Publication of the amended single document following the approval of a minor amendment pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012

(2023/C 23/07)

The European Commission has approved this minor amendment in accordance with the third subparagraph of Article 6(2) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 (1).

The application for approval of this minor amendment can be consulted in the Commission’s eAmbrosia database.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Mantecadas de Astorga’

EU No: PGI-ES-0311-AM01 – 19.2.2021

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

1. Name

‘Mantecadas de Astorga’

2. Member State or Third Country

Spain

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

Class 2.3. Bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker’s wares

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

‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ are a confectionery product made by baking a mixture made from the following basic ingredients: all-purpose wheat flour, hen’s eggs, dairy butter, lard and sugar.

They must have the following morphological, organoleptic and physico-chemical characteristics:

a) Morphological Mantecadas are always made in small, open, square-shaped food-grade kraft paper cases with folded sides. When baked, the mixture rises to form a rounded shape with no hard edges that overflows the top of the case, forming a dripping effect known as the lágrima de la mantecada (mantecada tear). This part of the product may be dark brown but never burnt. The bottom of the case must be lightly browned but not burnt. After baking, each mantecada in its case must weigh between 25 g and 35 g.

b) Organoleptic The top of the product must be firm, golden-brown and rounded, with grains of sugar visible on the surface. It must be possible to remove the case easily from the cake, maybe leaving a few dark-brown crumbs stuck to it, and it must not appear soaked in grease. The interior of the cake must be soft and spongy. The colour of the crumb may vary from light beige to yellow, depending on the colour of the butter and eggs used. The taste is predominantly sweet, with a strong taste and aroma of butter and eggs; the sugar on its surface must be perceptible when it is eaten. The fatty component of the mantecada creates a certain moistness in the mouth, which makes the product seem even fluffier. The inside of the cake is soft and smooth on the palate.

c) Physico-chemical — moisture content: at least 13 % and not more than 19 % — proteins: at least 6 % — fat: at least 20 % and no more than 27 % — carbohydrates (glucose): at least 45 % — ash: no more than 1,70 % — water activity (aw): at least 0,7 and no more than 0,9

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

‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ are made exclusively from the following ingredients in the stated proportions: all-purpose wheat flour with a strength of between 100 and 150 ergs and a P/L ratio of between 0,28 and 0,60 (30 % [± 4 %]), hen’s eggs in shell or pasteurised (23 % [± 3 %]), fat (23 % [± 3 %]) in the form of dairy butter and lard (6 %-7,8 %) and sugar in the form of white sugar (20 % [± 4 %]). Optionally, other minor ingredients may be added, such as honey, glucose syrup, dextrose, invert sugar or other, different types of sugar (no more than 3 % of the total sugar amount); also, butter flavour, humectants, raising agents, emulsifiers and permitted preservatives.

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

All steps in production, namely aerating the fat, beating the eggs and sugar, preparing the mixture, piping, sprinkling of sugar on the surface and baking, take place in the geographical area defined in point 4.

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

The product must be packaged in the same (registered) plant in which it is produced, in wooden crates, tins or cardboard boxes, either prepackaged or bulk packaged in plastic bags. The packaging may be closed in a number of different ways.

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

Any packaging in which the product is dispatched for consumption must bear a numbered certification label that must include the EU’s PGI symbol and the name ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’, together with the PGI’s own logo.

The labels must be affixed at the packaging plant in such a way that they cannot be reused.

The PGI’s own logo is:

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The product to be covered by the protected geographical indication ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ is produced and packaged in the following municipalities in the province of León:

Astorga, Brazuelo, San Justo de la Vega and Valderrey.

5. Link with the geographical area

Protection has been sought for ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ because of their reputation based on a particular production method and the traditional recipe, which are specific to the defined geographical area and are still used today.

To a large extent, human factors, notably the work of the cajilleras (casemakers), contributed to its popularity. These ladies made the cajillas, the paper cases that the mantecadas were typically baked in. In Astorga’s old walled city they are depicted in a mural, which was done in 2016 and is a copy of a photo taken in 1927, and which all visitors stop to photograph. It is evidence of the strong link between mantecadas and the town.

The product’s characteristics are also due to its geographical origin, in terms of specific local knowledge, meaning that the traditional recipe is still used today. The use of butter is the most distinctive aspect of mantecada production and this is what distinguishes mantecadas from other types of Spanish sponge cake (bollos, bizcochos and magdalenas), which are usually made with other fats and/or oils, and gives them their yellow colour and characteristic buttery smell.

