Discover the Origin –protecting food in Europe.
People who care about the food they eat are increasingly aware of where their food comes from. Discover the Origin is an Europe wide campaign promoted by the European Union to enhance the knowledge about the provenance of certain foods. Not only to help consumers with information about the origin of their food but also to protect certain trade names associated with specific locations against imitations,the EU has introduced the concept of PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).
This principal is commonly known for e.g. champagne:only sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France is allowed to carry this name and this is also protected by PDO.
When researching for this post I stumbled upon this list on Wikipedia with products with protected designation of origin. Looking at the list I was particularly surprised to find Gailtaler Speck on there –which is an utterly delicious type of ham made very close to where I was born in Carinthia,Austria. I had no idea that this was a protected brand. And did you know that only clotted cream from Cornwall is allowed to be called clotted cream?
Discover the Origin now is promoting 5 European key products where the importance of provenance might also be less well appreciated. While it is a no-brainer that Burgundy wines come from Burgundy,you might be surprised to learn (if you are not a wine expert) that Port is produced in a specific region of Portugal called Douro Valley. From the same region also are Douro Valley Wines made from the same grapes as Port.
2 much beloved Italian products are also on their list:Parma Ham which derives from the hills around Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese which has to be produced in a restricted area that includes Parma,Reggio Emilia,Bologna and Mantova to be allowed to carry this name.
Discover the Origin Event at Cucina Caldesi
I was very lucky to be invited to a Discover the Origin Food and Wine Blogger Event,expertly organised by a fellow food blogger Katrina (thanks!) to taste these 5 products. I know you are jealous,so you should be,but I am not finished yet:the event was held at the cooking school La Cucina Caldesi in Marylebone where we not only had a cooking demonstrations by Katy Caldesi and her collegues but were then also allowed to sample the delicious dishes that they had prepared.
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| From Discover the Origin |
We tried some gorgeous wines,in fact I might have overdone it a bit in the beginning before I had eaten,so my pictures are bad and the memory of the evening is not as crisp as I would like it to be. Katharina led the wine tasting and gave us some details around the particular grapes and also some tips on how to taste wine. We started with Burgundy wines of which I particularly enjoyed the Cremant de Bourgogne,Vitteaut Alberti and the Chablis 1er Cru,Vaucoupin,Alain Gautheron (2006).
We also tried a Douro Valley Wine (Drouro Valley Red,Curchill Graham 2006) which is apparently pressed by foot but nevertheless tasted lovely. When we got to the Port (10 Year Old Tawny Port,Caves Vale do Rodo) I know I loved it but my judgment at this stage of the evening might have been already slightly clouded.
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| From Discover the Origin |
The food was generous and tasty. I tucked into plates of parma ham and parmigiano and savoured the inventive canapes –all containing either parma ham or parmegiano. After this very good start it got even better when Katie Caldesi show-cooked four courses for us.
We got ripe and heavenly smelling melon wrapped in thin slices of parma ham,followed by (my personal favourite) crostini with canelloni beans. The oven baked pasta with meat balls was very good although I personally prefer lighter,less meat based pasta dishes. We finished the meal with perfectly pink duck in home-made berry sauce.
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| From Discover the Origin |
As I belong to the rare breed of food bloggers for whom even cooking an egg would pose a significant challenge I was certainly intrigued by La Cucina Caldesi. The food was brilliant,especially when considering that Katie Caldesi prepared all the dishes while at the same time entertaining us and telling us tricks of the trade. Should I finally decide to learn how to cook,this will be the place to go. Maybe she will then also teach me how to make these crostini with canelloni beans…
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Any event involving wine is great
but to learn about sustainability and the origin of food makes it even better because it really is important to know where our food comes from and how we can maintain the quality of food and quality of life of farmers etc.
@catty yes I agree,I never thought very much about it before,maybe the EU is actually doing something good here! and the wine was good I tell you
Hi Ute,
Congratulations on winning the discover the origin competition! Was lovely to meet you that night. I don’t know about you but I still feel quite spoilt that we were invited to such a great event!
(p.s have been keeping up with your blog and some of your reviews have come in very handy!!)
Txx