Greeks claim the right to feta, but Danes won't say 'cheese'

Newark Star Ledger (AP) ^ | 12/24/02 | AP

[Incorrigible]

Greeks claim the right to feta, but Danes won't say 'cheese'

Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Denmark sued the European Union's executive Commission yesterday for giving Greece exclusive rights to produce feta cheese, calling the product a generic foodstuff, not a regional delicacy.

Greece has tried since 1989 to have the EU ban other nations from using the label, saying the cheese has been made there since ancient times.

In October, the EU's head office added feta to a list of hundreds of gourmet products given "designation of origin" protection. That means they can only be produced in a given area, using traditional methods.

"The government doesn't believe that feta is a generic name of origin but a generic name of goods, which cannot be protected," Danish Food Minister Mariann Fischer Boel said.

Denmark was victorious in a 1999 EU court hearing against Greece getting exclusive rights to the feta name. But by introducing new legislation this year, the EU Commission was able to sidestep the court decision.

Fischer Boel said yesterday the commission's ruling could create "new barriers with the EU's free trade principles."

According to EU guidelines, feta cheese can be produced only in certain parts of Greece and with strict product specifications.

Greece has claimed feta should be made only from sheep's milk, or a mixture of goat and sheep's milk, from livestock that eat grass and flowers in the rugged Greek countryside.

Other EU countries often make it with cow's milk and then whiten it to avoid the yellow color that results from the aging of cow milk.

Although German and French producers also make feta, the Danes have taken the lead in campaigns to have feta declared a generic product like cheddar or camembert, in recognition of the fact that production has spread well beyond the cheese's origin.

The EU has nearly 150 cheeses on its list of protected regional products, including gorgonzola from Italy, French brie de Meaux and English Stilton, as well as 19 other Greek cheeses and Danish blue.

Not for commercial use.  For educational and discussion purposes only.

[Incorrigible]

Gotta love those unelected bureaucrats in the EU!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Perhaps they should consult the good book...

[greydog]

A friend at work is Greek, and we always kid him about eating Feta cheese. He brought some in - it smelled like toe jam.

[Dog Gone]

The EU was supposed to turn Europe into an economic powerhouse. Instead, it stifles competition and takes away more rights than it creates.

We have nothing to fear from the EU, but conservatives in Europe certainly should.

[dogbyte12]

Yes, it is silly. But there is a point to this as well. Often, the characteristics of gourmet food items are intrinsic to their origin.

You could grab some vine cuttings from the Bordeaux region of France, transplant them to Chicago, and the resulting product is not a Bordeaux.

It doesn't matter as much if the term is something generic like Kleenex, or Jell-o, because there really isn't that much difference. But "feta cheese" made with cow's milk in Denmark, lightened to look like Greek Feta, is not the same product.

We may scoff at the food protection, labelling laws in Europe, but let's face it the food is better for it. We do have some good examples of the same thing here.

My favorite example is the Vidalia onion. Vidalia's soil is extremely low in sulfur. This is a good thing, because onions are as attracted to sulfur in the soil, as Bill Clinton is to an intern with a big rack. The same onion, does not taste the same, when grown elsewhere. It is not a Vidalia onion anymore.

Feta cheese tastes best when made with sheep's milk, in Greece.

[MineralMan]

"It doesn't matter as much if the term is something generic like Kleenex, or Jell-o, because there really isn't that much difference. But "feta cheese" made with cow's milk in Denmark, lightened to look like Greek Feta, is not the same product. "

Yup. You can figure this out by tasting the generic feta cheese in the market, made with cow's milk, and real feta from Greece, made with sheep or goat's milk. There's an enormous difference.

[Freeper]

You could grab some vine cuttings from the Bordeaux region of France, transplant them to Chicago, and the resulting product is not a Bordeaux.

If I recall my "vine cutting" history - - - it was sometime in the early to mid 1800's that all of the Bordeaux vinyards got some some form of root disease and they were "forced" to use root cuttings from California (because they were disease free).

Does that now mean that "the Bordeaux wines are not Californian?"

[Pard]

Yeh, but you've got to call it something. Pheta = cheese, in Greek. So if you're making a generic Feta, what do you call it--Whitened Cow Milk?

[Hacksaw]

Feta is great on salads and pizza.

[Hacksaw]

He brought some in - it smelled like toe jam.

That is the best part. After making a tasty pizza with loads of garlic feta, nobody will steal it out of the fridge.

I love feta - it is an aquired taste, but you will never go back.

[Klatuu]

I'm Greek. I've been eating feta all my life.
Oddly enough, the best I've ever had came from Bulgaria.

[chilepepper]

FETA is toe jam! goat toe jam!

[chilepepper]

due to the famous grape blight, many of the best French wines were transplanted back from --

Chile!!!

[COBOL2Java]

Greeks claim the right to feta

In a related story, Detroit claims the right to Boogie...

[Bella_Bru]

Feta is very tasty. It's pungent, much like very sharp Provolone.

[Jason_b]

I like Feta on my salad.

The worst thing I ever smelled was Kimchee. Probably spelled it wrong, but you know what I mean. We didn't tease the coworker who brought it in. We nearly lynched him. He struggled free and fled though. Bet he doesn't bring kimchee into the workplace ever again though.

[dogbyte12]

Does that now mean that "the Bordeaux wines are not Californian?"

They are hybrids. The french cuttings were grafted with mature Californian stock, which was both italian and french to begin with, then transplanted back to France after the blight left. So, yes the wines are part "Californian", but of course they are really mostly European still.

[cryptical]

I have a coworker who was trying out a stir-fry recipe from another coworker. He didn't know the difference between a clove of garlic, and a bulb. He only used one bulb, instead of three, because he thought it was a little strong. He brought some leftovers in, an although I love garlic when you can smell it over 100 feet away it's a little strong (and my desk is 10 feet away).

[brewcrew]

it smelled like toe jam.

Take it from a life-long Wisconinite (where 9 of every 10 pounds of milk go into the production of cheese) - the more it smells, the better it tastes.

[dara]

This greek "feta " really stinks!Both in taste and smell.I live in the US and sometimes have to buy it-when I don't find the original Bulgarian white cheese,which is superior in flavor,and lacks completely the horrible smell.The best " feta"(silly word used to classify a TYPE,not an ORIGIN of this cheese)is Bulgarian buffalo feta.You just can't stop eating it,it is sssso good.It is my favourite cheese,along with smoked mozzarella and some brie-products.Greeks might think theirs is the best,but that's overlooking the other choices for obvious reasons.To be frank,I also like some German feta,although a bit too salty at times.Bottom line:if you haven't tried different cheeses,you will never know which is the BETTER one.Bon appetit! :-)))