Croatian Protected Agricultural and Food Products (C)

PAG CHEESE
PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN

Pag cheese ("Paški sir") is a hard sheep cheese characterized by a pleasant sharp taste and a compact closed texture. It can be recognized by its regular low cylindrical shape, flat to slightly convex upper surface and relatively small dimensions (weight up to 3.5 kg).

Pag cheese is produced from whole sheep's milk of the native Pag breed of sheep, on the island of Pag and two islands of the Pag archipelago: Maun and Skrda.

Pag cheese matures for at least 60 days. Young Pag cheese that matures 2 months is somewhat elastic and easily cut. When cut, the surface of its cross-section may or may not have a small number of sparsely distributed small holes. Its taste is slightly sweet, moderately salty and pleasantly sharp, with a typical note of sheep cheese. It has a pronounced permanent aroma, characteristic of the production area and is reminiscent of Mediterranean aromatic and spicy herbs.

During ripening, Pag cheese gradually becomes sharper and the intensity of taste, aroma, scent and color increases, while the cheese dough gains in firmness. Fully mature Pag cheese that has matured 6 months and more has a fine granular structure, and breaks apart unevenly when cut. Its taste is sharp, harmoniously full, it melts in the mouth, and fine "crystals" can be felt under the tongue.

The unfavorable geomorphological and pedological characteristics of the island of Pag and specific climatic conditions were the reason behind the development of sheep breeding as the dominant agricultural branch of the islanders, and in the last hundred years the significant cheese production that has become part of local tradition. The Pag sheep breed is unsurpassed in its use of sparse vegetation of rocky pastures and is fully adapted to semi-extensive farming, in which milk production is largely determined by environmental factors.

The presence of a large number of aromatic and medicinal plants on the pastures of Pag, often covered with a layer of salt left after frequent strong bora winds, affects the composition of the sheep's diet and the special composition of their milk in terms of fat, protein, sugar and minerals. This milk is rich in compounds that contribute to the specific aroma of Pag cheese of Mediterranean aromatic herbs and its intense taste and sharpness.

Given the relatively low weight of ‘Paški sir’, outside weather conditions have a large impact on the maturation process. In the past, it was not possible to control the conditions in the curing house and undesirable microflora would develop on the rind because of high humidity As a result, cheesemakers occasionally washed the cheese manually and coated it with olive oil or some other vegetable oil. This process is still carried out to this day and substantially influences the characteristics of the cheese’s rind, which is hard, smooth and golden yellow to pale reddish-brown in color in mature cheeses. Oiling the cheese after washing, which the cheesemaker carries out at least four to six times during the maturation stage, also has a positive effect on the proper course of the enzymatic processes inside the cheese, as it reduces drying and prevents the proteolytic action of surface flora.

The name "Paški sir" was registered at the level of the European Union on 25 November 2019 as a protected designation of origin, which protects it from any form of misuse throughout the European Union. Only those products that have been produced according to the Product Specification for the Protected Designation of Origin "Paški sir" and for which the producers hold a valid Certificate of Conformity of their product with the Product Specification issued by an authorized delegated body may be placed on the market under the name "Paški sir".

SLAVONIAN HONEY
PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN

Slavonian honey ("Slavonski med") is honey produced by native grey honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica, Pannonian subtype) from the nectar of melliferous plants or the secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on the living parts of plants. The bees collect the nectar, transform it by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature.

According to its mode of production, Slavonian honey is comb honey, chunk honey or cut comb in honey and extracted honey, and can be black locust honey, linden honey; rapeseed honey; sunflower honey: chestnut honey; blossom honey or Hungarian Oak honeydew honey.

Slavonian honey is characterized by its freshness in terms of its quantity of hydroxymethylfurfurals (HMF) and its water content. The pollen spectrum, i.e. the presence in the secondary pollen of plant species from the families Brassicaceae, Robinia spp. and Rosaceae in most monofloral and polyfloral honeys distinguishes Slavonian honey from honey produced in other areas. Slavonian honey is not subjected to intensive heat treatment (pasteurization) but can be decrystallized at a maximum temperature of 43 °C, which ensures that its properties derived from the collected nectar of the specific flora (bee habitats) remain unaltered.

