ANNEX

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘CÂRNAŢI DE PLEŞCOI’

EU No: PGI-RO-02174 – 4.7.2016

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s)

‘Cârnaţi de Pleşcoi’

2. Applicant country(ies)

Romania

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.2 Meat products (cooked, salted, smoked, etc.)

3.2. Description of product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ are smoked sausages of sheep meat and beef. The proportion of sheep meat required is a minimum of 55 %, with a 45 % maximum for beef. In autumn and winter, sheep meat may be replaced by goat meat up to a maximum proportion of 10 % without significantly changing the organoleptic qualities.

Two types of ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ are produced and marketed: smoked and raw-dried and smoked.

The red chilli included in the recipe makes both types of ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ spicy. They have a clean, intact and non-sticky surface, and in cross-section they have a homogenous, dense and uniform consistency both at the edges and at the centre.

Physical and chemical characteristics

Smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ have the following characteristics:

— cylindrical in shape;

— long strings of sausage between 15 and 18 cm long;

— weight of 40-50 grams;

— moisture content: maximum 60 %;

— fat content: maximum 35 %;

— protein content: minimum 14 %;

— salt content: maximum 4,5 %;

Raw-dried and smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ have the following characteristics:

— flattened in shape;

— long strings of sausage between 15 and 18 cm long;

— weight of 25-40 grams;

— moisture content: maximum 40 %;

— fat content: maximum 38 %;

— protein content: minimum 14 %;

— salt content: maximum 4,5 %;

Organoleptic characteristics:

Taste and aroma: pleasant, lightly spicy, moderately salty, specific mix of sheep meat and seasoning (garlic, chilli, thyme). Colour: Colour — smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ is light reddish-brown while the raw-dried and smoked sausage is dark brown.

Appearance when cutting: compact and coarse-grained without lumps of fat or holes; pieces of red chilli are visible.

3.3. Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

The raw materials and ingredients used to produce ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ are sheep/goat meat and beef, sheep/goat and beef bones broth, natural sheep intestines and seasoning (garlic, chilli, thyme).

3.4. Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area

All the steps in the ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ production process take place within the defined geographical area. The production process for ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ comprises the following specific steps: preparation of raw materials/ingredients, cutting and boning of selected meat, mincing, mixing, filling sheep intestine casings, drying and smoking.

3.5. Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

—

3.6. Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

The labelling for ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ PGI must always include the following:

— ‘CÂRNAȚI DE PLEȘCOI’, followed by the words ‘Indicație Geografică Protejată’ [Protected Geographical Indication] or the abbreviation ‘IGP’ [PGI];

— product type (smoked or raw-dried and smoked);

— the logo of the inspection and certification body.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises the administrative territories of the municipalities of Berca, Săpoca, Cernătești and Mărăcineni and the city of Buzău.

5. Link with the geographical area

The reputation of ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ can be attributed to the fact that it is a traditional regional product. The local recipe and craftsmanship were handed down from father to son, since making and selling the sausages was the main source of income for the local communities of Pleșcoi.

The tradition of sheep, goat and cattle farming in the Buzău area stems from the region’s topography (comprising mountains, hills and plains) and its location in the curvature of the Carpathians. This combination makes for a series of climatic nuances specific to the mountains, hills and plains, endowing them with pastures and meadows for all categories of herbivores.

‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ are distinguished from other sausages in the same category by their specific taste, which stems from the combination of sheep/goat meat, beef, chilli, salt (curing mix), garlic and thyme. The spicy flavour of ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ is the result of the mix of garlic, red chilli and thyme. It is therefore a unique product whose identity and specificity are recognised throughout Romania.

Bone broth is added to the mixture of meat, seasoning and salt (curing mix), and after the maturation stage the mixture is smoked over hardwood

This product is distinguishable from other sausages thanks to a combination of practices which are characteristic of the recipe and contribute directly to the product’s organoleptic and physico-chemical properties.

In order to obtain smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’, the sausages are smoked for 2-3 hours at a temperature of 50-80 °C (hot smoking), until they turn a light reddish brown.

For smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’, the smoking stage is completed when the strings of sausage rustle when touched, making a sound typical of dry casings.

