Branded Products

Fresh local vegetables, top-quality oil and vinegar, a pinch of love and –of course– Cervia Sweet Salt. These are the cornerstones of one of our latest partners, with whom we share similar objectives and values: respect for the origin, quality, and safety of ingredients all the way from the field to the fork. There are 26 different products made using Cervia Sweet Salt, which testifies to this local producer’s exceptional attention to detail and quest for quality.

The cardoon of Cervia is a unique product that grows a stone’s throw from the sea in the soil of Pinarella, which is extremely rich in mineral salts. Pinarella is traditionally known for its potatoes, asparagus and cardoons, making the cardoon of Cervia a highly sought-after product. Besides giving it a delicate flavour, Cervia Sweet Salt plays a key role in preserving this product—which is usually best eaten freshly picked—so that it can be enjoyed in the winter months as well. 

When baking, most recipes always call for a pinch of salt to balance and bring out the flavours. More specifically, local whole sea salt is just what you need to make any recipe taste better while respecting local tradition. Tiberio Bellettini, owner of the Lady Mari hotel in Milano Marittima (Cervia) and of the Angolo Goloso bakery, was one of the first to see the potential of using Cervia Sweet Salt for baking. As a result, his bakery has partnered up with the Salina di Cervia brand to make Acervi, pyramid-shaped chocolate biscuits topped with Cervia Sweet Salt. “We wanted to find an alternative to putting chocolates on our guests’ pillows, so we came up with a treat that doesn’t melt in the summer heat and that encapsulates the history and the spirit of the city.” Its pyramid shape is reminiscent of the salt piles, also known as “acervi”, that you may find at the salt pans of Cervia. The coarse sea salt inside accentuates the rich chocolate flavour, making these locally-made biscuits as delicious as they can be. “We decided to call them Acervi in honour of Cervia and its history. Then we had to figure out how to put sugar and salt on top of the pyramid. The end result may vary depending on humidity and temperature, but the taste will be the same.”

Healthy and high-quality raw materials: this is the motto of Global Food, a company specialising in supplying ethnic food from the leading companies around the world, made with fresh and carefully-selected ingredients. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of its founders, the company has now become a point of reference in the catering industry. Global Food supplies a wide range of products, including street food such as kebab and piadina. The company currently boasts 14 products made using Cervia Sweet Salt, which are then supplied to restaurants and retailers.

Nives Malafronte has been making cured meats since 1962. He began his journey as an apprentice in a renowned cured meat factory of Modena, where he met Bruno Galli, a world-renowned butcher who taught him his craft. Now his sons, Mauro and Mattia Malafronte, joined him in the family business, creating high-quality cured meats with no additives to bring back the good old days of homemade cured meats. The products made using Cervia Sweet Salt are 23 and include salami, bacon, sausage, and Mora romagnola salami, just to name but a few. Whole sea salt is a natural preservative and for centuries it has been used to cure meat once stuffed into a natural casing. Of particular interest is the Salami made using the Salinae beer, because, as the saying goes, all good things come in pairs. The partnership with the Malafronte family has considerably strengthened over the years and is now a recognisable part of the legacy of both brands.

The caramel gelato with Cervia Sweet Salt was born from the collaboration with Italgelato, a company specialising in high-quality artisanal gelato, fresh yoghurt and sorbets, made according to a long-standing Italian tradition and sold to both restaurants and retail customers. The caramel and sweet salt gelato is something out of this world.

Made in Cervia according to tradition and only using local, top-quality ingredients, piadina with Sweet Salt is every bit as good as any artisan piadina you may find across Romagna. Packaged to preserve its taste and aroma, this piadina, which even obtained the PGI designation, can now be enjoyed by foodies all over the world. La piadina del Salinaro is available in two versions: with Cervia Sweet Salt and Italian extra virgin olive oil (the perfect choice for vegans or vegetarians), or the traditional one with lard.

