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SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Limburgse vlaai’

EU No: PGI-NL+BE-02877 – 9.12.2022

1.   Name(s) of PGI

‘Limburgse vlaai’

2.   Member State or third country

Netherlands

Belgium

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff

3.1.   Type of product

Class 2.3. Bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker’s wares

3.2.   Description of the product to which the name in (1) applies

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is an abundantly filled baked sweet tart that is golden brown in colour and round in shape, with a rich variety of possible fillings and upper crust types that are both always baked together with the base.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ ranges in diameter from a minimum of 10 cm to a maximum of 30 cm.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ features a base, a filling and possibly a crust on top.

The base of ‘Limburgse vlaai’ is a sweet yeast dough, with a texture comparable to that of bread dough. After baking, the base is at most 1 cm thick. The dough contains no artificial flavourings.

The filling can be made of fruit, rice pudding, custard, semolina pudding, quark, sugar/egg filling or a combination thereof.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ may come without an upper crust (open vlaai) or, before being baked, may be finished off with a closed top (dekselvlaai), a lattice top (reepvlaai) or crumble (kruimelvlaai). Dekselvlaai and reepvlaai may be sprinkled with sugar before baking.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is always baked with the filling and crust in place. ‘Limburgse vlaai’ does not undergo any final processing or additional decoration after baking.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is an abundantly filled tart and this is reflected in its weight. Depending on its diameter and type, a baked ‘Limburgse vlaai’ has a minimum weight of between 140 g and 1 400 g whatever the filling. A more detailed overview is given in the table below:

Diameter (cm)	Type of ‘Limburgse vlaai’	Minimum weight
10	Open vlaai [Open vlaai]	140  g
10	Kruimel- & rijst  (*1) vlaai [Crumble & rice pudding vlaai]	170  g
10	Reepvlaai  (*2) [Lattice-top vlaai]	170  g
22	Open vlaai [Open vlaai]	800  g
22	Kruimel- & rijst  (*1) vlaai [Crumble & rice pudding vlaai]	900  g
22	Reepvlaai  (*2) [Lattice-top vlaai]	1 125  g
24	Open vlaai [Open vlaai]	900  g
24	Kruimel- & rijst  (*1) vlaai [Crumble & rice pudding vlaai]	1 050  g
24	Reepvlaai  (*2) [Lattice-top vlaai]	1 250  g
26	Open vlaai [Open vlaai]	1 100  g
26	Kruimel- & rijst  (*1) vlaai [Crumble & rice pudding vlaai]	1 175  g
26	Reepvlaai  (*2) [Lattice-top vlaai]	1 300  g
28 /30	Open vlaai [Open vlaai]	1 200  g
28 /30	Kruimel- & rijst  (*1) vlaai [Crumble & rice pudding vlaai]	1 300  g
28 /30	Reepvlaai  (*2) [Lattice-top vlaai]	1 400  g

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is a product that is made fresh daily. It may be packaged for immediate sale. ‘Limburgse vlaai’ may not be frozen after baking.

3.3.   Feed (for products of animal origin only) and raw materials (for processed products only)

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3.4.   Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is prepared and baked in the province of Limburg in Belgium and the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, which border each other.

3.5.   Specific rules concerning slicing, grating, packaging, etc. of the product the registered name refers to

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3.6.   Specific rules concerning labelling of the product the registered name refers to

The label includes the registered name ‘Limburgse vlaai’ and, in close proximity to it, the EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo. For unpackaged vlaaien, the EU logo is displayed in the immediate vicinity of the product.

Packaging and all other information material also features the common logo for ‘Limburgse vlaai’:

All ‘Limburgse vlaai’ producers complying with the requirements of the ‘Limburgse vlaai’ PGI product specification use the common logo made available by Bakkers-Vlaanderen Limburg.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area

The geographical area comprises the province of Limburg in Belgium and the province of Limburg in the Netherlands.

