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Meat from Slovenia

Zgornjesavinjski želodec PGIZgornjesavinjski želodec

Zgornjesavinjski želodec is an air-dried pork sausage from the Upper Savinja valley. Minced thigh and shoulder with back fat, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar fill a pig's stomach or bladder, which is drained, pressed flat between boards and dried for at least three months while a grey-brown Penicillium mould grows on it. No nitrite or nitrate is used.

Fully documentedMeat3.2 months – 3.3 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceShares of the filling from the PGI specification. Nitrites, nitrates and other additives are not allowed.
Pork thigh and shoulderat least 75 %Minced into 8–10 mm pieces[eu-zgs-2011][eu-zgs-2015]
Firm back fatat most 25 %Cut into 6–8 mm pieces[eu-zgs-2015][eu-zgs-2011]
Garlic1–2 % cloves and 4–6 % garlic liquor, by weight of the filling[eu-zgs-2011]
Salt, pepper and sugarSalt in the finished product below 7 %[eu-zgs-2011]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.2 months – 3.3 months

Start
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What changes: Thigh and shoulder are minced and back fat is cut into cubes

Step 1 of 6
Mince the meat and cut the fat
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Penicillium
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Zgornjesavinjski želodec is an air-dried pork sausage from the Upper Savinja valley. Minced thigh and shoulder with back fat, garlic, salt, pepper and sugar fill a pig's stomach or bladder, which is drained, pressed flat between boards and dried for at least three months while a grey-brown Penicillium mould grows on it. No nitrite or nitrate is used. Made in 6 steps over 3.2 months – 3.3 months. The longest step, dry and mature on shelves, takes at least 3 months (European Commission 2015) and runs at 6–16 °C (European Commission 2015). Natural greyish-brown surface mould of the genus Penicillium does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsSet[eu-zgs-2015]Dry and mature on shelves
Temperature6–16 °CSet[eu-zgs-2015]Dry and mature on shelves

What makes this one different

Zgornjesavinjski želodec is not smoked. It carries garlic and garlic liquor and ripens under a natural Penicillium mould, unlike the cold-smoked Šebreljski želodec.

Related ferments

Safety

No nitrite, nitrate or other additives are allowed. The product loses at least 40 % of its weight in drying and is stored at no more than 8 °C. Its salt must stay under 7 %, which is a ceiling and not a safe minimum, and the summaries read here give no amount to add. This is raw pork that is never cooked, and without nitrite the process depends on salt, cold and drying. CDC says improperly preserved homemade foods are common sources of botulism, and that curing, drying or smoking alone does not reliably kill Trichinella worms in pork. A home copy of these steps is not covered by the specification.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

A ceremonial food for weddings and the Easter blessing; a handwritten recipe from about 1930 survives from the Logar farm. Registered as a PGI by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1154/2011 of 10 November 2011; non-minor amendments to the specification were approved by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1595 of 21 September 2015.

  1. [eu-zgs-2011] European Commission 2011, Publication of an application, Zgornjesavinjski želodec PGI, summary, Official Journal C 45, 12.2.2011 (CELEX 52011XC0212(05)), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  2. [eu-zgs-2015] European Commission 2015, Publication of an amendment application, Zgornjesavinjski želodec PGI (SI-PGI-0105-01140), with single document, Official Journal C 145, 1.5.2015 (CELEX 52015XC0501(03)), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  3. [eu-reg-1154-2011] European Commission 2011, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1154/2011 of 10 November 2011 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Zgornjesavinjski želodec (PGI)), Official Journal L 296, 15.11.2011, p. 14, read via the EU Publications Office cellargov
  4. [eu-reg-2015-1595] European Commission 2015, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1595 of 21 September 2015 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register (Zgornjesavinjski želodec (PGI)), Official Journal L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 39, read via the EU Publications Office cellargov
  5. [cdc-botulism] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botulism Preventiongov
  6. [cdc-trichinella] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, How to Prevent Trichinellosisgov