FOLLOWING the Skalický trdelník and Slovenská parenica, the Official Journal of the EU reports that the European Commission has added Slovenská bryndza cheese to protected status within the European Union (EU). This means that food manufacturers cannot copy these foods outside the regions where they have historically been produced.
“I’m very glad that the typical Slovak product, bryndza, was added to the list,” Agriculture Minister Zdenka Kramp-lová, said in response to the announcement.
Slovenská bryndza, whose name is now on the register of protected geographical indications (PGI), is a soft crumbly cheese. It is an essential ingredient in the traditional Slovak dish bryndzové halušky.
Slovenská bryndza is made of sheep’s cheese or a mixture of sheep’s and cow’s cheese. Its newly-prescribed zone of production is the mountainous areas of Slovakia.
Varieties of bryndza are also made in other central European countries. Polish Bryndza Podhalańska was given PGI in 2007.
Ján Vagač first produced Slovenská bryndza when he looked for a way to preserve his sheep’s cheese. In 1787 he founded the first factory for producing the cheese in Detva, central Slovakia, the SITA newswire wrote.
