The European Commission approved the request to list 'Salată cu icre de știucă de Tulcea' (Tulcea pike roe salad) in the registry of the protected geographical indications (IGP).

According to its official description, 'Salata cu icre de știucă de Tulcea' is a "white/yellowish-white cream based on sunflower oil and comprising min. 29 % roe, including at least 15 % whole grain salted pike roe and at most 14 % salted Danube Delta fish roe […], mixed with carbonated water and lemon juice."

It is made in the region of Tulcea, which includes the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.

The dish "has a specific flavor of fish roe rounded off and highlighted by the flavor of Danube Delta fish roe, and is due to the salting and maturing process."

The difference between the Tulcea product and similar ones of the same category is that this recipe is only made in the geographical area with high pike roe levels. At the same time, another factor that sets it apart is the fact that it contains lemon juice, while other products use synthetic products: citric acid and glucose.

The product is made using mainly raw materials from the geographical area, and one of the raw materials (Danube Delta fish roe) comes exclusively from the geographical area, creating a close link to the natural environment of the geographical area, a release on the topic said.

At the same time, the salad "represents the local tradition of fish processing, which has evolved from harvesting and consumption of raw roe in the 19th century to processing it for modern cuisine in the 20th century."

The PGI label emphasizes the relationship between the specific geographic region and the name of the product, where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

The list of Romanian products included in the EU geographical indications register is available here.

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(Photo: Madr.ro)

simona@romania-insider.com