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

(2021/C 222/09)

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 3 months of the date of this publication.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘SALATĂ TRADIȚIONALĂ CU ICRE DE CRAP’

EU No: TSG-RO-02457 – 16 April 2019

Member State or third country: Romania

1. Name(s) to be registered

‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’

2. Type of product

Class 1.7 – Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans and products derived therefrom

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. ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ is a product made from salted carp roe, salted freshwater fish roe, sunflower oil, carbonated water and lemon juice. ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ is produced in two variations, namely with or without boiled onions. Carp roe from either wild or farmed carp is used in the preparation of ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’. It must have reached maturity and be completely fresh. It must not contain any skin, scales or blood clots. The consistency of the roe must be homogeneous and the grains must be elastic in their consistency.

3.2 The name:

☒ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product;

☐ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product. The name ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ attests to the continuous use, from one generation to the next, of certain raw materials and ingredients in the product. The word ‘traditional’ included in the name highlights its main characteristic, determined by the raw materials used. Since the product was standardised by departmental standard N.I.D. 927-70 N 23, ‘Salată cu icre de crap’, the applicant group has continued to follow the production method, using the same raw materials and ingredients.

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

Organoleptic properties

‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ is characterised by its appearance, consistency, colour, aroma and flavour. It is a homogeneous cream of roe and oil with a perceptibly high roe grain content. It has a creamy consistency, without any separation of oil. The colour of the product is a uniform creamy white in which the orange carp roe grains can be seen. If onions are added, they are first boiled. The use of boiled onions gives a slightly sweet flavour to the product. The product tastes and smells mainly of fish roe.

Physico-chemical properties

1. Water (moisture) content max. 30 % 2. Fatty substances (fats) min. 63 % 3. Salt (sodium chloride) max. 5 % 4. Proteins min. 4 % 5. Acidity max. 1 %

The minimum percentage of roe to be used is 24,5 %, of which at least 12,5 % must be carp roe and at least 12 % a freshwater fish roe mix.

‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ differs from other similar products owing to the raw materials and the percentage of roe used (carp roe and a freshwater fish roe mix) and the absence of any preservatives, colorants, acidifiers, flavourings or stabilisers.

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

(a) Nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients

Carp roe has the appearance of a dense mass consisting of uniform, medium-sized grains (the size of a pinhead) and is greyish-green in colour when fresh. When mature, it has an orange colour, a homogeneous consistency of medium viscosity, and a normal and pleasant smell and taste.

The freshwater fish roe mix is characterised by small, whole eggs from several species from the Cyprinidae (crucian, roach, rudd, unformed carp roe), Percidae (zander, perch) and Bramidae (bream) families. It has a homogeneous consistency and is reddish in colour. Both types of roe are salted using only non-iodised, fine rock salt, without anticaking agents.

The ingredients used are sunflower oil, natural lemon juice, carbonated water and, in the variation product, boiled onions. The use of colourings, preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, homogenisation agents and food additives is excluded.

The sunflower oil is clear, with no suspended particles or sediment, and has a liquid consistency and yellow colour. Specific flavour, taste and smell of sunflower oil. The lemon juice is clear, with a specific taste. No impurities are allowed, and it has a liquid consistency and yellowish colour. A sour taste and lemon aroma. The carbonated water is clear, colourless and odourless, with no suspended particles or sediment. For the product containing onions, the onions are finely chopped, of solid consistency and whitish-yellow in colour. Specific flavour, taste and smell of onion.

In order to obtain 100 kg of finished product, the ingredients listed below are used in the quantities indicated, in accordance with internal departmental standard N.I.D. 927-70 N 23:

— salted carp roe – min. 12,5 kg

— salted freshwater fish roe mix – min. 12 kg

— sunflower oil – 68-69 kg, approx. 74-75 l

— carbonated water – 5,8-6,8 l

— lemon juice – 0,5-1,5 l

— if the product contains onions, they are boiled and chopped – 0,5 kg

(b) Product preparation method

The stages of preparation are harvesting, separating, collecting, salting and maturing the roe, packaging the salted roe, preliminary preparation, pre-cooling and storage of the salted roe, preparation of the boiled yellow onions, introducing the salted roe into the production process, measuring and mixing the ingredients, packaging the product, and labelling. Both the carp roe and the freshwater fish roe mix undergo all steps.

(b.1) Harvesting the roe

Carp roe and freshwater fish roe are harvested using the traditional methods, namely the extraction of the roe after cutting and milking the fish.

