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

(2020/C 115/05)

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.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘BERTHOUD’

EU No: TSG-FR-02466 – 15.11.2019

‘France’

1. Name(s) to be registered

‘Berthoud’

2. Type of product

Class 2.21. prepared meals

3. Grounds for registration

3.1. The product

☐ results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff;

☒ is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used. ‘Berthoud’ is an individual warm dish traditionally based on melted ‘Abondance’ PDO cheese.

3.2. The name

☒ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product; ‘Berthoud’ is a traditional recipe that was created and given its name at the beginning of the 20th century. It was originally a common surname in the Chablais area (in the northern part of Haute-Savoie).

☐ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product.

4. Description

4.1. Description of the product to which the name under point 1 applies, including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics showing the product’s specific character (Article 7(2) of the Regulation)

‘Berthoud’ is an individual warm dish based on melted ‘Abondance’ PDO cheese.

Presentation

The product is served in an oven dish, called a ‘Berthoud dish’ (‘assiette à Berthoud’), made of porcelain.

The product’s texture is that of melted cheese when hot, and the crust that forms during cooking is golden to brown in colour.

The specific characteristics of ‘Berthoud’ are varied:

1. The basic ingredient of the recipe — ‘Abondance’ cheese: a cheese that is made of raw whole cow’s milk and derives its name from the Abondance Valley and the village of the same name. ‘Abondance’ cheese has been made for centuries and is today recognised as a Protected Designation of Origin. It has never been produced elsewhere than in the Haute-Savoie mountains. The pressed, semi-cooked paste of ‘Abondance’ gives ‘Berthoud’ a smooth and creamy texture when cooked.

2. Other specific ingredients of the recipe — ‘Vin de Savoie’ or ‘Savoie’: a white wine with a Protected Designation of Origin, produced in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France. — ‘Madeira’: a liqueur wine with a Protected Designation of Origin, produced on the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. OR — ‘Port’: a liqueur wine with a Protected Designation of Origin, produced in the region of Alto Douro in Portugal. — whole cloves of garlic: used to rub the bottom of the Berthoud plate — nutmeg: a pinch of nutmeg may be added to the preparation. — pepper

3. An individual serving dish ensuring that it has a particular texture ‘Berthoud’ is served as an individual portion. It is a dish that must be eaten hot and quickly as the texture changes during consumption and becomes increasingly stringy and elastic as the dish cools. Serving it individually makes it possible to eat ‘Berthoud’ more quickly than if it was in a larger dish for sharing.

4.2. Description of the production method of the product to which the name under point 1 applies that the producers must follow including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared (Article 7(2) of the Regulation)

Ingredients (for one person)

Mandatory ingredients:

— ‘Abondance’ PDO cheese (without the rind): minimum 180 g

— ‘Vin de Savoie’ PDO: between 3 cl and 4 cl

— ‘Madeira’ PDO or ‘Port’ PDO: between 1 cl and 2 cl

— Garlic: enough to ensure that the interior of the recipient is rubbed throughout with cloves of garlic.

— Pepper

Optional ingredient:

— Nutmeg: a pinch

No ingredients other than those referred to above may be added to ‘Berthoud’.

If other ingredients are added to the recipe, they must be served as accompaniments.

Method of production

The method of production corresponds to the traditional recipe for ‘Berthoud’.

First, the bottom of the Berthoud dish must be rubbed with garlic.

This dish must be made of porcelain and be relatively thick so that it remains hot.

It must be between 12 and 15 cm in diameter and 2,5 and 4,5 cm in height, with a bottom thickness of at least 0,7 cm.

These dimensions make it possible to homogenise the quantities of ‘Abondance’ used, give the dish a smooth and creamy texture on the inside and a grilled surface, and limit heat loss.

The rind of the ‘Abondance’ cheese must be removed, and the cheese must then be cut into thin strips or grated (minimum 180 g per person) and placed in the Berthoud dish.

‘Vin de Savoie’ and ‘Madeira’ or ‘Port’ are then poured onto it.