In order to obtain raw-dried and smoked ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’, the sausages are smoked at a temperature of 25-40 °C (cold smoking), with the first lengthwise pressing taking place after two days. This is followed by another smoking stage which lasts 2-3 days, and then the sausages are pressed again. Applying the local skills handed down over generations, the local sausage makers may continue the smoking process for 1-2 days, until the sausages turn dark brown. Repeatedly pressing the sausages lengthwise using wooden rolling pins, in alternation with smoking in order to eliminate the surplus water, is specific to raw-dried and smoked Cârnați and gives them their characteristic shape and consistency

The recipe for ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ has been kept by the local population of the Pleșcoi-Berca area, where the legend of the outlaws known as ‘hajduks’ was born. The legend holds that, in order to help the needy, the ‘hajduks’ would steal the sheep of rich Wallachians on their way to market in Buzău and then make pastrami and sausages during the night, when the temperature had fallen and the meat could cool more easily. The villagers then took over this method of producing ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ from the ‘hajduks’.

Sausages were produced in every household and stored as a dry, non-perishable food reserve. Since a certain amount of the sausages would be consumed within a matter of days, these were just smoked, while the rest were dried and stored as a food reserve over a longer period of time. A raw-dried product was thus obtained.

The recipe, handed down from generation to generation, and the skills of the residents of the defined geographical area in preparing the product, have cemented the renown of ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ in Romania and abroad.

These sausages were already famous in the 13th and 14th centuries, and especially so after the founding of Wallachia under Basarab I (1324-1352), when they were sold at the ‘Târgul Drăgăicii’ fair — in the area of what is now the city of Buzău.

Thanks to the geographical location of Buzău and the fact that it was a customs post in 1431, the fair also took on a cultural aspect and provided an opportunity for inhabitants of several regions to exchange products, traditions and customs.

In his work ‘The history of journalism in Buzău county’ dedicated to ‘Târgul Drăgăicii’, the publicist and historian Viorel Frâncu writes:

…

‘All kinds of merchants came to the intersection of trading routes linking Dobrogea to Brașov and Transylvania. At first, the residents of Wallachia and Ardeal would exchange cereals and animals, but the fair also had a mystical connotation, linked to the beginning of harvest and marked with various rituals and ceremonies. The fair emerged at a point along the old droving route. Since their very first meeting at Târgul Drăgăicii, people have been learning how to treat themselves to gingerbread, “Cârnați de Pleșcoi” and “Tămâioasă de Pietroasele”.’

…

The tradition has not been lost, and the fair is still organised to this day. ‘Târgul Drăgăicii’ is held for two weeks before the celebration of the birth of Saint John the Baptist (24 June).

In 1890, Buzău was renowned for being a city with more public houses than streets, and in those pubs people would enjoy their ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’, as noted by Constantin Trentea in his manuscript ‘The Tradition of Literacy in Pleșcoi Village — Buzău 1600-1900’ written in Bucharest in 1975. The manuscript describes in detail the celebratory feast laid on by the ‘Idealul’ cultural society on 28 August 1924 in the commune of Pleșcoi, Buzău county. ‘It was a wonderful spread (…) and the famous Pleșcoi sausages were being roasted’.

The ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ recipe takes a place of honour in Radu Anton Roman’s book ‘Romanian dishes, wines and customs’, published by the Paideia publishing house in 2001. Roman was a journalist, a writer and a TV producer especially well known for his cooking programmes.

In Ioan Boldea’s ‘Dictionary of Essential Words’, which brings into focus the key reflections of personalities from the worlds of culture, science and art, Andrei Pleșu states on page 219, point 4803: ‘I read for pleasure, I like ideas and I look for God. But I also take delight in “Cârnați de Pleșcoi”, crude buffoonery, crumbly cheeses, merrymaking, courtesans and sentimental songs’. Andrei Pleșu is a Romanian writer and essayist, an aesthete, art historian and a stylist of the Romanian language.

From 2000 to 2014, a series of local and national mass-media broadcasts was produced which had a particular focus on ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’. Presentations of Romania’s national cuisine always include recipes with ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’, and the regional almanac ‘Renașterea Buzoiană 2006’ dedicated pages and pages to this local product.

Over the years, ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ have become a favourite appetiser for Romanians sitting down to a festive meal marking a special occasion. This fact has in turn spawned a ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ festival that has been held annually since 2008. The festival includes various types of contests: Miss Oița (Miss Little Sheep), the longest ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ sausage, a ‘Cârnați de Pleșcoi’ eating contest, etc.

Reference to publication of the specification

(the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) of this Regulation)

http://www.madr.ro/docs/ind-alimentara/documentatie-2016/caiet-de-sarcini-carnati-plescoi-2016.pdf