Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
Date: 2008-03-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Finland, designation of origin, location of production, pastry-making, product designation

C 74/72

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.3.2008

OTHER ACTS

COMMISSION

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on
the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and
foodstuffs

(2008/C 74/21)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation
(EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months from the date
of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘KAINUUN RÖNTTÖNEN’

EC No: FI/PGI/005/0099/23.06.1999

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name:

Maa- ja metsätalousministeriö

Address: PL 30, FI-00023 Valtioneuvosto

Tel.

Fax

(358-9) 1605 42 78

(358-9) 1605 34 00

E-mail: maija.heinonen@mmm.fi

2. Group:

Name:

Address:

Tel.

Fax

Kainuun Leipomoliikkeen harjoittajat ry

Kainuuntie 126
FI-88900 Kuhmo

(358-020) 833 53 35

(358-8) 655 12 74

E-mail:

kaesa@kaesankotileipomo.fi

Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( )

3.

Type of product:

Class 2.4: Bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery and other baker's wares

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

20.3.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/73

4.

Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name:

‘Kainuun rönttönen’

4.2. Description: The Kainuun rönttönen is a small, round, rye-crust, open pie filled with cooked mashed
potatoes, rye flour and lingonberries. The filling is a sweet-tasting, reddish-brown mixture of mashed
potatoes and lingonberries, glazed with melted butter. The Kainuun rönttönen is made in three stages:
first you make the filling, then you prepare the crust, and finally the two are combined.

4.3. Geographical area: The Kainuu Region, which is located in the Province of Oulu, consists of 8 municipa-
lities and two cities. Kainuu has a population of 86 000 and a population density of 4 persons per
square kilometre. The total surface area of Kainuu is 24 451 km2; of which 12 % is covered by water.
There are more than 2 million hectares of forest, and the landscape is generally characterised by hills,
forests, bodies of water and marshland.

4.4. Proof of origin: The products are made in accordance with current legislation, and the HACCP quality
control system is used in the manufacturing process. Compliance with the product specification is
monitored by the Finnish Food Safety Authority.

Product traceability is ensured by mentioning the name of the producer on the package, or on the
product label which must be affixed to the package. Production must take place in the geographical
area which has been defined for the production of Kainuun rönttönen.

4.5. Method of production: The Kainuun rönttönen pie is made in three stages: first you make the filling, then
you prepare the crust, and finally the two are combined. Kainuun rönttönen are one hundred per cent
handmade, starting with the measuring of the ingredients. Machines are used only to help knead and
roll the dough and peel the potatoes.

Ingredients:

— Crust:

— 0,500 kg cold water,

— 0,007 kg salt,

— 0,300 kg wheat flour,

— 0,800 kg rye flour,

— 0,050 kg rapeseed oil.

— Filling:

— 2,000 kg potatoes,

— 0,300 kg rye flour,

— 0,400 kg mashed lingonberries,

— 0,100 kg sugar,

— 0,007 kg salt.

Preparing the filling:

— Peel the potatoes and boil them in water until soft. Strain and mash the potatoes.

— Let the mashed potatoes cool a little, then add the rye flour and mix.

— Leave the mixture at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours to allow it to sweeten. Stir the mixture

every now and then.

— Once the mixture has cooled and sweetened, mix in the sugared mashed lingonberries and the salt.

Preparing the crust:

— Dissolve the salt in the cold water. Gradually stir in the rye flour, then the wheat flour and some

sourdough starter. Knead into a dough. Finally, mix in the rapeseed oil.

C 74/74

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.3.2008

— Roll out the dough to a thickness of 2 mm. Cut out circles of dough (diameter 50-130 mm) with a
cutter. Fill the crusts with a thick layer of the filling, spreading the filling to within 1 cm of the
edge. The correct ratio between the filling and crust is 1:1.

Folding, crimping and baking the Kainuun rönttönen pies:

— Fold the edges of the crust up over the filling, leaving the centre of the pie uncovered, and crimp
the edges by pinching them evenly into smooth, rounded ridges. Place the pies on a baking tray.