L’Artigiano and the Cervia Sweet Salt Chocolate

The Cervia Sweet Salt Chocolate is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Invented by Fabio and Manuele Gardini, founders of the artisan chocolate factory L’Artigiano, this chocolate is made using only locally-sourced ingredients. The factory is located in Forlimpopoli and makes artisan quality products on an industrial scale. L’Artigiano is very popular in Northern Europe, especially Sweden, where sea salt chocolate bars sell very well, along with many other products. “Combining chocolate with Cervia Sweet Salt takes us back to when we ate chocolate with bread: it’s the perfect marriage between innovation and tradition,” explained Fabio and Manuele Gardini. As anyone with a sweet tooth and a love for good food will tell you, bread and chocolate are a winning combination. The sea salt complements the chocolate exceedingly well, giving it a round taste that lingers on the palate. L’Artigiano has won several awards for their chocolates, bars and pastries. However, nothing is more important to them than customer satisfaction. Their chocolate bars (50g or 100g each) come in three delicious flavours – dark chocolate, milk chocolate and gianduja – and are the result of a combination of things: high-quality ingredients, expertise, intuition and history. The history of Cervia Sweet Salt as well as the history of the Gardini family. At the end of the 1950s, Filippo and Mentana Giardini opened a bakery. In 1965, their daughter Maria and her husband Gastone decided to open their own bakery specialising in patisserie and other sweet treats: their Pasticceria Le Perle in Lido di Spina (Emilia-Romagna) has been the destination of choice for any pastry-lover since 1976. As Fabio and Manuele Gardini said: “Growing up, we were surrounded by bread, croissants and custards of all kinds. After we graduated, we decided to follow in the footsteps of our grandparents and parents. So in 1987, we started our adventure into the world of chocolate in a small chocolate factory in Forlì. The name we chose for our business – L’Artigiano – conveys pretty well what we are about. Over the years we have grown as a company and now our artisan products can be found in specialised stores not only in Italy, but also in Europe and in the United States. Our love for our job has never been stronger: we know chocolate like the back of our hands and are always ready to take its flavour to a new level."

Established in Santarcangelo in 1957, Lombardi 1957 is an artisan charcuterie producer and seller. One of Lombardi’s most popular products is guanciale (cured pork cheek) with Cervia Sweet Salt, which enhances its flavour and makes it a true delight for the palate.

Lombardi makes its products using exclusively Italian meat supplied by Fratelli Sassi, one of Emilia-Romagna’s leading pork producers (based in Parma).

In order for the meat to be tender and flavourful, the company takes into account such factors as diet, age and exercise: the animals’ diet is based on cereals (85%), while protein supplements are only added during the fattening stage. The pigs are free to roam around and get some exercise too. Last but not least, they have very strict rules regarding the use of antibiotics and have built up a strong reputation for the quality of their meat. Quality, traceability and transparency are at the heart of what they do. No processing aids or chemicals are used during the production process. By partnering up with the Cervia Salt Pan, they have once again proved that Cervia Sweet Salt is the perfect ingredient to ensure a high-quality flavour.

Cervia Sweet Salt brings out the sweetness of meat (sourced in Italy) without that bitter aftertaste you so often get with other salts. Food quality is at the core of the partnership between the Cervia salt pan Park and Natural Salumi, which in the last few years has been adding Cervia Sweet Salt to six traditional salami. Mauro Malafonte, production manager at Natural Salumi, explains their philosophy: “We wanted to promote our local products, which is why our salami is made following recipes deeply rooted in the local peasant tradition while adhering to strict quality standards. Our products contain no allergens, they are dairy-free and gluten free. Salt is the main ingredient of our salami. Sweet Cervia salt mellows the flavours of cured meats by imparting a sweetness to the meat (sourced in Italy), without the bitter aftertaste that other salts have. We wanted to promote Romagna and having Cervia Sweet Salt in our product range is paramount to us.” So here are the magnificent six. Bombello, Gran Salame con Culatello, with whole Cervia sea salt, has a shape similar to the Culatello ham, it is low-fat, gluten-free and dairy-free. Stuffed into a natural casing and tied by hand, for the most part (50%) it is made of the back muscle of the pig's leg, the so-called “culatello”, one of the most prized in Italy, famous for its delicate flavour. All pigs are born, reared and slaughtered in Italy. Salame Antica Ricetta boasts a long-standing tradition and excellent quality. The traditional recipe calls for high-quality Italian lean pork meat with the addition of diced pork fat. It is seasoned with salt—Cervia Salt, of course!—and pepper, then filled into a natural pork casing (“filzetta”). Salame Antica Ricetta does not contain any preservatives and is aged for at least 30 days, so to get “all the flavour of tradition." The Naturello organic salami is made from Italian pigs that were reared in compliance with organic farming specifications, thus catering to modern consumers who care about food safety and organic products. Naturello is made with care, stuffed into a natural casing and seasoned with the whole Cervia Sweet Salt. It is free from preservatives, gluten or dairy. Renowned for its mild sweet flavour and delicate yet intense aroma, it still retains a traditional feel. Salame Romagnolo is sure to satisfy all palates as it comes both with (green salami twine) and without (white salami twine) pork fat. This typical salami from Romagna, made from pigs born and reared in Italy, following the traditional recipe which calls for lean pork meat with the addition of pork fat (either diced or minced). Seasoned with salt and pepper, then stuffed into a casing and tied by hand, Salame Romagnolo is aged to obtain the “sweet” flavour and delicate aroma that are typical of local salami. Salame di Mora Romagnola is a salami packed full of flavour thanks to the Mora Romagnola, an ancient breed of pig from Emilia-Romagna that is known for its unique, rich flavour. A long aging process gives this salami its unmistakable flavour. Last but not least, we have Salsiccia Passita, the traditional Romagna sausage made from lean pork meat with pork fat, seasoned with Cervia Sweet Salt and pepper, then stuffed into a casing and aged for as long as needed.

