EN
HR
"Istarski ovčji sir" / "Istrski ovčji sir" has been granted a European protected designation of origin, the European Commission announced in the Official Journal of the European Union of December 10, 2025.
This product name has thus been entered into the register of geographical indications for agricultural products and is protected throughout the European UnionThe EU protected designation of origin mark on the packaging guarantees the consumer that they are purchasing an authentic product.
The procedure for protecting the name "Istarski ovčji sir" / "Istrian sheep's cheese" was jointly initiated by the Croatian Istrian Goat and Sheep Breeders Association and the Slovenian Association of Farmers' Association of Slovenia.
Both associations, in accordance with the legal procedure, each initiated national procedures for the protection of the name in its own member state and, after the national procedures were completed, submitted a joint application to the European Commission for registration of the protected designation of origin "Istarski ovčji sir" / "Istrski ovčji sir".
It is hard, full-fat cheese which is obtained by coagulation of raw or pasteurized sheep's milk with rennet and separation of whey. It is cylindrical in shape. The rind is smooth, yellow-brown to brown in color, while in cross-section it is ivory to straw-colored.
It is characterized by a slightly elastic, but crumbly to slightly brittle texture. It has a full flavor that provides a sense of nourishment, salty and spicy with a pronounced aromatic note of sheep's milk and the plant varieties that the sheep are fed.
With longer aging, the cheese takes on a typical spicy, filling and nutritious The taste and aroma of sheep's milk cheese intensify during ripening. Long-aged cheeses melt in the mouth during consumption and the flavors intensify.
The special characteristics and quality of "Istarski ovčjig sir / Istrian ovčjig sir" are the result of the semi-extensive method of sheep farming, the composition of the milk of the indigenous Istrian sheep breed / Istrian Pramenka, and the long tradition and skill of sheep cheese production.
You can view the product specification "Istrian sheep's cheese" / "Istrian sheep's cheese". HERE.
The Republic of Croatia now has 52 products whose name is registered in the European Union as a protected designation of origin, a protected geographical indication or a traditional speciality guaranteed and is entered in the register of geographical indications for agricultural products and the register of traditional specialities guaranteed of the Union.
In addition to the currently registered name "Istarski ovčji sir" / "Istarski ovčji sir", the following product names have also been registered:
- Samobor bermet,
- Krk prosciutto,
- Extra virgin olive oil Cres,
- Neretva mandarin,
- Ogulin pickled cabbage / Ogulin pickled cabbage,
- Baranja kulen,
- Lika potatoes,
- Istrian prosciutto / Istrian prosciutto,
- Drniški prosciutto,
- Dalmatian prosciutto,
- Poljički soparnik / Poljički zeljanik / Poljički uljenjak,
- Zagorje turkey,
- Krk olive oil,
- Korčula olive oil,
- Pag lamb,
- Šolta olive oil,
- Varaždin cabbage,
- Slavonian kulen / Slavonian kulin,
- Međimurje meat 'from tiblica,
- Slavonian honey,
- Lika lamb,
- Istria,
- Pag salt,
- Zagorje mills,
- Pag cheese,
- Bjelovar kvargl,
- Brač stew,
- Varaždin klipič,
- Mali Ston oyster,
- Mining rake,
- Dalmatian roast beef,
- Dalmatian pancetta,
- Lika's skripavac,
- Brač olive oil,
- Zagorje acacia honey,
- Zagorski štruklji / Zagorski štruklji,
- Meat of Istrian cattle - boškarina / Meat of Istrian cattle - boškarina,
- Samobor garlic / Samobor garlic,
- Lumblija,
- Gorani honey,
- Dalmatian lamb,
- Slavonian sausage,
- Komiža carob,
- Novigrad mussel,
- Varaždin pumpkin seed oil,
- Turopolje pig meat,
- Black Slavonian pig meat,
- Ludbreg horseradish,
- Vrbovec feathers,
- Istrian honey / Istrian honey and
- Dalmatian honey.
