THE LIST of Slovak food products on the list of protected traditional specialties is getting extended. The European Commission (EC) approved two Slovak cheese products for the list of protected geographical indications (PGIs): Zázrivské vojky in September 2014 and Klenovecký syrec in January 2015.
Zázrivské vojky are a steamed cheese product, smoked or unsmoked, in the form of strings which are 10-70 cm long and 2-16 mm thick. They are made from lump cow cheese using a traditional method, whereby fermented, partially ripened lump cheese is steamed in hot water and then pulled by hand, or with the aid of two rollers, into long strings which are known locally as vojky. The pulled and finished strings are presented in multiples, either loose or twisted, and sometimes bound in the middle by means of a string. They must be packaged in the defined geographical area – meaning the village of Zázrivá in northern Slovakia or its vicinity – immediately following manufacture in order to preserve their specific shape and to safeguard the quality of the product.
Zázrivá is a typical mountain region with suitable conditions for rearing and grazing sheep and cattle and processing their milk into cheese, the EC claims, continuing that oral tradition has it that domestic production of strings and other cheese products in Zázrivá dates back to the second half of the 19th century, as the production of steamed cheese products, including strings, for sale was the only source of income for local sheep and dairy cattle farmers at the time.
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