Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2019/C 393/04)

This publication confers the right to oppose the application pursuant to Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) within three months from the date of this publication.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION OF A TRADITIONAL SPECIALITY GUARANTEED

‘AMATRICIANA TRADIZIONALE’

EU No: TSG-IT-02390 — 31.1.2018

‘Italy’

1.   Name to be registered

‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’

2.   Type of product

Class 2.21. prepared meals

3.   Grounds for registration

3.1.   Whether the product:

☐ results from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice for that product or foodstuff

☒ is produced from raw materials or ingredients that are those traditionally used.

The traditional character of ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ is linked to the ingredients and the specific method of preparation traditionally used in the production area of Monti della Laga, from where the sauce originates.

‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ sauce comes in two types (for serving immediately or at a later date) and is used to serve with pasta.

3.2.   Whether the name:

☒ has been traditionally used to refer to the specific product

☐ identifies the traditional character or specific character of the product

The name ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ is used to refer to a food preparation obtained using the age-old production method/recipe from the area of Amatrice, as well as to the use of specific ingredients (tomatoes, pork jowl) which determine the product’s characteristics.

‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ is known the world over; the geographical region in which it is produced does not affect its quality and characteristics.

4.   Description

4.1.   Description of the product to which the name under point 1 applies, including its main physical, chemical, microbiological or organoleptic characteristics showing the product’s specific character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ is a food preparation that, when released for consumption, comes in the following types:

—	sauce for serving immediately

—	sauce for serving at a later date

When released for consumption, it has the following organoleptic characteristics:

—	colour: red of varying intensity;

—	product appearance: creamy and homogeneous, with grainy tomato ‘passata’ and/or dense pulp with distinguishable tomato bits.

—	taste: typical of ripe tomatoes, along with savoury notes due to the presence of traditional matured pork jowl (‘guanciale’] and dried or fresh chilli and/or pepper.

—	aroma: characteristic of ripe tomatoes, typical of the fresh product.

—	Fat content: no less than 15g per 100g (only for the sauce to be served at a later date).

4.2.   Description of the production method of the product to which the name under point 1 applies that the producers must follow including, where appropriate, the nature and characteristics of the raw materials or ingredients used, and the method by which the product is prepared (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

COMPULSORY INGREDIENTS

The ingredients traditionally used for the production of ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’, as a share of the total of the finished product, are:

—

18-30 % Amatrice pork jowl: The pork jowl used to make ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ is obtained from fresh pork jowl from heavy pigs, trimmed into a triangle starting from the throat. It has the following characteristics: — shape: triangular, with a rounded base; — colour: white, mottled with red on the inside, the fat part being greater than the lean part; — maturing: at least 30 days from curing.

—	Extra virgin olive oil: 0,5-1 %.

—

69-81 % tomato ‘passata’ and/or peeled chopped tomatoes (pulp): — The tomato ‘passata’ used to prepare ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ has the following organoleptic characteristics: — colour: red typical of ripe tomatoes, Gardner a/b method > 2,00; — taste: typical of ripe tomatoes, pleasantly acidic, no aftertastes and/or foreign flavours; — aroma: characteristic of ripe tomatoes, typical of the fresh product, no foreign odours; — appearance: homogeneous with a graininess dependent on the type of sieve used; — refining: skin and seeds present in natural quantities; — Brix > 8,0 at 20 °C, invert sugars > 50. No acidifying agents are allowed. — The chopped peeled tomatoes (pulp) used to prepare ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ have the following organoleptic characteristics: — colour: red typical of ripe tomatoes, Gardner a/b method > 1,90; — taste: typical of ripe tomatoes, pleasantly acidic, no aftertastes and/or foreign flavours; — aroma: characteristic of ripe tomatoes, typical of the fresh product, no foreign odours; — appearance: dense pulp with distinguishable bits; — Brix > 7,0 at 20 °C, invert sugars > 48. No acidifying agents are allowed.

—	Salt to taste;

—	White wine to taste;

—	Dried or fresh chilli and/or pepper: to taste.

RECOMMENDED INGREDIENTS

Grated Amatrice pecorino or Pecorino Romano PDO from Lazio.

Amatrice pecorino, made with fresh sheep’s milk, has the following characteristics:

—	shape: cylindrical with flat sides;

—	colour of the body of the cheese: white to straw yellow;

—	maturing: not less than 6 months.

Unlike other similar sauces, ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ does not provide for the use of ingredients such as garlic, onion or pork belly, which are used in most pasta condiments and sauces.

METHOD OF PREPARATION OF THE PRODUCT

Only the ingredients listed in point 4.2, in the stated quantities, may be used to prepare ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’. Depending on the types described in point 4.1, there are two different methods of production.

Sauce for serving immediately

After de-rinding and cutting the pork jowl into strips, fry it in the extra virgin olive oil, in a pan or frying pan over a low heat.

Keep frying until the ‘foam’ produced by the pork jowl has dried off, then add the white wine.

When the strips of pork jowl are golden, remove them from the pan and set them aside. Pour the tomato ‘passata’ and/or pulp into the same pan, adding salt, fresh or dried chilli and/or pepper. Bring to the boil and cook on a high heat for 10-20 minutes until the sauce has a creamy consistency. Then add the pork jowl strips and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Sauce for serving at a later date

After de-rinding and cutting the pork jowl into strips, fry them in the extra virgin olive oil, in a suitable pan.

Keep frying until the ‘foam’ produced by the pork jowl has dried off, then add the white wine.