A pinch of nutmeg may also be added to the dish, at the cook’s discretion.

Finally, pepper is added and the dish is cooked au gratin in a traditional oven at a temperature of between 180 and 200 degrees, for 8 to 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the surface turns golden-brown.

The dish is served immediately and may not be re-heated.

The use of a microwave oven is prohibited.

Specific characteristics of the recipe

— Use of ‘Abondance’ cheese: to bring out its aromas optimally during cooking, ‘Abondance’ must be cut into thin strips or grated after first removing the rind. It is never placed as a single piece in the recipient.

— Cooking time: unlike for other cheese-based recipes, the cooking time of ‘Berthoud’ is relatively short, with 8 to 15 minutes being sufficient to obtain a golden-brown surface.

Specific labelling rules

In addition to the name ‘Berthoud’, each establishment displays the European TSG logo on its menus, in the same visual field.

The words ‘Traditional Speciality Guaranteed’ or the corresponding abbreviation ‘TSG’ may also appear on menus, either before or after the name ‘Berthoud’ and with no text in between.

4.3. Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character (Article 7(2) of the Regulation)

The traditional character of ‘Berthoud’ is based on the use of ‘Abondance’ cheese (a PDO since 1996) as the principal ingredient (and the only cheese), as well as white wine; these have been local products from the Chablais area (north of Haute-Savoie, on the Swiss border) for centuries.

The presence, availability and long-established nature of these products in the region in which ‘Berthoud’ originates explain why they are used as ingredients in the recipe. ‘Abondance’ is the emblematic cheese of this region (it has been made there since the 12th century). White wine, for its part, has long been the main type of wine produced in Chablais, and is nowadays covered by the designation ‘Vin de Savoie’.

Other aromatic ingredients (‘Port’ or ‘Madeira’ and garlic) have also been used for at least 30 years.

‘Berthoud’ was created at the beginning of the 20th century, at the Cercle Républicain, a bistro in Concise (in Thonon-les-Bains) run by the Berthoud family, who were from the municipality of Abondance in the Abondance Valley.

The customers used to eat a dish made of melted ‘Abondance’ cheese with garlic and white wine, pepper and nutmeg. It acquired the name of the family who prepared, becoming known as ‘Berthoud’.

The recipe for ‘Berthoud’ can be found in Eugénie Julie’s work ‘Cuisine Savoyarde: recettes traditionnelles et modernes’, Editions ATRA, pp. 25-26. The book was edited in 1978, showing that the name has been used for more than 40 years.

‘Berthoud’ is mentioned in many works of the 20th century, for example:

— in the book ‘Le Fromage d’Abondance’, Laurent Chapeau, Syndicat agricole du Val d’Abondance, p. 10, published in 1981.

— in the books of Marie-Thérèse Hermann: — ‘La cuisine paysanne de Savoie’, Philippe Sers Publishers, p. 169, published in 1982; — ‘La Savoie traditionnelle’, Curandera Publishers, p. 37, published in 1987; — ‘Dictionnaire de la cuisine de Savoie: traditions et recettes’, Christine Bonneton Publishers, p. 21, published in 1992.

— in a work by Roger Lallemand, ‘Les Savoies gastronomiques’, Charles Corlet Publishers, p. 32-33, published in 1988.

— in the CNAC Guide (National Council of Culinary Arts) ‘Inventaire du patrimoine culinaire de la France Edition Rhône-Alpes, 1995’ (p. 395 concerns ‘Abondance’).

— in Bruno Gillet’s work ‘Au fil de la Dranse’, 1992.

— in Didier Richard’s work ‘Les gourmandises du terroir: traditions, recettes, emplettes…’, Didier-Richard Publishers, p. 58, published in 1997.

— A work by a dietetic association (association des diététiciens de la langue française) entitled ‘Recettes régionales et menus équilibrés’, Solal Publishers, p. 13, published in 1997.

There is even a wrapping paper of the Fermiers Savoyards (used by professionals in the sector until 1985), which describes recipes for ‘Fondue savoyarde’, ‘Raclette’ and ‘Berthoud’.

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