in all the provinces listed in the guidelines, but there is a place where it has a unique and special taste: in Agerola, a municipality in the province of Naples, the place of excellence for the production of this delicious dairy product, located on the Lattari Mountains. A combination of environmental, geological, historical, and zoological factors makes this area a gem of the dairy art: the Agerola cows graze freely in the fields where they feed on local herbs and forage.

In Fra Diavolo Pizzerias, we use only Fiordilatte from Agerola, sourced from the La Montanina company, to top our pizzas. We always choose the best raw materials!

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2. Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP

The Mozzarella di Bufala Campana was the first fresh spun cheese specialty to receive the "Protected Designation of Origin" mark from the European Union back in 1996: this made it mandatory to specify the designation "Mozzarella di Bufala" on any marketed product, and the mark gained particular authority. The guidelines specify that fresh whole buffalo milk from the Italian Mediterranean breed, raised in the designated production areas, spread across specific municipalities of certain provinces in Campania, Lower Lazio, Molise, and the Tavoliere Pugliese, must be used.

The flavor of mozzarella di bufala is delicate and creamy, deriving from the milk used, which must have a minimum fat content of 7.2% and a minimum protein content of 4.2%. The texture of mozzarella di bufala, to be truly of quality, as indicated in the guidelines published in the Official Gazette of February 25, 2008, must be:

white porcelain color, very thin rind of about one millimeter with a smooth surface, never slimy or scaly, with a weight that can range from 10 to 800 grams depending on the shape, and a lamellar structure, slightly elastic in the first eight to ten hours after production and packaging.

3. Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle DOP

Included in the list of DOP products under European protection in December 2020, the Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle (like fiordilatte) is made only from cow's milk from native cattle breeds, in a region with a strong tradition of cheese-making. The guidelines, in this regard, are extremely strict and detailed:

The milk used to produce Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle comes from farms where the lactating cows belong to the Bruna, Frisona, Pezzata Rossa, Jersey breeds, and their crossbreeds.

The flavor of Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle, as described in the guidelines, must be delicately acidic, with a pleasant fermented aftertaste, more intense than that of fresh cheese, with predominant notes of yogurt and butter.

4. Mozzarella STG

The "Guaranteed Traditional Specialty" mozzarella, or mozzarella STG, is the most widely distributed in large-scale retail channels and is a designation created to provide overall guidelines for the production of this dairy product.

As previously described, the STG mozzarella guidelines do not mention the origin of the milk, which may even be imported from other countries: therefore, the production of STG mozzarella has no territorial constraints. However, the production process is schematic and structured, and there are product conformity criteria that must be met, such as the moisture content, which must be between 58% and 66% of the total mass, and the fat content, which must be around 44%.

How many calories does fiordilatte mozzarella have?

In general, the calories of mozzarella come along with a considerable amount of high biological value proteins, including numerous vitamins and minerals. For this reason, it is a food that can be included in diets, even low-calorie ones, especially since compared to other cheeses, such as aged ones, it contains less fat and cholesterol.

100 grams of fiordilatte mozzarella provide 253 calories.

The nutritional values of mozzarella are distributed as follows in terms of macronutrients.