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

2012/C 283/10

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 of the date of this publication.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘BAMBERGER HÖRNLA’/‘BAMBERGER HÖRNLE’/‘BAMBERGER HÖRNCHEN’

EC No: DE-PGI-0005-0802-17.03.2010

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name:

‘Bamberger Hörnla’/‘Bamberger Hörnle’/‘Bamberger Hörnchen’

2.   Member State or Third Country:

Germany

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1.   Type of product:

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in point 1 applies:

The potato, botanically known as Solanum tuberosum subspecies tuberosum L., belongs to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) along with tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.

The ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ potato variety is one of the ‘old country varieties’ and is not a product of potato propagation. Protection for the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is sought for potatoes for human consumption.

The plant is short with thin, delicate leaves and white blossom. It needs soil that is rich in nutrients and as light as possible because it is very sensitive to clogged soil. The tubers are harvested in September/October.

The tubers of these potatoes are small, finger-shaped and slightly curved into a crescent shape. Occasionally they also have a slight second curve in the other direction or are twisted into strange shapes. The length-to-width ratio of the elongated form of the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is typically 2 to 3,5.

The skin is smooth, silky and a light ochre colour with a slightly red sheen which comes from the eyes of the potato and is most intense in the eyes. The red sheen is most marked just after the harvest and disappears after lengthy storage.

The ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ has an intense, nutty flavour. According to the ‘Guidelines on assessing the cooking properties and sensory characteristics of ware potatoes’ issued by the Federal Plant Variety Office (Bundessortenamt), the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is classed as a ‘firm boiling’ potato. It has yellow flesh and a ‘mealiness’ rating of around 4 or below (or, ‘not mealy’) and usually scores 6 or above for consistency or ‘waxiness’ (i.e. the potato is waxy, with a firm consistency). It has an average starch content of over 13 % of fresh mass.

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

—

3.4.   Feed (for products of animal origin only):

—

3.5.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the defined geographical area:

The ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ must be grown in one of Franken’s three administrative districts: Oberfranken, Mittelfranken and Unterfranken. The seed potatoes must also come from this area.

The ‘Bamberger Hörnchen’ is accepted as a conservation variety by the German Federal Plant Variety Office in accordance with the Regulation on the authorisation of conservation varieties and the marketing of the seed and seedlings of conservation varieties of 21 July 2009 (Conservation Varieties Regulation), BGBl. I p. 2107.

Under point 4 of the first sentence of Section 4(2) of the abovementioned Regulation, the seed (in this case seed potatoes) of conservation varieties may only be placed on the market if it has been produced in one of the regions of origin specified in the variety authorisation. Therefore, the seed potatoes must originate from one of Franken’s three administrative districts — Oberfranken, Mittelfranken or Unterfranken.

3.6.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc.:

—

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

—

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

The geographical area includes Franken’s three administrative districts, Oberfranken, Mittelfranken and Unterfranken.

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

For hundreds of years market gardening and vegetables have played a more significant role in food production in Franken than in other regions (specifically, Bamberg’s market gardens were a pillar of the town’s economic life from the 14th century until the mid-19th century, a particular development that did not come about in other towns). Vegetables are still treated with correspondingly high esteem in Franken’s traditional regional cuisine today.

Franken has a particularly long tradition of potato cultivation. The potato was grown in fields for the first time in Germany in Franken in 1694. Frankish cuisine assigned the place of honour in fine potato salad to the noble variety ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ very early on.

The name ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ has been present in the minds of the people of Franken for more than a century. Oral tradition and references in literature prove that it was cultivated in Franken in the late 19th century and suggest that it originated in France. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that the ancestors of the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ could have found their way from the ornamental gardens of the prince-bishops into the kitchen gardens and fields of Bamberg’s master gardeners.

As a result of its elongated, crescent-shaped form (length-to-width ratio of 2 to 3,5) and the large variations in tuber size, it is not possible to harvest the potatoes using conventional potato diggers. Therefore, the tubers must either be harvested by hand or with the aid of specially-adapted harvesting machinery. Customising the potato harvesters in this way (by reducing the spaces between the rollers on the conveyor grid) renders them less efficient, however, as they tend to collect more clumps of earth which have to be painstakingly removed by hand.

In comparison with other growing areas, Franken has a dry climate on the whole with hot, continental summers. The average annual precipitation is approximately 630 mm, the average annual temperature ranges from 8,6-8,8 °C and the annual average sunshine total is between 1 550 and 1 700 hours.

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

The ‘Bamberger’ is characterised by its unmistakable shape. The ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is small, finger-shaped and slightly curved into a crescent shape, from which the ‘Hörnla’ part of its name is derived.

It should be emphasised that, although the high starch content of the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ (over 13 % on average) means that it can only be classified as ‘mainly firm boiling’, in cooking tests it has the same characteristics as a ‘firm boiling’ potato. The ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is therefore highly unusual in that it exhibits the characteristics of a ‘firm boiling’ potato (waxy consistency) yet has an intense, nutty flavour.

It is this nutty flavour combined with its firm, waxy consistency which make the potato unique even among ‘finger potatoes’ of comparable shape, size and flavour.

It is traditionally used to make potato salad as a result of its firm, waxy texture. In this respect the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is highly prized by consumers, a fact which is well documented in numerous press articles.

5.3.   Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI):

In comparison with other growing areas, Franken has a dry, continental climate with hot summers. As a result, the product’s starch content is higher when it is grown in this geographical area than it would be if cultivated elsewhere. It is the average starch content of over 13 % of fresh mass which gives the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ its distinctive intense, nutty flavour, which is highly unusual for a ‘firm boiling’ potato.

Its unusual flavour, which is a result of the special climatic conditions in the geographical area, means that the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is highly prized by consumers and in particular by connoisseurs. In 2008, the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ was voted ‘Potato of the Year’ by an expert panel of judges. As the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ has been cultivated in Franken for centuries, it has become an important and indispensible ingredient in Frankish regional cuisine. This is further demonstrated by the fact that the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ has been included in the official database of traditional Bavarian specialities (http://www.spezialitaetenland-bayern.de/), the content of which is managed by the Bavarian Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry.

From an economic point of view, cultivation of the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is in decline in comparison with most other varieties. This is because the harvesting process cannot be fully mechanised. In addition, ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ tubers often have protuberances which can break off during sorting or packing, causing surface defects. This makes it difficult to sell the potatoes through wholesalers or general food retailers. Alongside the protuberances, it is increasingly common for ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ tubers to have green patches and these potatoes must be discarded. The abovementioned factors have resulted in the cultivation of ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ potatoes being confined to the Frankish growing areas where the growers have the expertise required to minimise such flaws and where the ‘Bamberger Hörnla’ is very popular with and held in high esteem by consumers because it is a cornerstone of traditional Frankish cuisine.

Reference to the publication of the specification:

Markenblatt Vol. 9 of 5 March 2010, Part 7c, p. 3573

https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/geo/detail.pdfdownload/12301

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.