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

(2020/C 309/10)

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

‘RUDARSKA GREBLICA’

EU No: PGI-HR-02383 – 3.1.2018

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

1. Name(s)

‘Rudarska greblica’

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, biscuits and other baker’s wares

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

‘Rudarska greblica’ is a product made with baked, thin hand-rolled dough and a filling of fresh cow’s milk cheese. Ground walnuts, spinach, Swiss chard, nettles, leeks, mint, and grated yellow carrots may be added to the cheese.

Once baked, ‘Rudarska greblica’ is cut into rectangular slices of not more than 2.5 cm in height. ‘Rudarska greblica’ has a soft exterior, succulent and creamy interior and a melt-in-the-mouth feel. Colour: The outside of the crust is dark yellow to golden in colour. Taste: The product leaves a salty taste on the palate and exudes an aroma of cow’s milk cheese.

‘Rudarska greblica’ may be eaten just a few minutes after baking.

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

‘Rudarska greblica’ is made from the following ingredients: fine wheat flour, sunflower oil, pork fat, eggs, butter, fresh milk, water, salt, sour cream, fresh yeast, sugar, fresh cow’s milk cheese, ground walnuts, spinach, Swiss chard, nettles, leeks, mint and grated yellow carrots.

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

All steps in the production of ‘Rudarska greblica’, including preparation, shaping and making of the dough, preparation of the filling, and baking of the product, must take place wholly within the geographical area referred to under point 4, except if the product is placed on the market frozen, in which case it may be baked outside the defined geographical area.

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

‘Rudarska greblica’ is characteristically rectangular. This shape is obtained by cutting the baked finished product into slices of not more than 2,5 cm in height. Once baked, it is placed on the market as a finished product. It can also be kept in a frozen state as a ready-to-bake product.

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

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4. Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area of ‘Rudarska greblica’ comprises the town of Rude and surrounding villages: Cerje Samoborsko, Braslovje, Kotari, Manja Vas, Bukovje Podvrško and Prekrižje Plješivičko.

5. Link with the geographical area

Protection for the product ‘Rudarska greblica’ is based on its reputation and tradition of production and the skill involved in its preparation.

The production area of ‘Rudarska greblica’ is located in a valley in the Samobor hills, famous for its large number of formerly copper-rich mines which were in operation as early as the 13th century.

According to the oral tradition of the inhabitants of the area, ‘Rudarska greblica’ was already being made by miners’ wives in the first half of the 16th century. As the majority of mining families were poor at the time, ‘Rudarska greblica’ constituted the miner’s humble ration, oftentimes even their main meal. Widespread poverty led the miners’ wives to make ‘Rudarska greblica’ using only simple ingredients (flour, milk, eggs and fresh cow’s milk cheese). With their ingenuity and artistry, they managed to create a unique product which, over time, has become associated with mining.

The name ‘Rudarska greblica’ is derived from that of a traditional tool known as a ‘greblica’ [oven-rake], used to stoke the embers in the bread oven of a miner’s house, because the shape of the cake is similar to that of the tool.

Even though, in the making of ‘Rudarska greblica’, people’s special know-how and skills are paramount, compliance with the following traditional rules for making the product is also important:

‘Rudarska greblica’ must be:

— savoury and contain a filling of cow’s milk cheese, to which one of the following ingredients may be added: ground walnuts, spinach, Swiss chard, mint, nettles, leeks or grated yellow carrot,

— the dough used to make ‘Rudarska greblica’ must be hand-rolled and very thin,

— the edges of the dough must be pressed and rolled upwards so that the filling cannot escape while the product is baking,

— the edge of the uncooked dough is worked by hand in such a way that its lower part is made to overlap the upper part, and the edges are folded over the top and manually indented,

— before baking, the upper surface of the dough needs to be pricked a few times, so that it does not swell up and burst,

— once cooked, the upper layer of pastry is smeared with butter or margarine.

