15.3.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 96/33
After World War II, private processing of prune plums was prohibited.
The plant in Fordon (now a district of Bydgoszcz) became the largest recipient of prune plums, with its main product being plum jam.
Fruit-growing became economically important to the inhabitants of the Lower Vistula Valley not just because of the favourable microclimate, but also due to the demand for prune plums from the processing plant in Fordon and restaurants in the local area, and the proximity of the Vistula trading route.
The sight of copper cauldrons (Polish: kocioł kuprowy, from the Latin cuprum: copper), stirrers (Polish: bocian) and fireplaces has become a permanent feature of the landscape of the surrounding villages.
Plum jam production in the Lower Vistula Valley became the subject of a Ph.D. dissertation entitled Stirring the pot in Poland: traditional plum jam, regional identity, and rural development in the Lower Vistula Valley, completed at Cornell University.
Research results have shown that the inhabitants of municipalities in the Lower Vistula Valley enthusiastically cultivate traditional plant varieties, and their activities contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and the protection of the specific character of the geographical area, shaped over centuries.
Furthermore, research carried out at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz analysing culinary heritage and developing tourism has shown that it is essentially the fruit-growing product ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ which has become the brand of the Lower Vistula Valley.
The production of ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ remains important to the local community to this day.
This is confirmed by the fact that the product can be found at fairs and at numerous demonstrations of plum jam production, where it can also be tasted and purchased.
Notable among these is Święto Śliwki (Plum Festival), held since 2001 in Strzelce Dolne, which is a very popular event.
Within a few years the festival began attracting tens of thousands of visitors from across Poland.
Święto Śliwki has grown into a 2-day event, with journalists dubbing the Lower Vistula Valley ‘the plum capital of Poland’.
The local TV station, TVP Bydgoszcz, and PIK, the local branch of Polskie Radio, the state radio broadcaster, have been promoting the event free of charge for 20 years.
The Marshal’s Office of Kujawsko-Pomorskie province includes references to this event in connection with ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ in promotional material for tourists.
Numerous articles in the local and national press, references in books describing the traditions of the region and various awards won at competitions attest to the high regard in which ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ is held.
‘Powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ is referred to as a recognised local brand in publications of the Polish Chamber for Regional and Local Products.
‘Powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ has twice taken first prize in its category at the Nasze Kulinarne Dziedzictwo (Our Culinary Heritage) awards.
For several decades, ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ has been promoted in Natura 2000 materials as a traditional processing method in the Lower Vistula Valley, as well as in materials produced by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
To preserve the heritage of the product, the Ethnographic Museum in Toruń has collected historical material related to plum jam and plum cultivation in the Lower Vistula Valley, which it released in 2020 on CD entitled Smażenie powideł metodą tradycyjną (plum jam production the traditional way), as part of its protection of intangible heritage.
This initiative is an educational project involving ethnographers and producers of ‘powidła śliwkowe z Doliny Dolnej Wisły’ who wish to reach the largest possible number of local residents and schools – where the project is presented during lessons – in order to keep the tradition of plum jam production alive.
Reference to publication of the specification https://www.gov.pl/web/rolnictwo/wnioski-przekazane-komisji-europejskiej