“What is a calzone and what in the heck is a stromboli?”

Even the pronunciation is sometimes questioned: Is it “cal-zone” or “cal-zon-ie?” What makes a calzone different from a stromboli? And what makes them so similar that, at times, it’s difficult to differentiate?

Some say it’s all about the tomato sauce. Is the sauce on the inside, outside or on the side? Others say the difference is all about what goes inside.  Many chefs will tell you their preference, but there doesn’t seem to be one known standard.

A calzone is sometimes referred to as an inside-out pizza, and a stromboli as an inside-out sandwich.

The calzone vs. stromboli debate could go on forever, so allow us to offer a little clarity. 

Calzones are similar to strombolis, but they’re two different dishes. The ingredients are actually at the discretion of the chef. Stromboli’s are rolled pizza dough with the ingredients inside.

The confusion begins with the way strombolis are sometimes prepared, which can be like a calzone, where the only difference is that the calzone has sauce on the side, and strombolis have it inside the crust. However, strombolis can also be served with no sauce on the inside, but with the sauce on the side—adding to the confusion.

Now that you’re completely bewildered, remember that a calzone is shaped in the form of a half moon and is a type of turnover filled with ricotta cheese. A Stromboli is made with rectangular-shaped pizza dough that can be topped with any pizza toppings, and is then rolled into a log and baked.

Hopefully this puts your calzone vs. stromboli questions to rest, and when you are ready to try one of these tasty Italian temptations come visit us at Ducatis Pizzeria & Trattoria any day of the week. We are currently open Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm as well as Sunday from 12pm-9pm.