5.   Link with the geographical area

In both the Netherlands and Belgium, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ is renowned as a high-quality, abundantly filled vlaai tart that is made fresh daily. The recipe’s origins lie in local traditions, giving a geographical link with the area. The name’s renown has grown over the last two centuries.

5.1.   Local tradition

5.1.1.   Origin on farms

In his 1878 work Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 3. [‘Walks through the Netherlands with Pen and Pencil. Part 3’], Jacobus Craandijk described festivities on Limburgish farms as follows: ‘The actual harvest festival takes place a little later, on one of the following Sundays. Then the farmer’s family gathers with the workers and day labourers around a richly laden table, with friends and neighbours also invited. At this time the new white bread is laid out on the table along with a wheat flour and fruit purée tart, a Limburgish speciality named vlaai.’ (J. Craandijk, 1878, Wandelingen door Nederland met pen en potlood. Deel 3, accessed via the Digital Library for Dutch Literature (KB, Dutch National Library) on 1 October 2022).

This brief mention contains a lot of information. It refers to the original recipe for ‘Limburgse vlaai’, a pastry product made from wheat flour dough (tart) filled with fruit or fruit purée. A link is made with festivities on Limburgish farms where the centrepiece festive pastry is a traditional pastry named ‘vlaai’.

‘Limburgse vlaai’ was baked on the farm by the mistress of the house with fruit from the farm’s own orchard. Both Belgian Limburg and Dutch Limburg have been fruit-growing areas since time immemorial. The species of fruit and the varieties made for a very long fruit season, meaning that there was a wide range of ‘Limburgse vlaai’ fillings. There was also local know-how about how to preserve fruit. For example, the oldest preservation technique, fruit drying, is the basis for bakkemoezenvlaai, a vlaai filled with dried pears. Later on, housewives specialised in preserving fruit in glass jars. From the end of the 19th century onwards, this know-how led to a local fruit preservation industry. Thus, for example, a cherry vlaai could also be baked out of season with preserved cherries.

Fruit vlaaien alternated with dairy vlaaien, meaning that ‘Limburgse vlaai’ could be baked all year round. And this was necessary, because vlaai appeared on the table at every celebration, procession and fair.

5.1.2.   ‘Limburgse vlaai’, a traditional baker’s ware

Having originated in a domestic setting, as the 20th century progressed ‘Limburgse vlaai’ made its way to local bakeries. ‘Limburgse vlaai’ was thus no longer eaten only at festivals but became a favourite Sunday pastry with a wide variety of fillings. In the meantime, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ became a fixture of the daily product range of any Limburgish baker. Each day a baker bakes around eight types of vlaai, with around 14 at weekends.

Having taken root in this way, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ was included in both the Netherlands and Belgium on the ‘Euro Terroirs’ European inventory of culinary heritage, a French initiative launched in 1990. This inventory was published in the Netherlands in 1998 (H. S. van der Meulen, Traditionele Streekproducten – Gastronomisch erfgoed van Nederland [‘Traditional Regional Products – Culinary Heritage of the Netherlands’], 1998, Elsevier, pp. 62-63).

5.2.   The renown of ‘Limburgse vlaai’

‘Limburgse vlaai’ is not only part of Limburgish culinary heritage, its fame has spread far beyond Limburg’s borders.

Much loved by local people, its name recognition has been growing along with the growth of tourism in Limburg. ‘Limburgse vlaai’ has long been used to entice visitors. The pioneer here was Maria Hubertina Hendrix from Weert in Dutch Limburg. In 1911 she took over the station restaurant and decided to start selling small vlaaien to train travellers. She made ‘Limburgse vlaai’ so famous that her death in 1936 made the newspapers as far away as in Friesland.

