Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2022/C 40/03)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

’Wrångebäcksost’

EU No: PDO-SE-02413 – 14 March 2018

PDO (X) PGI ( )

1. Name(s) [of PDO or PGI]

’Wrångebäcksost’

2. Member State or Third Country

Sweden

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 1.3. Cheeses

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

‘Wrångebäcksost’ is the name of a semi-hard cheese made from thermised organic full-fat cow’s milk.

‘Wrångebäcksost’ exhibits the following characteristics:

Shape: The cheese is cylindrical and has a diameter of 30-45 cm and a height of 10-18 cm.

Weight: 8-13 kg.

Ripening period: Not less than 9 months.

Surface: Rind of mould bacteria.

Colour:

Surface: Orange to rust red, with dark-brown tones. The colour varies with age.

Cut surface: Yellowish. The colour varies according to the season and ripening, from a light yellowish beige to a light yellow with streaks of orange.

Texture: The cut surface is compact with occasional holes.

Consistency: Firm and creamy with crystals.

Aroma: Slightly sour with notes of barnyard and milk.

Taste: Full and complex with a long aftertaste, elements of umami and barnyard, a pronounced saltiness and some sweetness.

Eating experience: Melty.

Moisture content: 34-38 %

Fat content: 34-38 %

Fat in dry matter: 55-60 %

Protein content: 21-24 %

Salt content: 1,7-2,1 %

Volatile carboxylic acids: 14-27 mmol/kg

Free amino acids: 32-46 g/kg

Ratio of oleic acid to palmitic acid: 0,8-0,9

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

The dairy cattle’s feed is key to obtaining the typical characteristics of ‘Wrångebäcksost’. During the summer period, from 15 April to 15 October, the cows live outdoors. During this period the feed consists primarily of grass and herbs from pastures in the Guldkroken region. The pastures consist mainly of cultivated grassland and of some natural pastures.

During the period when too little grass grows on the pastures to provide sufficient feed, the cows are fed a feed mix consisting of silage, straw, cereals (barley (Hordeum vulgare), oats (Avena sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum)), field beans / broad beans (Vicia faba), rapeseed oil cake (made from grains of oilseed rape (Brassica napus)), minerals, salt and lime.

The grassland is sown with a mix of meadow seeds (white clover (Trifolium repens), timothy (Phleum pratense), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis), English ryegrass (Lolium perenne), creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra), common meadow grass (Poa pratensis), chicory (Cichorium intybus), caraway (Cuminum cyminum) and ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), while arable meadows are sown with a seed mix including red clover (Trifolium pratense), white clover (Trifolium repens), lucerne (Medicago sativa), timothy (Phleum pratense), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) and English ryegrass (Lolium perenne).

The grassland is maintained for 6-8 years and the arable meadows for 3-5 years before they are planted again. The long fallow periods make it possible for the seed bank in the soil and the seeds blown in by the wind from surrounding areas to germinate. This means that the species composition of the grassland and meadows changes from year to year. This change is further encouraged by the mosaic of soil types present on the land and their varying capacity to hold water. Consequently the species growing on the grassland, in particular, gradually start to resemble the species found in natural pastures.

At least 85 % of both concentrates and coarse fodder must be produced within the identified geographical area. Imported feed may only be used in the event of extreme weather conditions that may cause a shortage of farm-produced feed.

‘Wrångebäcksost’ is made from fresh unpasteurised organic whole cow’s milk produced in the area referred to in point 4. The milk comes mainly from cows of the SLB and Brown Swiss breeds and their crosses. The cows are milked twice a day. The milk is chilled until it is used at the cheese dairy. Milk used to make ‘Wrångebäcksost’ must not be more than 24 hours old.

The quality of the milk, rather than the cows’ breed, determines the properties of ‘Wrångebäcksost’. The number of spores and bacteria should be below 20 and 50 for enterococci and spores, respectively. The fat and protein contents vary between 3,8 and 4,4 % and 2,9 and 3,3 %, respectively, depending on the season. The levels are the highest in the winter. When making ‘Wrångebäcksost’, the fat-to-protein ratio should be around 1,15-1,30.

The proportion of free fatty acids, such as butyric acid and capric acid, which can make the cheese rancid, must be kept low (3,0-3,5 mmol/10 kg) so that the cheese can be ripened for the long period of time required for ‘Wrångebäcksost’ to acquire its typical characteristics.

When making ‘Wrångebäcksost’, only the addition of bovine rennet and mesophilic starter cultures is permitted. ‘Wrångebäcksost’ does not contain any additives other than cooking salt (NaCl).

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

All the steps, from pasturage and milk production to curdling must be carried out in the identified geographical area referred to in point 4.

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

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

–

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The production area for ‘Wrångebäcksost’ consists of the region along the western shore of Lake Vättern, which is traditionally called ‘Guldkroken’. It comprises the parishes of Grevbäck, Mofalla, urban and rural Hjo, and Norra and Södra Fågelås.

