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Mozzarella cheese, salt content

9 years ago

For the lasagna I just made, I used Galbani Mozzarella cheese, pictured here, but as you may see, there is no ingredient list, and so I cannot tell from the package how much salt is in it. When I tasted it (while grating it), it tasted very salty to me, and the resulting lasagna dish also tasted saltier than I like, even though I added no salt to the filling, which also included spinach, ricotta, eggs, and Grana Padana. The ricotta is the same brand, but it did have an ingredient list and appears to be low sodium and did not taste salty. I used raw spinach in the filling, and used only 1/8 tsp salt in the pasta that I made for the noodles. The sauce I made was balanced, as far as salt goes, and had leftover meatloaf in it (in place of ground meat), and I had used this sauce with rigatoni, which tasted fine. I thought the spinach in the filling would counterbalance the salt in the Mozzarella, but it did not.

Do you know of a brand of Mozzarella that is low in sodium and has an ingredient list? I do not want to buy pre-shredded cheese, and I also do not want Mozzarella from skim milk, as that does not melt properly.

I also read that Galbani is a combination of Precious and Sargento brands (in the link above). Next time I make lasagna, I guess I will have to make a salt-free pasta sauce, but I normally do not put much salt in that either.

Featured Answer

blubird

9 years ago

Is a fresh mozzarella an option for you? My local Italian markets make both a salted and no-salt fresh mozzarella. I, too, have been finding Galbani and Polly-O on the salty side.

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Comments (7)

Lars
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, I can easily find fresh Mozzarella di Bufala here, as water buffalo are grown in California (especially southern California) for their milk, especially to make cheese. Trader Joe's here has it, as well as pretty much every supermarket. I will have to remember to buy that instead. It does not keep long, but I buy the mozzarella just before I use it anyway, as I know when I am going to be making lasagna.

Thanks for that reminder! I won't be buying Galbani mozzarella again. I used to get fresh mozzarella at a gourmet shop across the street from me in Venice, but since I've moved to Westchester, that store has closed and is no longer across the street anyway.
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plllog
9 years ago
I like Trader Joe's fresh mozzarella. Not as lovely as fresh mozzarella di bufala, but convenient. :)

If you want a drier mozzarella, you can buy the low sodium kind. Or you can make your own. :)
ci_lantro
9 years ago
Galbani Mozarella...190 mg sodium per 1 oz.

https://www.nutritionix.com/i/galbani/mozzarella-cheese/54b52e6d08485b0e4e4649a5
Lars thanked ci_lantro
Barb Conrad
9 years ago
For those of us that have to watch our sodium content, I have to say this is not an easy thing to achieve. Barb
Lars thanked Barb Conrad
Lars
Original Author
9 years ago
I do not want a drier mozzarella for lasagna, and so the mozzarella di bufala and other fresh mozzarellas are fine with me, as I want the extra moisture. For pizza, I do want a drier mozzarella, however, but I have not had a problem with my pizzas being too salty. The other times I use mozzarella are for Eggplant Parmigiano, Caprese salad, or occasionally for Moussaka. I have noticed that EP ends up being saltier than I like, partly because I have to salt the eggplant, but possibly also because of the mozzarella, and I can switch to fresh mozzarella for that.

Fortunately, I do not have to watch my sodium - I just do not like food that tastes too salty. I buy salt about once every one or two years, as I use very little of it.
lindac92
9 years ago
A great deal of the salt you tasted was from the grana padana

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