In 1947, a major supplier of bakery ingredients devoted an entire issue of its publication to ‘Limburgse vlaai’. This booklet does not contain any recipes but goes into detail about Limburg’s ‘cultural heritage’ and the many customs and traditions surrounding ‘Limburgse vlaai’ (D. J. Van Der Ven, ‘Bak meer Limburgse vla’ [‘Bake more Limburgse vlaai’], De bakkersboekjes van Zeelandia, 1951, Second Series, No 9, Zeelandia, Zierikzee).

In Oude gebruiken en gerechten uit Limburg [‘Old customs and dishes of Limburg’] (1977), the Belgian authors J. Collen and J. Lambin described ‘Limburgse vlaai’ as follows: ‘A vlaai is, according to Limburgers themselves, a typical Limburgish baked good, generally round, made of leavened dough and filled with fruit, fruit purée, rice pudding and so on.’ They also say that: ‘A true vlaai has “a delicate crust, with filling laid on thick”.’ There is then a summary of all possible varieties of vlaai types: ‘vlaaien filled with apple purée, apple slices, rhubarb purée, gooseberries, forest fruits, plums, cherries, semolina pudding and rice pudding.’ (J. Collen and J. Lambin, Oude gebruiken en gerechten uit Limburg, 1977, Uitgeverij Pelckmans, pp. 127-135).

With the rise of tourism in the 1960s, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ appeared in the first tourist literature in the Low Countries, and the authors of these guides also referred to their enormous variety. Examples of this are: Zwerven door Vlaanderen [‘Wandering through Flanders’] (Jan Lambin, Zwerven door Vlaanderen, in Vlaamse Pockets [‘Flemish Pocket Guides’], 1961, Uitgeverij Heideland, Hasselt, p. 104), Plaatselijke en gewestelijke specialiteiten uit Nederland [‘Local and regional specialities of the Netherlands’] (A. van Oirschot, Plaatselijke en gewestelijke specialiteiten uit Nederland, no date, Uitgeverij Helmond, Helmond, p. 128), ‘Streekgerechten uit Nederland’ [‘Regional dishes of the Netherlands’] (Anonymous, ‘Streekgerechten uit Nederland’, Libelle [‘Dragonfly’], 1983, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, Utrecht/Antwerp, pp. 66-70), Ippa’s Streekgerechten Gids voor België [‘Ippa’s Guide to the Regional Dishes of Belgium’] (J. Van Remoortere, Ippa’s Streekgerechten Gids voor België, 1994, Uitgeverij Lannoo, Tielt, p. 151), Kleine Culinaire encyclopedie van Vlaanderen [‘Little Culinary Encyclopaedia of Flanders’] (M. Declercq, Kleine Culinaire encyclopedie van Vlaanderen, 2009, Standaard Uitgeverij, p. 191).

Today, both provinces depict ‘Limburgse vlaai’ as the most typical local product; see, for example, the website of the Belgian province of Limburg (‘Limburg in ‘t kort’ [‘Limburg in brief’], www.limburg.be, accessed on 1 October 2022), or the Dutch website concerning tourism in South Limburg (‘Hier proef je de lekkerste vlaai van Zuid-Limburg!’ [‘Here you can taste the most delicious vlaai in South Limburg!’], www.visitzuidlimburg.nl, accessed on 1 October 2022).

In short, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ has developed into a symbol of the provinces of Limburg in both countries. It has even been part of projects supported by Europe. In 2003, research was done into the food culture of young people in Limburg and the Rhineland. The survey revealed that ‘Limburgse vlaai’ was the best known dish among Limburgish young people. In another EU project, ‘Limburgse vlaai’ even featured in the logo.

Reference to publication of the specification

https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2023-07/Productdossier-BGA-Limburgse-vlaai.pdf,https://lv.vlaanderen.be/media/7848/download?attachment

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(1)   OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(*1)   Rijstvlaai [rice pudding vlaai] is an open vlaai but its weight is more comparable to that of a crumble vlaai.

(*2)   Reepvlaai [Lattice-top vlaai] here denotes Reep- of dekselvlaai [Lattice-top or closed-top vlaai].