Hungary and Romania are fighting for the Szekler chimney cake

Hungary is going to submit an application to the European Union in order to pronounce the chimney cake (in Hungarian: kürtöskalács) a “traditional specialities guaranteed” product, specifically, a Székely-Hungarian one. Meanwhile, the Romanians would also like the chimney cake to be recognised as a traditional Romanian product, writes hvg.hu.

The application which declares that the chimney cake should be recognised as a traditional “specialities guaranteed product” within the European Union is expected to be submitted in the spring of 2016, Péter Gál, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Deputy State Secretary for Origin Protection, stated on Monday. The negotiations have already started between the Hungarian and Transylvanian organizations, and their aim is to compose a professional application about the recognition of the Székely-Hungarian chimney cake, which then Hungary can forward to the European Commission in Brussels, Gál added.

The point of the “traditional specialities guaranteed” status is that it protects the recipe that’s been present in the community for a long time now, and people have known the given product for many years and decades. It’s also about a living tradition, which can adapt to the technological changes, said Gál. (Currently anyone has the right to call their product chimney cake; if the application is accepted, then only those who keep the original recipe and procedure can call it as such).

The Hungaricum Committee decided to add the chimney cake as the 55^th element of the Hungaricum List on 3 December. In order to make the chimney cake a protected product in the European Union, it has to be recognized as a “traditional specialities guaranteed” product – Zsolt V. Németh, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, Agrarian Development and Hungaricums at the Ministry of Agriculture, said.

The Romanian Minister of Agriculture candidate stated at the end of November, that he wants the chimney cake to be recognized as a traditional Romanian product, so the Hungarian decision might end in a debate. The Tourism Association for Covasna Country wrote a letter to the candidate and drew his attention to the fact that the chimney cake is a Székely-Hungarian product, and “it would be a shame to end the chimney cake’s story with such a hasty decision.”

Sándor Tamás, president of the Romanian Covasna County’s Council, said that Romanians also call the chimney cake as chimney cake, but it’s called the same in England, or in France, or anywhere, because it’s a Székely-Hungarian product that only has one name.  Everyone in the Carpathian Basin knows that from Konstanza to Sopron; many bake chimney cakes as a kind of part-time job, but it’s a full time job for even more people. The Transylvanian-Hungarian Depository may also put the chimney cake on its list.

based on an article of hvg.hu

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