(b.2) Separating and collecting the roe

The roe is separated from the ovarian membrane in which it is contained by lightly pressing it by hand through a plastic or stainless steel 3 mm sieve placed on a wooden or stainless steel loom frame. The roe grains pass through the apertures of the mesh and are collected in plastic / stainless steel receptacles, and the sticky residue remains in the mesh. These steps are carried out manually.

(b.3) Salting and maturing the roe

Non-iodised fine rock salt is added to the collected roe, which is carefully blended using a spatula until, when turning the blade, it can be felt that the product is homogeneous and all the salt has dissolved. 80 g of salt is added for each kilogram of roe. This stage is done manually. The roe is generally salted over a 3-day period. If the salting process has not been completed over those 3 days, the roe is mixed and left for an additional day.

To allow the colour and shape of the salted roe grains to form, the roe is left to mature at room temperature (min. +14 °C, max. +18 °C). The product is considered to have fully matured 10 days after salting. The taste, smell and colour of the product indicate when it has fully matured. The taste must be specific to matured roe; the taste of raw fish is not accepted. The smell is specific to matured roe, with no foreign smell. The colour depends on the species: in carp roe it is dark brick-red, while the freshwater fish roe mix is light brick-red in colour.

(b.4) Packaging of salted roe

When the maturation stage is finished, the salted roe is packaged in plastic containers or bags of various sizes.

(b.5) Preliminary preparation and pre-cooling

This stage involves two steps, namely heat preparation and pre-cooling. Both strengthen the membrane and intensify the colour of the roe grains. Heat preparation involves increasing the temperature to 40 °C for a maximum of 3 hours. After that stage, the salted roe is pre-cooled in iced water for subsequent use.

(b.6) Storage of salted roe

The salted roe is stored in glass jars or 2 kg vacuum-packed bags. The roe can be stored in cooled chambers for a storage period of 6 months. If frozen, it can be kept for 1 year, until the following harvest period. This stage is done manually.

(b.7) Preparation of the boiled yellow onions

Boiled onions may optionally be used as an ingredient added to the product to make ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap și ceapă’ (traditional carp roe and onion salad). The yellow onions are peeled manually using a knife and each one is cut in half. The step after peeling the fresh onions is heat treatment by boiling, which takes place immediately after the onions have been peeled or after the necessary quantity has been transferred from the refrigerator. The onions must be boiled with 15 g of non-iodised rock salt for each kilogram of onions, and the boiling time must not exceed 10 minutes. After boiling, the water is drained and the onions are left to cool and then chopped. The chopped, boiled onions are transferred to the room in which the fish roe salad is prepared.

(b.8) Introduction into the production process

The salted roe, kept in a cool area, is brought to the preparation room. If frozen, it is thawed for 48 hours. Boiled, chopped onions, sunflower oil, carbonated water and natural lemon juice are also brought to the room. This stage is done manually.

(b.9) Measuring and mixing of the ingredients

The measuring of the roe and ingredients in a vat is done manually. The mixing is done using a fixed whisk, which is left to work without oil for a while in order to form a viscous cream with whitish traces resulting from the rupturing of the roe grains. The mixing continues by adding the oil gradually and in small quantities and by adding the carbonated water, alternated with a few spoonfuls of lemon juice to prevent the oil from separating. This continues until all the measured oil and carbonated water has been used, and the resulting product is tasted to determine whether more natural lemon juice should be added. Any onions added must be boiled and chopped. Only the mixing operation is mechanical, all other steps being carried out manually.

(b.10) Packaging of the product

The product is packaged in plastic or glass containers of various sizes sealed with lids. These steps are performed semi-automatically, i.e. the salad is measured and the heat-sealing (sealing element) carried out by machine.

4.3. Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character composition corresponding to traditional practice for the product in question; is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used

The following traditional ingredients are used to make ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’: carp roe, a mixture of freshwater fish roe, sunflower oil, carbonated water, lemon juice and salt. In accordance with traditional practice, a mixture of salted and matured freshwater fish roe is used as a thickener. Carbonated water is used to ensure that ‘Salată tradiţională cu icre de crap’ is not viscous in consistency.

