OREANDA-NEWS. November 26, 2015. Starting December 2015 on the Costa Diadema, and afterwards on other ships of the fleet, Costa Cruises guests will be able to taste only the best of genuine traditional pizza.

Thanks to a special cooperation-based agreement with the

University of

Gastronomic Sciences, the Italian cruise company will offer pizzas made with 100% natural yeast in its onboard pizzerias, featuring the brand Pummid’Oro.

This exclusive project further enrich the culinary offer onboard Costa ships, which is focused on the promotion of Italy’s finest, joining other tasty innovations already announced, such as regional menus, Italian Gelateria, gourmet burgers with 100% Italian Fassona beef and a new buffet corner dedicated to pasta.

The use of natural yeast guarantees natural leavening of the pizza dough, making the pizzas more flavourful, fragrant and easier to digest. While this preparation, used by tradition in the past and even in ancient times, involves a slower process and requires special care and attention, it also generates excellent results in terms of quality.

Thanks to UNISG’s know-how for simplifying onboard management of natural yeast, Costa acquired a special natural yeast generator from ESMACH, an Italian company in Grisignano (

Vicenza) that exports such technology around the globe.

Another basic ingredient in the dough is flour, which for the pizzas proposed on Costa ships will come from high-quality Italian suppliers, selected together with UNISG. In keeping with Neapolitan tradition, according to which a pizza should be made only with type 00 flour, one type of dough with natural yeast will be made using Molino Casillo type 00 flour (produced in Corato –

Puglia). Guests can also choose a second type of dough, prepared with a special blend of Molino Varvello 1888 flours (produced in Piacenza), that contains whole wheat, kamut and fibre-enriched oat flours and is rich in omega 3 and polyphenols, thereby reducing the impact of glycaemia while providing greater health benefits.

The pizzas of the Pummid’Oro pizzeria will be made with ingredients selected together with the UNISG, such as the San Marzano DOP tomato, extra-virgin olive oil and cow or buffalo milk mozzarella, acquired from Italian suppliers, to guarantee a product of absolute quality, prepared according to Italian recipes.

In addition to “traditional” pizzas, like the Margherita, the Quattro Stagioni, the Napoletana and the Calzone, Costa guests can also try special pizzas, created based on the artistic flair and imagination of Riccardo Bellaera, Costa’s Corporate Bakery & Pastry Chef, and the input of the UNISG team: the Tricolore, with ricotta cheese and Parma D.O.P. prosciutto; the Liguria, with stracchino cheese and pesto; the Sicilia, with olives, capers and anchovies; and the Bufala, with buffalo mozzarella. 

The pizzas can also be combined with Italian beers.