Since the 1980s, ‘Rudarska greblica’ has been promoted and exhibited at many national culinary fairs, where it has risen to prominence. At the initiative of the Oštrc folklore ensemble in Rude, an event known as Dani Rudarske greblice [‘Rudarska greblica’ (Miner’s Cake) Days] has taken place in the town since 1985, traditionally on the first weekend in July (Samoborske novine (1985), ‘Dan Rudarske greblice’). In the last few years a competition has been organised to select the best ‘Rudarska greblica’. The competitors are women from Rude who are descended from old mining families. Their handiwork is rated by an expert jury. The youngest visitors can participate in ‘Rudarska greblica’-making workshops.

Today the tradition of making ‘Rudarska greblica’ is carried on by the women of Rude, who prevent its being forgotten by transmitting it to the younger generation, first and foremost to their daughters (Ekološko društvo Samobor [Ecological Society of Samobor] (1992), award to Ana Nikl for ‘Rudarska greblica’). One traditional custom, long practised in the defined area of production referred to under point 4 and still being carried on today is to welcome guests with ‘Rudarska greblica’ on the table.

Thanks to ‘Rudarska greblica’, which has become the ‘brand’ of the town of Rude and its surrounding villages, tourism in the town has grown, leading to the reopening of the restored Sveta Barbara mine, also the site of a museum. This outdoor museum has preserved a glimpse of the beauty of the subterranean world beneath Rude. Information on ‘Rudarska greblica’ is provided in the museum’s tourism material. The museum also provides the opportunity to sample the ‘Rudarska greblica’ cake throughout the year.

Not only have residents of the defined area found a livelihood in ‘Rudarska greblica’; it also forms part of the region’s cultural heritage. Further evidence of this is that ‘Rudarska greblica’ is also the subject of poems by poets from Samobor (Cvetković, K (2004), ‘Ja rudarski trsek’, Matica hrvatska).

Journalist Božica Brkan mentions the skill involved in preparing the product and its link to Rude in an article she wrote for the magazine Iće & piće [Food and Drink], one of Croatia’s pre-eminent culinary magazines, in 2007 (Brkan, B (2007), ‘Greblica – tenka gibanica rudarska’ [‘Greblica’, the miners’ thin cheese pastry’], Iće & Piće).

The specific reputation of the name of the product and its long tradition of production are also attested to by the fact that in 2007, ‘Rudarska greblica’ was inscribed on the List of protected intangible cultural treasures of the Republic of Croatia, managed by the Ministry of Culture (Decision of the Ministry of Culture on intangible cultural treasures, 2007).

The link between ‘Rudarska greblica’ and the town of Rude is also mentioned in the publication Vodič kroz hrvatske gastro ikone [A guidebook through Croatia’s gastro-icons] (2007), in which ‘Rudarska greblica’ is ranked among Croatia’s gastronomic icons.

The specificity of ‘Rudarska greblica’ lies in the skill and know-how involved in making the product, as described in an article of the magazine Dobra hrana [‘Good food’] (Jutarnji list, Dobra hrana, 2012).

The causal link between ‘Rudarska greblica’ and the defined geographical area is based on the product’s reputation and its traditional method of production, in which the human factor – people’s skill and know-how in making the product — are crucial. This knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, resulting in a large proportion of the residents of the town of Rude making the product.

The geographical area of production of ‘Rudarska greblica’ is a renowned hiking tourism destination, replete with many chapels and mountain huts frequented by climbing associations and tourists. For this reason tour guides also make mention of ‘Rudarska greblica’ as an unmissable regional speciality, offered by local hosts in the area and which every tourist and visitor needs to try (AMACIZ newsletter, 2013). Owing to its geographical location, the majority of residents of Rude and the surrounding area are involved in small-scale agricultural production. Consequently the gastronomic offerings of the region’s catering providers (Ice-cream shop (2016), Slatka tvornica Medenko [‘Medenko patisserie and ice-cream shop’], price list) are based primarily on local produce (Randić, M. and Ritting-Beljak, N. (2006), Svijet hrane u Hrvatskoj [‘The world of food in Croatia’]).

The name ‘Rudarska greblica’ is also used in everyday parlance within the geographical area (Obrt Parna pekara (2016), receipt).

Reference to publication of the product specification

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

https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/arhiva/datastore/filestore/83/Izmijenjena-Specifikacija-proizvoda-Rudarska-greblica.pdf

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