What is also important is the recipe, which varies according to whether it is richer in eggs and butter, and each baker’s special knowledge of the perfect composition and method to use, which has been handed down through the generations to this day.

The final unique characteristic is the piping of the mixture into cases and baking at a moderate temperature to ensure that it overflows to form the ‘mantecada tear’.

Recent references attesting to the reputation of ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ include:

On 15 July 2021, the RTVE (Radiotelevisión Española) programme España Directo (34 m, 30 s) included a report on mantecadas, describing them as a sweet that had brought international fame to the Leonese city of Astorga and showing how they are made according to a recipe that is more than 200 years old and is still used today (https://www.rtve.es)/.

The reputation of the mantecadas of León is also highlighted in an article in Condé Nast Traveler entitled ‘Por qué León debería ser Capital Gastronómica 2018’, published on 13 October 2017, arguing in favour of León: ‘because of its botillo del Bierzo, its cecina de León, its lechazo, its ternera del Bierzo, its mantecadas de Astorga, (…)’.

It should be noted that the product is listed in various official catalogues of quality food products, such as the Inventario Español de Productos Tradicionales [Spanish Traditional Product Inventory], published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1996, and the Inventario de Productos Agroalimentarios de Calidad de Castilla y León [Inventory of high-quality agri-food products of Castile and Leon], published by the Government of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León (2001).

In 2006, a postmark to commemorate the second anniversary of the granting of PGI status to ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ was issued by Correos, Spain’s universal postal service provider, carrying its own logo and symbol.

There are also many historical references to ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’:

The first bibliographical reference dates from the 18th century and indicates that one possible source of the recipe for ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ could be Juan de la Mata, ‘confectioner to the Court, hailing from Matalavilla, in the municipality of Sil de Arriba, Montañas and the Kingdom of León and the diocese of Oviedo’, whose book Arte de Repostería [The Art of Confectionery], published in Madrid in 1747 by António Martín, contains the recipe. A more recent edition was published by La Olmeda, Burgos, in 1992.

The records for 1805 held in the archives of the Astorga diocese refer to ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ as a sweet eaten at Christmas, made by the confectioners Máximo Matheo and Francisco Calbo.

There are many references indicating that the recipe originated with a nun from the Sancti Spiritus Convent in Astorga, who later left the convent and popularised the product. According to some versions, she might have been María Josefa Gonzáles Prieto, who married Tomás Rubio on 9 November 1851.

The Diccionario Doméstico. Tesoro de las familias o Repertorio Universal de Conocimientos útiles [Domestic Dictionary, Family Thesaurus and Compendium of Useful Knowledge] by Don Balbino Cortés y Morales (1876) includes a recipe for ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’, referring to them as a famous sweet.

The 1891 Bailly-Bailliere Almanac, which refers to the city of Astorga on page 1495, talks of 12 mantecada factories there.

The 1901 Riera Almanac refers to 11 mantecada factories in Astorga on page 1167.

The new 1916 Bailly-Bailliere Almanac refers on page 3179 to nine mantecada producers in Astorga and even includes advertisements for two of them. Of Astorga it says that the city ‘is renowned for making chocolates and mantecadas’.

According to the city’s Chamber of Commerce, the quantity of ‘Mantecadas de Astorga’ carried by the Spanish railways in 1930 (the Spanish Northern and Western railway company) was 188 710 kg.

Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920), in one of his most representative novels, Fortunata y Jacinta (1886-87), mentions Mantecadas de Astorga and La Maragatería:

‘(…) From outside Jacinta could see barrels of olives in pyramids one story high, altars made of marzipan boxes, trophies of raisins and triumphant arches decked with clusters of dates. (…) Further away were mantecadas from Astorga blessed by his Holiness Pius IX. (…)’

‘(…) Don Pedro Manuel de Jáuregui (…). A native of the province of Leon, he received crates of eggs and other poultry products. (…) During the Christmas season, Jáuregui also received shipments of mantecadas from Astorga, and all the sales agents from La Maragatería who were in Madrid would go to his house for orders and payments. (…)’

Reference to publication of the product specification

https://www.itacyl.es/documents/20143/342640/1_%2830-09-20%29+3+-+Pliego+Mant++Modif.pdf/4cf68d91-ad5e-f535-f31f-1a901b22ee85?t=1603287920636

(1) OJ L 179, 19.6.2014, p. 17.