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 286/14)

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

’Lumblija'

EU No: PGI-HR-02809 – 28.10.2020

PDO ( ) PGI (X)

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

’Lumblija’

2. Member State or Third Country

Croatia

3. Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1. Type of product

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

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

‘Lumblija’ is a round-shaped sweet bread made by baking leavened dough. On the outside, it is a dark-brown colour, coated with varenik [a syrup made from grape must] or brandy and sprinkled with sugar. It has an aromatic smell of the spices added – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander and anise. It has a characteristic and full nutty-fruity taste which derives from the raw materials used to prepare it – almonds, walnuts, raisins, varenik and citrus fruits – and an aroma of the spices added, and is harmonious.

The texture on the inside is compact but soft, with small pieces of raisins, almonds and walnuts visible in the cross-section, while the outer texture has a firm consistency.

One ‘Lumblija’ weighs 350–600 g.

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

The following raw materials are used to make ‘Lumblija’: smooth wheat flour, sugar, olive oil, lard or butter, varenik, almonds, walnuts, raisins, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, anise, lemon and orange peel, vanilla sugar, brandy (rose or herb flavoured (travarica)), baker’s yeast (fresh or dry), milk, water and salt to make the dough. Ground carob may be added when making the dough.

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

The preparation of the dough and the baking of ‘Lumblija’ are production stages that must take place in the geographical area defined in point 4.

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

‘Lumblija’ is sold whole, unsliced.

Packaging must take place in the geographical area defined in point 4 in order to preserve the specific organoleptic characteristics and quality of the product, which might be damaged during transport. To preserve its freshness and prepare it for further transport, ‘Lumblija’ is placed in paper or plastic packaging (cellophane). To protect against mechanical damage, it may be placed in suitable boxes.

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

When the product is placed on the market, the product name ‘Lumblija’ must stand out more clearly than any other inscription in terms of font size and type.

4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The area of production of ‘Lumblija’, from the preparation of the dough to baking, covers the entire island of Korčula, which includes the cadastral municipalities of Vela Luka, Blato, Smokvica, Čara, Račišće, Pupnat, Žrnovo, Korčula and Lumbarda.

5. Link with the geographical area

The causal link between ‘Lumblija’ and the defined geographical area is based on the reputation of the product and the preparation method, which uses a traditional recipe preserved to this day.

Thanks to its unusually large fertile land area by Dalmatian standards, agriculture became the mainstay of the economy and the main source of wealth in the commune of Korčula in the Middle Ages. In addition to the growing of vines and olives to produce grapes, varenik and olive oil, the local inhabitants also engaged in fruit growing (figs, almonds, walnuts and citrus fruits) and the production of grain to make flour, all of which were original ingredients of ‘Lumblija’, the sweet bread prepared on the island of Korčula. An important ingredient in the production of ‘Lumblija’ that is based on an ancient tradition of vine growing is varenik – a reduced grape juice which, before the advent of industrial white sugar, was an important sweetener and was used in the production of ‘Lumblija’. Until the advent of industrial raisin production (drying machines), raisins produced in households that had several vines of seedless grape varieties in their vineyards were also used to make ‘Lumblija’.

The traditional sweet bread ‘Lumblija’ is prepared on the eve of All Saints’ Day, exclusively on the island of Korčula, especially around the towns of Vela Luka, Blato and Smokvica, but more recently in other parts of the island as well. This holiday was first celebrated in the 4th century, at the time of the Roman Empire. One of the ways of marking All Saints’ Day has been preserved on the island of Korčula: the custom of exchanging gifts known as kol(e)inde. In olden days, housewives would prepare a special gift consisting of the sweet bread ‘Lumblija’ and autumn fruits and nuts such as dried figs, almonds, citrus fruits and grapes, which children would offer to their godparents and members of their extended family. Blato on the island of Korčula has had an All Saints parish church since the 14th century, so the centuries-old tradition and custom of preparing ‘Lumblija’ for All Saints’ Day have been preserved to this day. The traditional production method and recipe for ‘Lumblija’ also survive to this day.

From time immemorial, ‘Lumblija’ had been baked according to a traditional recipe by housewives from the island of Korčula. The recipe alone was not sufficient, however; also important were skill and experience in preparing the sweet bread and knowing how to determine and achieve the ideal ratio of necessary ingredients. Similarly, at a time when fires were stoked in ovens, it was essential to know how to achieve the right temperature for baking. Skill and experience were required to mix the dough by hand and to estimate the time needed for the dough to rise and the baking time. The art to making ‘Lumblija’ is to bake it until it is well done, but juicy and not dry. The traditional recipe used by the women of the island of Korčula to prepare ‘Lumblija’ has been passed down the generations and preserved to this day, with two well-established methods for preparing ‘Lumblija’, depending on the part of the island.

‘Lumblija’ is produced in the traditional way, according to a traditional recipe handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth on the island of Korčula.

There are two established, traditional ways to prepare and bake ‘Lumblija’. The first is to prepare the dough with the ingredients using 1 kg of flour, the second to prepare the dough using 3 kg of flour. Similarly, when mixing and shaping the dough under traditional method 1 (using 1 kg of flour), the entire amount of the yeast is added to the dough immediately as an ingredient, and the dough is left to double in size, whereas under traditional method 2 (using 3 kg of flour), one part of the yeast is added at a later stage, after the dough has doubled in size for the first time with the other part of the yeast. Moreover, traditional method 1 does not use ground carob as an ingredient, whereas carob is added as one of the ingredients according to traditional method 2. Finally, anise grains are added directly to the dough as an ingredient under traditional method 1, whereas anise grains are dissolved in lukewarm water under traditional method 2.

