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Products based on local environment getting more appreciated

Published:
3.11.2011

Products based on local environment getting more appreciated

On its path of sustainable offer, Slovenia has paid greater attention to the development, conservation and respect of special features of the local environment, including the field of food. Products such as Prekmurje ham, Karst-region Prosciutto, prekmurska gibanica and belokranjska povitica, are traditional products with a higher level of protection of traditional production, recipe and origin of raw materials – in September, ‘Nanoški sir’ (Nanos cheese) also became one of these products.

On its path of sustainable offer, Slovenia has paid greater attention to the development, conservation and respect of special features of the local environment, including the field of food. Products such as Prekmurje ham, Karst-region Prosciutto, prekmurska gibanica (layered apples, poppy seeds, cottage cheese and walnuts) and belokranjska povitica (Bela Krajina rolled cake), are traditional products with a higher level of protection of traditional production, recipe and origin of raw materials – in September, ‘Nanoški sir’ (Nanos cheese) also became one of these products.

Based on the European Commission Regulation, ‘Nanoški sir’ has been registered as a foodstuff of protected designation of origin. The label ‘Nanoški sir’ is a European protection identified by the European logo for protected foodstuffs with the designation of origin. It is the highest designation of quality of special agricultural products and foodstuffs in Slovenia, which means that the entire process from the basic feed for cows, the production of milk, the processing of milk and the moulding of the cheese to the final phase is carried out in the specified geographical area.

The cheese has been produced at Vipava Dairy since 1986. The production of cheese in this region has a long tradition, as cheese-making on the Nanos plateau – a high karst plateau in the mountainous barrier that divides the continental part of Slovenia from the Littoral Region and provides a distinct view – had already been mentioned in entries of the land register of Vipava manor from the 16th century. At that time, cheese was produced from sheep’s milk; today, however, it is made from local cow’s milk only. This also means that the milk comes from cows fed with natural feedingstuffs only. Such milk contains many minerals, particularly calcium, making the cheese also high in gastronomic and nutritional value.

‘Nanoški sir’ is produced in a completely traditional manner. Ripening takes place under natural conditions without filtration and heating of air, and is limited to the upper part of the wine-growing area of the Vipava Valley, where the continental and Mediterranean climates intertwine and a strong north to north-easterly wind blows from the plateau, influencing the ripening of the cheese. During ripening, mould and yeasts that are involved in all processes of ripening form on the surface of the cheese. The result is a gold and yellow cheese with occasional small to medium-sized eyes, intense aroma and flavour that becomes slightly piquant after several months of ripening.

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