The main raw material used is salted carp roe, which also gives the product its name, ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’. According to the documentary research carried out, salted carp roe was referred to as early as 1916 in the publication Pescăria și pescuitul în România [‘Fishery and Fishing in Romania’] by Grigore Antipa, page 706, Section ‘c) Roe from pike, carp and various pond fish’: ‘carp and pike roe is removed with care, when the fish are cut for salting, and is set aside in a container so that the skin may be removed. The skin is withdrawn using a simple tool called in the Delta region a “priboi” or “praboi” (in Turtucaia it is referred to as a “roller” for beating carp roe). It consists of a rod 80 to 90 cm long with two little crosses at the top (Fig. 377), which is used to beat the roe thoroughly – in the same way that cream is beaten to make butter – and the skin becomes trapped in the crosses, leaving only the roe grains in the container. After that the roe is salted, placed in special containers and placed on the market’. (Antipa, 1916)

The product’s second most important raw material is ‘freshwater fish roe mix’, which is also referred to in Pescăria și pescuitul în România (1916) by Grigore Antipa, page 706, Section ‘c) Roe from pike, carp and various pond fish’ under the name ‘Tarama’: ‘The roe of other species of Cyprinidae – except for barbel roe, which is often noxious – is all mixed together and, once beaten using the priboi, it is salted, put in a container and sold as a lower-quality roe under the commercial name “Tarama”’. (Antipa, 1916) Since 2010 this ingredient has been made and used by the association’s producers under the current name of ‘freshwater fish roe mix’ in order to avoid any confusion between this type of freshwater fish roe mix and the Greek marine fish roe mix of the same name. The role of the freshwater fish roe mix is to give the product consistency and amplify the flavour of the salted carp roe as it mainly consists of salted, matured fish roe from species of the Cyprinidae family.

The other four elements used in the traditional product are ingredients which can be found in the following documentary evidence describing the recipe for ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ and its preparation method. Thus, in 1937 ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ was considered to be an hors d’oeuvre (Thevenin, 1937) and a product representative of Romanian cuisine, one included in the tourism promotion book Les bons plats roumains by Léon Thévenin as well as in the later English edition Savoury Romanian Dishes and Choice Wines (1939).

‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ was described as follows in the French edition of the above book: ‘CARP CAVIAR. Carp caviar has smaller eggs. [...] It is sprinkled with salt and left to mature for 24 hours before being rubbed gently in a receptacle with warm water, oil and lemon being added little by little, as for a mayonnaise. The colour gradually becomes prawn-red. It is served to taste with pieces of chopped onion.’ (Thevenin, 1937)

Lucretia Oprean’s recipe book Minuturi alimentare și alte rețete culinare [‘Appetisers and Other Recipes’], in which the preparation of carp roe salad is described (page 137), was published in 1970. Carp roe, vegetable oil, salt, natural lemon juice and onions were used to make the product, onion being an optional addition, as preferred, according to the author: ‘“Salata cu icre de crap sau stiuca” (carp or pike roe salad) (15-20 minutes). 100 g of carp or pike roe, 200 g of vegetable oil, salt, lemon juice, a spoonful of finely chopped onion.’ (Oprean, 1970)

In 1970 the Ministry of the Food Industry standardised the product named ‘Salată tradițională cu icre de crap’ by adopting internal departmental standard N.I.D. 927-70 N.23, which regulates raw materials and ingredients which must be used to make caviar: ‘This internal standard refers to the (caviar) product named “Salată de icre” made using salted carp roe, tarama [...] mixed with edible sunflower oil. The product “Salată de icre” is made using salted roe, refined edible oil, citric acid and edible gelatin.’

Rețetar-tip pentru preparate culinare [‘Standard recipe book for culinary preparations’] was published in 1982. It was intended for the organisation of public catering and contained 1 245 recipes, including that for the traditional product named ‘Salată cu icre de crap’ (carp roe salad). The document was adopted and edited by the Ministry of Internal Trade (Public Catering Directorate) and all public catering establishments were required to use it. For recipe No 99, carp roe salad, the following ingredients had to be used: ‘[…] roe, refined sunflower oil, soda water, lemon or lemon salt’. The recipes included in the recipe book were collected from Romanian culinary heritage, it being stated in the preamble to the publication that ‘[…]…this work is inspired by the traditional cuisine of our country and uses the methods of modern culinary technology’. (Ministerul Comertului Interior, 1982)

In 1988, in the book Semipreparatele în bucătăria modernă [‘Pre-cooked preparations in modern cuisine’] by Stere and Ecaterina Stavrositu, carp roe salad is presented as being made from carp roe, soda water, lemon and salt. (Stavrositu & Stavrositu, 1988)

All these documentary references covering several decades attest to the traditional nature of the raw materials used in the preparation of ‘Salata tradițională cu icre de crap’.

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