‘Lumblija’ is a unique product not only in terms of the large number of ingredients needed to make it, but also the extensive method of pre-preparation of many of the ingredients added to the dough, and the preparation of the dough itself. That is what sets the preparation of ‘Lumblija’ apart from the usual stages of preparation of similar products. The variety, fullness and richness of the ingredients and the weight of all those ingredients throughout the preparation process (e.g. the raisins soaked in varenik, the defined amount of fat, especially olive oil, the defined quantity of nuts, the defined amount of sugar, and the varenik itself, which has a distinct structure and density) make it hard for the dough to rise quickly and easily. Due to the weight of the added ingredients, the rising of the dough occurs several times and lasts much longer than for similar products (it is recommended that the dough be left to rise from the evening to the morning). As a result, ‘Lumblija’ takes a particularly long time to make, but that is what gives the finished product its distinctive characteristics: its compact but soft texture greatly enriched in the cross-section with nuts and raisins, a characteristic nutty-fruity taste, and a rich and full aroma obtained by carefully combining the added spices in the correct proportions. ‘Lumblija’ is a product of the economic wealth and variety of quality raw materials of the island of Korčula, and is distinctive in terms of the recipe and numerous ingredients from which it is prepared. It is those same ingredients that give ‘Lumblija’ its distinctively aromatic, nutty-fruity taste and smell, and the skill involved in preparing the product that accounts for its specific compact texture on the inside.

Many islanders have published different variations of the traditional recipe and production method for ‘Lumblija’ in culinary books (F. Mandić, Luškajića i pića, 2009, pp. 244-245; Kaštropil-Culić, 1995, Blatska trpeza, p. 134). The inextricable link between the preparation of ‘Lumblija’ and the traditions of the island of Korčula is also demonstrated by the 2012 publication Zapisi Danijela Kneževića and a 2016 book by Frank Mirošević entitled Povjerenje ili zaborav, in which the author describes how difficult it is to prepare ‘Lumblija’ (F. Mirošević Dubaj, 2016, Povjerenje ili zaborav, p. 11).

The first written evidence of the name ‘Lumblija’ appeared in the publication Slovinac in 1881, where in an article entitled Nekoliko riječi u čakavštini, the author S. Castrapelli describes ‘Lumblija’ as ‘a sweet bread made from flour, varenik, saffron and cinnamon, which is baked around All Saints’ Day’ (S. Castrapelli, 9 Slovinac No 20, 1881, Nekoliko riječi u čakavštini, pp. 418–419).

The course of history has provided an additional reason for preserving the tradition of preparing ‘Lumblija’. The numerous emigrants who were forced to leave the island could use it for food on their long journeys by ship, making ‘Lumblija’ not just an everyday snack, but also a link to their homeland, preserving its fresh taste and smell long after it was removed from the ovens of the islands’ housewives. The project ‘4 islands/4 places/4 recipes’ was designed in connection with the wave of emigration in the early 20th century. It connects and presents four traditional dishes from four places that experienced large-scale emigration during that period. Korčula participated in the project with ‘Lumblija’, as reported on by HRT (Croatian Radio-Television) in the magazine programme Priče iz Hrvatske in October 2018.

Several events are held on the island of Korčula that clearly indicate the reputation ‘Lumblija’ enjoys, as well as nurturing the tradition and custom of preparing the traditional sweet bread, starting with the very first Kućna zabava [house party] of the Kumpanija Society of Knights in Blato. The statutes of the Kumpanija Society of Knights, which was founded in 1927, refer to its ‘mission to nurture and produce Lumblija’. The Society regularly organises ‘house parties’, which are evening events showcasing Blato’s food (known locally as spiza) and desserts, which guests help organise by bringing typical dishes from Blato. These events are traditionally held on the first Friday in February, and records of those events regularly mention ‘Lumblija’ as a dish that is brought along (Archive of the Kumpanjija Society of Knights, 1956, 1972, 1974, 1985).Not only does the tradition of making ‘Lumblija’ survive to this day among the island’s households, but ‘Lumblija’-baking competitions are even held on Korčula, especially in the west of the island, as are tasting events and introductions to the area’s traditional gastronomy, while workshops on how to make ‘Lumblija’ are held in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and homes for pensioners and adults, as are workshops for members of the island’s various associations. A ‘Lumblija’-blessing and tasting event dates back 25 years and is held on the last Sunday in October, when ‘Lumblija’ prepared by the students of Blato secondary school under the guidance of their teachers and parents is blessed and tasted on the Plokata square in Blato.

Various events held outside the island of Korčula demonstrate the reputation of ‘Lumblija’. For example, ‘Lumblija’ was presented to numerous Croatian and foreign visitors at the Good Food Festival organised by the City of Dubrovnik Tourist Board in 2016.

Also in 2016, at the Noćnjak, an international event held in Bol on the island of Brač that brings together olive and oil producers, ‘Lumblija’ won the award for best food product.

‘Lumblija’ is also frequently presented to Croatian and foreign media representatives at various events and special presentations, gastronomic fairs and media conferences.

‘Lumblija’ and its specific production method are frequently the topic of various websites devoted to gastronomy, emphasising the inextricable link with the island of Korčula (Vilicom kroz Hrvatsku, ‘Lumblija: Imamo recept za mirisan kolač s otoka Korčule koji se sprema za blagdan Svih Svetih’, 29.10.2021; Dobra hrana, ‘Korčulanska lumblija recept star 200 godina: Kolač vezan uz ljubavnu priču Korčulanke i francuskog vojnika!’, 20.10.2018).

This island delicacy is offered to guests at various public events throughout the year or given as a present as a typical gastronomic treat from the island of Korčula.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/hrana/proizvodi_u_postupku_zastite-zoi-zozp-zts/Lumblija_specifikacija_proizvoda10032022.pdf

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