— Bake the pies in a hot oven until they are crisp and their edges are golden brown. Remove them

from the oven and brush their edges with melted butter.

Storing the Kainuun rönttönen pies:

— Crispy Kainuun rönttönen pies are most delicious when served slightly cooled.

— They can be stored at room temperature for a day or two, covered with a cloth or in a paper bag.

They can be kept in the refrigerator for a week. Simply reheat before serving.

— Pies can be frozen either before or after baking to increase their shelf life. Pies that are frozen raw

can be baked in the required amounts when needed.

4.6. Link: Bread and pastries feature prominently in the cuisine of Kainuu. In their book Kainuun leipä
(Bread in Kainuu), Götha and Reima Rannikko wrote: ‘While the same basic types of bread are baked
throughout Kainuu, dozens of local specialities are found in different parts of the region. As a result of
our five years of work, we have managed to identify approximately one hundred different types of
basic breads and pastries in Kainuu. This number increases if all of the variations and nuances are
taken into account. The diversity of the bread and pastry culture is at least partly due to Kainuu's
geographical location at the crossroads of cultural influences from Northern Ostrobothnia, Savo and
Russian Karelia’.

The story goes that, in bygone days, when food was scarce at the end of the winter and the men had
to go logging, the women would scrape the last lingonberries from the bottom of the barrel, grab the
last of the potatoes from the potato bin and bake the mixture on a rye crust. The result was a
rönttönen, a large, rich pie. Nowadays they also make smaller, cocktail-size rönttönen.

Human beings can distinguish four primary tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. In the olden days,
when sugar was scarce or unobtainable, Kainuun rönttönen satisfied people's craving for something
sweet, the sweetness coming from allowing the potatoes to sweeten. The leavening process produces
the light crust and succulent taste. Oven-baked rönttönen are unique, crisp pastries.

The rönttönen pie is recognised as a product solely and specifically originating from Kainuu. It is a local
speciality of Kuhmo. In textbooks and cookery books rönttönen pies are automatically associated with
Kainuu. For example, the recipe for rönttönen published in a book called Baker's à la carte (by Manne
Stenros) was provided by one of the Kainuu-based producers who is involved in this application.

Several kinds of pies are produced in the Kainuu area, but only the particular open pie baked according
to this recipe is called rönttönen. The connection to the Kainuu region is documented, for example, in
the recipe book:
‘Suomalaisia leipäerikoisuuksia’ (‘Finnish bread specialities’) (Leipätoimikunta 1988).
The common history of the region and the product is best described in Götha and Reima Rannikko's
book ‘Kainuun leipä’ (‘Kainuu's bread’) (Otava 1978). Kainuun rönttönen is cited as an example of
baking in the Kainuu area in a book by the chef Jaakko Kolmonen: ‘Suomen maakuntaleivät’ (‘Breads
of Finland's Regions’), which contains recipes for almost 80 different types of Finnish bread. Literary
works depicting life in the Kainuu area, such as Veikko Huovinen's ‘Muina miehinä’, specifically
describe Kainuun rönttönen as a local product. Kainuun rönttönen pies are an essential part of Kainuu's
cultural events, such as the annual traditional Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, which brings together
people from around the world and gives them the opportunity to try the local specialities. Kainuun
rönttönen were presented at the Festival of Finnish Food Culture in Helsinki in 1998, the Helsinki Rural
Markets in 1994 and the Stuttgart Confectionery and Bakery Fair in 1996. It has also featured promi-
nently in Kainuu's display at the annual Tourism Fair in Helsinki.

20.3.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 74/75

Kainuun rönttönen used to be served with soup, and this tradition lives on. It makes a delicious, nutri-
tious snack for both children and adults, and requires only the addition of a little butter, to taste. It
goes well with coffee and is ideal to take on trips.

4.7.

Inspection body:

Name:

Elintarviketurvallisuusvirasto Evira

Address: PL 28, FI-00581 Helsinki

Tel.

Fax

(358-020) 772 003

(358-020) 772 43 50

E-mail:

kirjaamo@evira.fi

4.8. Labelling: —