Русская версияThere is no better way to appreciate the sheer complexity of life
in the EU than by looking at the types of food and drink it has
taken under its wing.
Bildunterschrift:
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Greek feta cheese has been protected since 2002
Under the union's Protected Designation of Origin system, regions
of the 27-member bloc that think that a food or drink produced in,
and named after, their territory can protect the name.
That way
only producers working in the region can use it.
One famous example is feta cheese: Since 2002, under EU rules, only
sheep- and goat's-milk cheese produced by a specific process and in
specific parts of Greece can be called "feta."
Cheese is the most protected food
But in total the PDO system covers 782 types of food, ranging from
Arctic vegetables to Mediterranean sweets -- a classic example of
the bewildering diversity that is the EU's daily bread.
Bildunterschrift:
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Certain types of potatoes have been designated
The most popular type of product listed is cheese, with 165 types
under protection, from feta to a Swedish cheese called Svecia. The
second most popular is olive oil, with 97 listings.
The protected product which comes from the furthest north is the
Lapland potato, "Lapin puikula," which grows amidst the low hills,
forests and swamps of Arctic Finland.
The westernmost protected delicacy, meanwhile, is a passion fruit,
the "maracuja dos Acores," whose flowered vines grow aggressively
in the near-tropical sun almost 1,200 kilometres out in the
Atlantic on the volcanic island of Sao Miguel, in the Azores.
Finnish potatoes, Istrian olive oil
Bildunterschrift:
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Italy topped the EU-designated foods list
And the dish which is produced both furthest south and furthest
east in the EU comes from the ancient village of Geroskipou, on
rocky Cyprus, a place best known for its 1,200-year-old Byzantine
church.
Its local delicacy, a gelatinous sweet flavoured with lemon and
rose petals (English-speakers would call it "Turkish delight"), is
listed on the EU's books as "Loukoumi Geroskipou."
The Finnish potato and the Cypriot delight are each their country's
only PDO entry. That is by no means a record: Hungary, Slovenia and
non-EU-member Colombia also have one entry each (salami from
Szeged, olive oil from the Istrian peninsula, Colombian coffee),
while Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta have none at all.
Bildunterschrift:
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Germany has 12 types of beer
At the other end of the scale, Italy has an impressive 169 entries.
That includes 54 fruits, 38 types of olive oil and 34 cheeses.
South exceeds north in designations
Italy is followed by France, with 156 entries, then come Spain,
Portugal and Greece. Indeed, between them the Mediterranean powers
account for 628 of the 782 foods on the list - four fifths of all
the entries.
By comparison, the EU's northern members -- Britain, Ireland, and
the Benelux and Scandinavian states -- have just 56. Germany has
62, of which 12 are beers and 24 are mineral waters.
It may, at least, explain why northern Europeans complain that they
can never reach their Mediterranean colleagues at lunchtime.
And with the EU's neighbors as keen as ever to get into the club,
the one thing that seems certain is that the bloc's menu is likely
to get longer -- and more complicated -- with every course.
(Deutsche Welle)
more info >>
<< Back