Slovenska Potica cake protected at EU level
Brussels, 22 April - Slovenska Potica, a rich traditional cake made of special dough and filling, has been protected with the traditional specialities guaranteed label, meaning the cakes sold as Slovenian Potica will need to be certified for their shape and recipe, while not geographically limited to Slovenia.
Ljubljana
A potica cake.
Photo: Bor Slana/STA
File photo
Slovenska Potica will have to meet standards of dough, fillings and shape. It can have five different traditional fillings (walnuts, walnuts and raisins, raisins, tarragon, or tarragon and cottage cheese), and must be baked in a round baking pan to produce a hole in the middle. The smallest allowed diameter is 14 cm.
All producers who want to make the protected Slovenska Potica will have to get a certificate, while others can continue selling potica as "potica" or "orehova potica/walnut potica" etc.
A decree on the protection status was published in the EU's Official Journal on Thursday.
Agriculture Minister Jože Podgoršek said he was very proud that as Slovenia's ambassador and traditional cake, potica will help enhance Slovenia's profile abroad.
"Slovenian cuisine has very rich tradition. Slovenian food has its identity, which reflects in its EU-level protection. Potica is definitely a food which best symbolises a festive menu of Slovenians," he wrote in today's statement.
An application to protect potica was submitted to the ministry by several chambers of agriculture, food-processing industry, commerce and small business in 2017.
The ministry protected the cake at national level the same year and submitted an application for protection to the European Commission in early 2018.
Austria objected to Slovenia's plans, arguing it wanted to protect its producers that make cakes with similar names, such as Potize and Putize.
Slovenia and Austria then reached a deal allowing Austrian producers to continue using these names, as the goal of Slovenia's bid was to protect the name Slovenska Potica", not potica or any other derivates.
The ministry said today that potica had a special place in Slovenian cuisine and that as Slovenian speciality it is almost a national symbol.
It is made in all Slovenian regions, while varying in name, filling, type of dough and shape. More than 100 various types have been recorded.