What are the differences between a stromboli and a calzone?

While both are Italian-inspired baked folded or rolled dough dishes filled with cheese and meats, a calzone is an oven-baked folded pizza from Naples that is always shaped like a crescent and typically lacks internal tomato sauce. In contrast, a stromboli is an Italian-American rolled dish shaped into a cylinder or rectangle that may contain a thin layer of tomato sauce on the inside.

What we know

• Calzones are always folded into a crescent shape, whereas strombolis are typically rolled into a cylindrical or rectangular shape. [2, 3]
• Calzones typically do not have tomato sauce inside, while stromboli may sometimes contain a thin layer of tomato sauce on the inside. [2, 3]
• Calzones originated in Naples as an oven-baked folded pizza, whereas stromboli is an Italian-American dish invented in Philadelphia by the mid-20th century. [1, 2, 3]

Where to go next

• compared withWhat is a panzerotti?
• what caused itHow was the stromboli invented in Philadelphia?
• a case in pointWhat ingredients go into a traditional Neapolitan calzone?
• the bigger pictureWhat is a French tacos?
• an unexpected connectionWhat is biryani?

Sources

• [1]calzone (Wikidata Q1815560) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Calzone · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Stromboli (food) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Biryani · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]French tacos · CC BY-SA 4.0