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

2011/C 32/16

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

‘MANTECADOS DE ESTEPA’

EC No: ES-PGI-0005-0761-18.02.2009

PGI ( X ) PDO ( )

1.   Name:

‘Mantecados de Estepa’

2.   Member State or third country:

Spain

3.   Description of the agricultural product or foodstuff:

3.1.   Type of product:

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

The name ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ has traditionally been used to denote a type of Christmas sweet, made in Estepa. These ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ have been made according to the same recipe for over a hundred years. They are packaged either on their own or together with other Christmas sweets such as polvorones, alfajores and roscos de vino.

‘Mantecados de Estepa’ are baked dough pieces. The basic ingredients are wheat flour, pork lard and icing sugar. The additional ingredients (see Section 3.3) depend on the variety of ‘Mantecado de Estepa’: cinnamon, home-made style, olive oil, almond, cocoa, coconut, lemon, hazelnut and vanilla. By way of exception, in ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ made with olive oil the lard is replaced by extra virgin olive oil. They are a toasted chestnut colour, firm on the outside and soft inside, with a slightly cracked surface and smooth on the palate.

‘Mantecados de Estepa’ are round in shape and weigh up to 50 grams.

Products bearing the name ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ must also meet the following physical and chemical parameters:

3.3.   Raw materials (for processed products only):

The process begins with careful selection of the raw materials.

The basic raw materials used are wheat flour, pork lard and icing sugar. Additional ingredients are: cinnamon, sesame, almonds, hazelnuts, coconut, cocoa, natural flavourings (essential oils) in the proportions given in the table below. By way of exception, in ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ made with olive oil, the lard is replaced by extra virgin olive oil.

The flour, pork lard, sugar and almonds must meet the following requirements, as regards physical and chemical properties and organoleptic characteristics:

Additives: additives that are permitted by the legislation in force may be used.

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

—

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

Production and packaging must take place in the defined geographical area in order to safeguard the quality of the product. The sweets must be packaged individually just after they are made and after being cooled to lower their temperature to below 10 °C. This prevents them from breaking because they are too fragile, and they retain the physical and chemical properties and organoleptic characteristics described in point 3.2.

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

The product is packaged individually, either mechanically on the flow-pack line in heat-sealed cellophane paper, or in tissue paper twisted on both sides, mechanically or manually. This must be done when the product has cooled, so that the sweets can be handled more easily and to avoid steam condensing inside the wrappers.

The individually packaged Mantecados may be marketed individually or in boxes that are duly labelled and weigh 100 grams minimum and 5 kg maximum.

3.7.   Specific rules concerning labelling:

Both the individual wrappers and the boxes must bear labels that must include the words ‘Indicación Geográfica Protegida’, the name ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ and the logo.

Where the ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ are included in assortments with products not covered by the PGI, the individual wrappers may bear the words ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ and the PGI logo. On the outside of the box they may be listed as ‘Mantecados de Estepa PGI’ but the PGI logo may not be used.

4.   Concise definition of the geographical area:

The municipality of Estepa, in the province of Seville.

5.   Link with the geographical area:

5.1.   Specificity of the geographical area:

The fact the ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ have been made in Estepa for over a hundred years and have acquired such an excellent reputation as a Christmas speciality is not a coincidence, but the result of the efforts and dedication of the generations that have sought to maintain and improve the quality of this local product. During the Mantecado season, from September to December, much of Estepa's population is now employed, directly or indirectly, in Mantecado production.

During the season, Estepa lives from and for ‘Mantecados de Estepa’. There are very few families who are not traditionally employed in one of the factories that produce ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ — and there are now over 20 of them. This gives the businesses a strong family character; they pass down from one generation to the next and some are now being run by the third generation.

As Mantecado production became industrialised to satisfy market demand, many satellite industries developed in Estepa that were needed for Mantecado production and marketing. These range from thermoshaping, printing and storage of raw materials to production line automation.

5.2.   Specificity of the product:

‘Mantecados de Estepa’ are sweets made from carefully selected raw materials. They are baked dough pieces, made from a basic mixture of wheat flour, pork lard and icing sugar, with additional ingredients such as cinnamon and almonds inter alia. They are round in shape and weigh 50 grams maximum.

The specific quality of ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ is that they are firm on the outside and soft inside, slightly cracked on the surface and smooth on the palate, and they are a seasonal speciality, eaten at Christmas time. They are extremely popular during the Christmas season and have been made according to the same recipe for over 100 years.

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

The basis for the ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ Protected Geographical Indication is the reputation the product has acquired during the 100 years and more that it has been made according to the traditional recipe.

Year after year the town of Estepa takes on an important role in preparations for the Spanish Christmas table. The traveller who arrives in Estepa at the end of September is greeted with the sweet, mouth watering aroma of cinnamon, toasted sugar and sesame. At this time of year most of the town's inhabitants are busy making Mantecados.

‘Mantecados de Estepa’ date back to the 16th century. Documents in the archives of the Convent of Santa Clara in Estepa show that they employed confectioners to meet the demand from Seville and Madrid, where they sent their products. There are also old recipes for ‘Mantecados de Estepa’. They were made from a mixture of cereals and the excess pork lard left over from slaughter in December, which explains why this sweet has always been eaten at Christmas time. These ‘lard cakes’ were produced in every Estepa home, and there were special recipients for making them in.

Micaela Ruiz Téllez (La Colchona), who was born in Estepa in 1824 and died in 1901, invented the current form of the Mantecado. She had the brilliant idea that would transform ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ and make them famous. To improve the taste and prevent the product suffering any harm if transported over long distances, Micaela altered the recipe, inter alia the technique for drying the Mantecados on the outside, so that they would remain soft. The new ‘Mantecados de Estepa’ were born: high quality, soft and crumbly, delicious, as the flour was refined and toasted and this made smoother Mantecados than the original recipe. The changes she introduced created a product which has acquired an excellent reputation in the confectionery trade.

‘Mantecados de Estepa’ became one of the products traditionally offered to consumers at Christmas and they have been linked with Estepa for a very long time. This is because the people of Estepa have been making them since the second half of the 19th century. Thus, their fame travelled far and wide, outside Andalusia, and they became known as ‘Mantecados de Estepa’.

A well-known journalist, Antonio Burgos, working as a columnist for ABC newspaper, paid homage to the traditional character of these sweets:

‘… I must praise an establishment in Estepa, whose name is beside the point, which has reproduced a Christmas box as it used to be made in the old days. The cardboard box itself is a work of art, with the letters embossed, …, and inside, the good old stuff: mantecados, polvorones, alfajores, roscos de vino and so on. The classic assortment.’, said ABC in its edition of 27 December 1986.

Publication reference of the specification:

(Article 5(7) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/agriculturaypesca/portal/export/sites/default/comun/galerias/galeriaDescargas/cap/industrias-agroalimentarias/denominacion-de-origen/Pliegos/Pliego_Mantecados_Estepa.pdf

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.