Excellent quality and attention to raw materials have always been at the basis of Progetto Carni’s vision. Established in the 1980s, the company rapidly shifted from a traditional model to a modernised system focused on innovation and technology. Progetto Carni is your trusted partner for a variety of occasions: a barbecue with your friends, a family dinner, or a kid’s party with salami sandwiches. These are the small pleasures of everyday life that should be enjoyed with reliable, safe and delicious products. The partnership with Cervia Sweet Salt bears witness to the company’s commitment to quality and service.

The secret ingredient to make the perfect ham, such as Antica Pieve’s Prosciutto Dolce Maggiore, is once again Sweet Salt, which is rich in trace elements and enhances the flavour and texture of the meat. The Cervia Salt Pan has decided to partner up with the Antica Pieve ham factory due to their commitment to the environment and to the both of them being located inside a natural reserve. The ham factory is located in the town of Guiglia (province of Modena), known for its rich culinary tradition. More precisely, the factory is located on the Apennines inside the Sassi di Roccamalatina Regional Park, where the altitude ranges from 174 m (Panaro valley floor) to 808 m (Monte della Riva) above sea level. These environmental conditions and the variation in temperature significantly affect the aging process of ham, giving it its characteristic flavour and aroma. This is where Dolce Maggiore, the raw ham with Cervia Sweet Salt, is made. Rich in trace elements, the Sweet Salt enhances the flavour and texture of the meat. Our experienced pork butchers and the environment will do the rest. Dolce Maggiore has two main strengths: it is made from select ingredients, including Cervia Sweet Salt, and is aged in a natural environment. Dolce Maggiore is made from pigs that were born, reared and slaughtered in Italy, and fed a specific diet, so that they can be salt-cured at a lower temperature. Moreover, their muscles must be even in colour and have a smooth texture without cracks. After the aging process, only 65% (the best of the best) of these legs cured with Cervia Sweet Salt become Prosciutto Dolce Maggiore. Due to the 16-month aging process and the grain size and moisture content of Cervia Salt it took five years of research to achieve the desired outcome. Dolce Maggiore is what happens when the butchering tradition of Modena meets the ancient salt pans of Cervia. This delicious ham with a beautiful pink colour and a sweet aroma has a delicate, yet intense taste that lingers on the palate.

Being rich in trace elements, sweet, and standing at a moisture content of 2%, Cervia Sweet Salt adds mouthfeel, texture and body to this beer. Passion is what sets Salinae apart from the rest. As Christian Donini, founder of Mister Drink, explains, “Salinae is a labour of love by craftsmen who see their work as an opportunity to better themselves. Passion turned an audacious idea into an original product with a unique taste.” The Salinae beer is the union of water, barley and hops, brewing techniques going back over millennia, and the precious Cervia Sweet Salt. The result is a one-of-a-kind beer. “Salinae is a bottle-fermented beer with all the aromas unique to our land. Cervia has become a symbol of the whole region and of the Adriatic Sea, showing us how both sea and salt can have a significant impact on local products." When it comes to Salinae, salt is quite a magic ingredient. Being rich in trace elements, sweet, and standing at a moisture content of 2%, Cervia Sweet Salt adds mouthfeel, texture and body to this beer. “This is why Salinae represents our land and its riches." In addition to Cervia Sweet Salt, this beer is made with Gualdo Tadino water (one of the best natural springs in Italy), organic Italian malt, and carefully selected hops. During the mashing process, these ingredients are blended together to create a light beer, white with fresh green hues, with a slightly salty aftertaste and a delicate touch of acidity. Salinae lends itself as the perfect refreshing beer to accompany fish dishes and medium-aged cured meats. Great label design and attention to detail are what make this beer a high-end product. The label is coarse to the touch, just like Cervia Sweet Salt, yet extremely sophisticated, matching the elegant shape of the bottle, which is similar to a champagne bottle. It is also elegant in flavour, refreshing with a subtly salty aftertaste. Thanks to Cervia Sweet Salt, this beer is incredibly fresh, with a salty, tangy character reminiscent of a sea breeze and a dry, bitter finish. By adding barley flakes and oat flakes Salinae develops a smooth body and creamy mouthfeel, whilst German and American hops lend a light crisp bitterness. 