When the strips of pork jowl are golden, pour the tomato ‘passata’ and/or pulp into the same pan, adding salt, fresh or dried chilli and/or pepper. Cook until the sauce has a creamy consistency. Then the sauce is poured into the food-grade containers, hermetically sealed and heat-treated, followed by labelling.

Sauce intended for consumption at a later date may be deep-frozen after preparation.

The ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ TSG for later consumption must be packaged and labelled in suitable food-grade containers of up to 5 kg.

For both types, it is recommended that, after adding the ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ to the pasta, Amatrice pecorino or Pecorino Romano PDO from the Lazio Region be grated over the dish.

The nature and characteristics of the ingredients used, as well as the traditional production process, give ‘Amatriciano Tradizionale’ its unique characteristics which emphasise the sapidity of the matured pork jowl and the pecorino cheese; the recipe has roots in the social and economic history of the Amatrice region from which it originates.

4.3.   Description of the key elements establishing the product’s traditional character (Article 7(2) of this Regulation)

‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ has a strong tradition and specific character as regards the ingredients used, the specific method of preparation and also the socioeconomic characteristics of the production area of Monti della Laga, from where the sauce originates.

The use of matured pork jowl in particular is proof that ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ represents the connection that for centuries has characterised the human relationship with a difficult terrain. In the past, the local shepherds, during the transhumance (which forced them to live away from home for 4-5 months a year, generally between May and September), took with them some foodstuffs which could be easily kept for long periods, for example cured pork jowl and flour.

With these simple ingredients the shepherds were able to cook in a long-handled pan their frugal but hearty pasta dish.

The people of Amatrice, by recreating and enriching this very basic rural dish, particularly with the addition of tomatoes in the early 19th century, gave life to one of the most popular dishes of the Italian tradition.

In the late 18th century, the Neapolitans were among the first in Europe to recognise the major organoleptic qualities of the tomato. The people of Amatrice, which had belonged to the Kingdom of Naples ever since the 13th century, had the chance to taste it and wisely added it to aged pork jowl which made this pasta sauce so succulent that its reputation crossed national borders to assert itself in international cuisine.

During the 19th century many people from Amatrice moved to Rome, taking their sauce recipe with them; most of these migrants found work in the catering industry and in retailing food products from their region. From the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century, the Amatrice community in Rome was particularly famous for its cheap and popular dishes.

Anywhere in the world, pasta with ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’ sauce (traditionally spaghetti or bucatini, but also short pasta) is the pasta dish par excellence of Italian cuisine. This sauce has always been made with pork jowl, never bacon or pork belly [pancetta], and it is pork jowl which, due to its greater fat content, gives the sauce its characteristic and distinctive, intense and sapid taste.

The recipe has been entered into the Lazio Region’s list of traditional agri-food products.

Historical background

—

On page 175 of the book ‘Strenna dei Romanisti — Natale di Roma’ [Gift of the Romanists — Foundation of Rome], published in 1983 by the Roma Amor publishing house, there is a paragraph dedicated to ‘Amatriciana Tradizionale’: ‘... the name of this delicious dish, linked to the splendour of Roman cuisine ... a good cook from Amatrice living in Rome conceived a sauce made, among other things, from pork jowl (which as everyone knows is “chewier” than belly pork, giving the sauce its characteristic texture) and tomatoes ... it has a pleasant sweet-and-sour taste which persists even after it is cooked. Alongside the addition of Pecorino Romano, these are the main ingredients ...’.

—

In 1980, in their article ‘Il ciclo del maiale in Sabina’ [The Cycle of the Pig in Sabina], in: Brads, extract No 9, pp. 40 and 41, published in Cagliari, R. Lorenzetti and R. Marinelli wrote that pork jowl, which comes from the neck of the pig, and which can be cured and kept fresh like lard, is the secret of the sauce with which people from Amatrice and the surrounding area serve their spaghetti, which has become famous the world over.

—

Carlo Baccari, in his poem ‘La pasta amatriciana’ published in the magazine ‘Abbruzzo oggi’, No 40, September/October 1984, extols the sauce’s traditional ingredients such as pork jowl and a tomato sauce, praising the pigs from which the jowls are produced and the sauce whose taste surprises those who try it; here is an extract: ‘... and among the herds, as if by magic, there appeared with joy in the strangest way the gentle ewe and the good pig ... together they gave us cheese and jowl. From the rough pan, boiling down, the sauce which surprises these people. The shepherd wants you, tasty as you are, and you are the favourite across the world.’

—

In his 1998 work ‘La cucina romana e del Lazio’ [Roman and Lazio cuisine], Livio Jannattoni lists pork jowl and tomatoes among the ingredients in this recipe for spaghetti all’Amatriciana supplied by the Amatrice Tourist Office: ‘Ingredients for 5/6 persons: 500 g spaghetti, 125 g cured pork jowl, a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a drop of dry white wine, 6-7 San Marzano tomatoes (or 400 g of canned peeled tomatoes), a small piece of chilli, 100 g grated pecorino cheese, salt. Put into a (preferably iron) frying pan the oil, the chilli and the pork jowl cut into small pieces...’.

—

The ingredients of the traditional Amatriciana sauce recipe are also featured in the stamp issued in August 2008 by the Italian Republic as part of the ‘Made in Italy’ series and dedicated to the Spaghetti all’Amatriciana Festival. They are also listed in the recipe recognised as a Traditional Product in 2005 by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policy (Official Gazette No 174 of 28 July 2005).

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(1)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.