Do you ever find yourself looking at menu descriptions and thinking "I have no idea what that is but it sounds delicious"? We've all been there! It's easy to become confused, especially when Neapolitan pizza ingredients are often written in Italian.
We hope that this handy glossary will give you a better understanding of the ingredients that we use and why we're proud to use them on our pizzas.
Neapolitan Pizza
A Neapolitan pizza is traditionally a thin to medium crust pizza that is made from hand-stretched dough and topped with a simple combination of uncooked pureed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil leaves. This style of pizza originated in the southern city of Naples in Italy.
Fior Di Latte
In English, this literally means "Flower of the milk". Fior di latte is a fresh mozzarella cheese that is made from cow's milk. It is generally stored in salt water in order to preserve it and keep the cheese fresh. This popular type of cheese has a creamy flavour and soft texture. It's a very moist cheese which means that it has excellent melting properties - this is why most of our Neapolitan-style pizzas are topped with fior di latte.
Buffalo Mozzarella
Buffalo mozzarella or mozzarella di bufala is a type of mozzarella cheese that's produced from the milk of the water buffalo. This cheese is famous for its creaminess and subtle flavour.
San Marzano Tomatoes
These are no ordinary tomatoes! San Marzano tomatoes are plum tomatoes that are grown in the volcanic soil of San Marzano in Italy. Tomatoes from this region are said to be sweet and low in acidity.
Piccante
This is the Italian word for spicy or hot! If you’ve tried our Dolce & Piccante then you’ll definitely know this already.
Knead
In pizza making, kneading is the process of turning and working the pizza dough to develop elasticity. This can be done by hand or in a low-speed mixer. After the kneading is done, the dough is stretched by hand, topped and put in the oven to cook.
Margherita
Everyone has to try the classic Margherita at least once in their life! This traditional Neapolitan pizza consists of pureed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. It's named after Italy's Queen Margherita, who visited Naples in 1889. Local baker Rafaelle Esposito created this pizza in her honour, which is why the ingredients represent the colours of the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil).
Marinara
Another classic Neapolitan pizza, but this time without cheese! This one's topped with pureed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and oregano. This is a perfect Neapolitan pizza to start with if you don't eat meat or dairy as it's vegan!
Pizza Divaola
It's getting hot in here - this fiery Neapolitan pizza is about as hot as they come! Diavola translates as "the devil" in Italian, which is appropriate as this pizza is perfect if you have a good tolerance for heat. A Diavola is typically topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, hot salami or nduja and chillies.
Nduja
Nduja is a staple when it comes to Italian cooking. This spicy paste is prepared from cured pork and peppers. It’s traditionally made in the Italian region of Calabria in southern Italy.
Char
This refers to the blacked spots that you'll see dotted around your Neapolitan pizza crust. These charred spots occur when pizza is cooked in a high-temperature oven.
Now, when you’re eagerly browsing through the Fuoco’s menu, we hope that you’ll feel confident when choosing the pizza that’s right for you! And if you’re ever in doubt, just come back here!
Want to know more about our ingredients? Check out Mozzarella vs Burrata to learn more about the cheeses that we use at Fuoco's.