Once upon a time there was a small shop in the centre of Modena, where grandpa Emilio Palmieri used to make artisan cured meats using fresh local ingredients. It was the year 1919. Three generations later, the same values held by grandpa Emilio of selling only the finest quality meat continue to the present day. Carlo, Emilio’s son, decided to gain experience by working at his uncle’s cured meat factory. In 1961, he finally realised his dream of opening his own business in Northern Modena, making and selling artisan mortadella, salami, ciccioli, pancetta and coppa made from pigs he reared and slaughtered himself. Nowadays his efforts would lead to a sustainable food supply chain, but back then all Carlo wanted was to create a unique product using the highest quality ingredients. It was only in the early 1990s that the factory specialised in the production of mortadella, a cooked cured pork meat from Bologna that Carlo had always been passionate about. After mortadella, they started making two other traditional products from the Emilia-Romagna region: Cotechino and Zampone.
Mortadella Favola stems from Carlo’s desire to offer a unique product and stand out from competitors.

He came up with a simple yet brilliant idea: to apply the know-how acquired from making zampone and cotechino to their mortadella. As a matter of fact, they are made from similar ingredients and undergo the same process, however they differ in taste, texture and colour. The main difference lies in the casing into which they are stuffed and cooked: cotechino is filled into a natural intestine casing, whereas zampone is filled into a natural skin casing. Not only does pig skin make for a very good casing, it also gives   zampone a brighter colour and a more intense aroma, making it leaner and drier as well. Based on this theory, Carlo decided to try making two different types of mortadella, one stuffed into a natural intestine casing as per the original recipe and the other stuffed into a natural skin casing. It was immediately apparent that the latter was shinier, had a richer aroma and a more delicate flavour. Once they tasted it, they all said “This mortadella is a dream come true!”, hence the name “Mortadella Favola” (favola means fairytale, but also a dream come true). Adding Cervia Sweet Salt makes this unique product even more delicious. Last but not least, Palmieri is also making zampone and cotechino with Cervia Sweet Salt.

“Salt is just as important in baking as it is in savoury cooking, and the idea of using such an excellent product as Cervia Sweet Salt was a success in terms of taste."

From cheese to dessert: Cervia Sweet Salt is a perfect match for nougat and chocolate too. Not only does it bring out and brighten the flavour of cheese, stabilising it and helping with the aging process, it also makes sweets sweeter.
Massimo Rivoltini, a nougat maker from Cremona, knows this well. “Since sweet recipes always call for a pinch of salt, we decided to follow this trend and make something similar to salted spreads, which are very popular in Cremona. I can proudly say that using such an excellent product as Cervia Sweet Salt was a success in terms of taste." Rivoltini does not make traditional nougat sticks: Rivoltini’s nougat is softer and is the result of generations of expertise. It was an experiment born out of curiosity, but also the result of the combination of special products, together with traditional recipes. Excellence is at the heart of everything Rivoltini does, which is why he chose the finest ingredients to create this special nougat. “Our Sweet Salt nougat is not a salty nougat as one might think. What we did is we added Cervia Sweet Salt at the very beginning of the nougat-making process. Obviously, the quantities are small, but this incredible ingredient brings something fresh and innovative to the palate nonetheless. If you love the combination of sweet and salty, you will love this nougat.”

Only a selection of high-quality ingredients and a lot of hard work: this is the secret behind La Villa’s Parmigiano Reggiano. Their cows are only fed grass in summer, hay in winter and cereals that are milled at the family mill. The cheese is made with milk from red and brown cows (Rosse and Brune) and Cervia Sweet Salt. Tasty, healthy and authentic. From generation to generation.