5. Link with the geographical area

The Guldkroken region is an elongated plain situated between Lake Vättern in the east and the Hökensås massif, a spur of the Tiveden range, in the west. The majority of the region consists of open agricultural land.

The location of Guldkroken is comparatively favourable to agriculture. The Hökensås massif provides shelter from westerly winds, while the proximity to Lake Vättern, Europe’s fifth largest lake, has a moderating effect on temperature. This gives Guldkroken a somewhat higher average temperature than in surrounding areas (about 6 °C). Similarly, the number of sunshine hours is higher and the average precipitation slightly lower (about 500 mm, with the maximum in mid- and late summer and the minimum in mid-winter).

The soil consists of a blend of soil types – clay, fine sand, silt, sandy soil, mossy soil and chernozem – that create a variety of farming conditions on the individual grasslands and arable meadows. The run-off from Hökensås, whether it is visible or takes place underground, contributes to this mosaic.

Owing to the favourable natural conditions for both feed and livestock production, feed is today produced extensively in Guldkroken for the organic (KRAV-approved) production of milk, which is the basis for making ‘Wrångebäcksost’.

At the end of the Middle Ages, Guldkroken was home to the production of cheese for the Östergötland monasteries in Alvastra and Vadstena. After the Reformation, dairy production became primarily a domestic activity. Cheese started being produced for sale in the mid-19th century. At the turn of the 20th century there were about 15 dairies in Guldkroken. The cheeses made were often known under the name of the farm where they were produced. ‘Wrångebäcksost’ is one of these cheeses that was originally produced at a dairy farm called Wrångebäck.

The commercial production of ‘Wrångebäcksost’ ceased in the 1960s and resumed in 2008 under the leadership of the cheesemaker who, in the 1960s, was responsible for producing ‘Wrångebäcksost’. Therefore the know-how related to the making and processing of the cheese, acquired by the cheesemaker from his predecessor, and that had been passed on from one dairy producer to the next since 1889, could be transferred to a new generation of dairy producers. ‘Wrångebäcksost’ continues to be produced on a craft basis, in accordance with the original recipe.

The cheese is pressed under whey and ripened at 90-94 % humidity. During the first three months, the cheese is ripened at 14-15 °C on shelves of close-grained fir. For the first three weeks, the cheeses are turned daily. During this time the cheeses are also washed daily with a 5 % salt solution (NaCl) to encourage the growth of micro-organisms on the cheese’s surface and protect it from the undesired growth of mould. The cheese is turned and washed with a salt solution three times a week for the following two months.

The maturation process continues at 10-11 °C and 90-94 % humidity. During this period, the cheese is turned and washed with a salt solution once a week.

‘Wrångebäcksost’ is ripened until it reaches the age of at least nine months. The cheese’s weight decreases by approximately 12-14 % during ripening.

The washing with a salt solution results in the growth of mould bacteria, including Brevibacterium linens ssp., on the cheese. Many of the varieties of these bacteria are site-specific and grow on the surface of the cheese. These micro-organisms are transferred from cheese to cheese by washing older cheeses with a salt solution that is then used to wash younger cheeses. Mould bacteria have a marked effect on the cheese’s aroma and flavour and are very important during the maturation process in order for the cheese to obtain the characteristics of ‘Wrångebäcksost’.

The characteristics of ‘Wrångebäcksost’ also depend on the human capacity to use, harness and manage the natural conditions of Guldkroken in order to produce animal feed and milk. The selection of the seed mixes for the grassland and arable meadows is adapted to the diverse growing conditions in Guldkroken and to the organic certification requirements and the dairy animals’ need for good feed so that they can produce high-quality milk that can be used to make ‘Wrångebäcksost’.

High milk quality, a well-controlled cheese-making process and a well-adapted ripening strategy are prerequisites for the good ripening capacity and very low levels of volatile carboxylic acids that characterise ‘Wrångebäcksost’. It is those same conditions that enable the proteolysis and relatively high arginine deamination that give rise to the intense aroma formation of ‘Wrångebäcksost’.

It is thanks to the provision of suitable high-quality feed to the dairy animals that ‘Wrångebäcksost’ has the ideal ratio of oleic acid to palmitic acid. The relationship between oleic acid and palmitic acid is also the reason for the creaminess that characterises ‘Wrångebäcksost’ and for it being described as ‘melty’ in sensory analyses.

The properties of ‘Wrångebäcksost’ differ markedly from those of the traditional semi-hard European cheeses made from thermised milk. The characteristics are the result of a well-integrated production process, from the production of the feed to the ripe cheese, that is based on a long tradition of artisan activity.

Reference to publication of the specification

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

https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalassets/produktion-handel-kontroll/livsmedelsinformation-markning-halsopastaenden/skyddade-beteckningar/2017-01461-34-ansokan_wrangebacksost_2020_06_14.pdf

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.