Because of favorable climatic and soil conditions and the abundance of melliferous plant species in Slavonia’s pastures, meadows, fields and extensive forests, and the alluvial bogs and marshlands along the Sava, Drava and Danube rivers, native grey bees have been able to find abundant nectar and pollen pasture for thousands of years. Only in the Slavonian region do oilseeds provide honey pastures, for rapeseed honey and sunflower honey.

Slavonian honey is extracted from the frame without heating, by centrifugation, to preserve its specific properties. The impacts and interaction of the local population, bees and landscape have created a unique agroecological area that allows Slavonian honey to stand out as pure varietal honey that has been recognized and appreciated for decades, both in Croatia and Europe.

In addition to the special quality of Slavonian honey, the production of this product has a long tradition and reputation – the beekeepers in Slavonia continue a 130-year-old tradition of honey production. Many years of keeping bees in Slavonia have also led to the development and transfer of beekeeping know-how in the form of people's practices, skills, capabilities and knowledge.

The production area covers the entire Slavonia region located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Croatia, bordered by three rivers, the Drava to the north (border with Hungary), the Sava to the south (border with Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the Danube to the east (border with Serbia) and part of the Hungarian-Croatian border between the rivers Drava and Danube. The western part of the Slavonian border extends to the area of the western administrative border of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County and the municipalities of Lipovljani and Jasenovac and the town of Novska. All stages of the production of Slavonian honey must be carried out in the specified geographical area.

The name "Slavonski med" was registered at the level of the European Union on 9 January 2018 as a protected designation of origin, which protects it from any form of misuse throughout the European Union. Only those products that have been produced according to the Product Specification for the Protected Designation of Origin "Slavonski med" and for which the producers hold a valid Certificate of Conformity of their product with the Product Specification issued by an authorized delegated body may be placed on the market under the name "Slavonski med"

VARAŽDIN KLIPIČ
PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION

The Varaždin klipič ("Varaždinski klipič") is a handmade wheat milk pastry sprinkled with cumin seeds, made from fine wheat flour, milk, sunflower (or vegetable) oil, yeast, sugar and salt, which are used to make a thin dough that is then stretched, cut into strips and rolled in the shape of a stick.

When baked, a Varaždin klipič is a stick that has 4 folds on both sides and is at least 25 cm long. The inside of a baked Varaždin klipič is white in color, interspersed with small, irregular holes formed when the dough rises, while the outer surface of its crust takes on an uneven color ranging from a dark-yellow to golden color, and is coated with egg and sprinkled with cumin seeds. When consumed, the Varaždin klipič has a crunchy mouthfeel, with an initial impression of softness on the palate, before melting in the mouth. It has a milky, slightly sour taste.

The Varaždin klipič is produced in the Varaždin County, and the name itself, as well as the recipe for its production, which is passed down from generation to generation, first appeared in the 18th century. The gastronomy of Varaždin County is heavily influenced by Central European cooking, but by preserving the old folk recipes native to this region, it has managed to retain its autonomy. The Varaždin klipič was first produced by housewives from the Varaždin region, who used wheat and maize flour – the main ingredients in Varaždin cuisine – and their own ingenuity and culinary skills to make the bread sticks by hand, the way it is still made to this day.

Over time, the process for making the Varaždin klipič passed from local housewives to bakers in the Varaždin region, who over many years gained experience and knowledge of how to prepare the Varaždin klipič, which was handed down the generations. That is how the tradition for making the Varaždin klipič was established, a tradition that would go on to include both housewives and bakers.

With the development of the hospitality industry, the Varaždin klipič was promoted as a recognizable product of the Varaždin region and became an unavoidable part of the gastronomic offering of almost every restaurant.

The name "Varaždinski klipič" was registered at the level of the European Union on 6 October 2020 as a protected geographical indication, which protects it from any form of misuse throughout the European Union. Only those products that have been produced according to the Product Specification for the Protected Geographical Indication "Varaždinski klipič" and for which the producers hold a valid Certificate of Conformity of their product with the Product Specification issued by an authorized delegated body may be placed on the market under the name "Varaždinski klipič".

Source: Ministry of Agriculture