Posted on 03/11/2014 12:22:56 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Would Parmesan by any other name be as tasty atop your pasta? A ripening trade battle might put that to the test.
As part of trade talks, the European Union wants to ban the use of European names like Parmesan, feta and Gruyère on cheese made in the United States.
The argument is that the American-made cheeses are shadows of the original European varieties and cut into sales and identity of the European cheeses. The Europeans say Parmesan should only come from Parma, Italy, not those familiar green cylinders that American companies sell. Feta should only be from Greece, even though feta isn’t a place. The EU argues it “is so closely connected to Greece as to be identified as an inherently Greek product.”
So, a little “hard-grated cheese” for your pasta? It doesn’t have quite the same ring as Parmesan. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
I wonder if they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. :)
That's the key... The fact that you're eating "Parmigiano-Reggiano" gives it the unique, high quality flavor, just like "pecorino-romano," or "Maytag Bleu."
It's like saying that any cheese made outside of Europe can't be labeled "cheese" (with the exception of "Valenzuelan Beaver Cheese.")
Mark
The Eurocrats are going after that stuff too. Can’t be made in the USA and named “Romano”, by them.
Good!
We’ll just send them batches of French Fries, made in Oregon.
We’ll send them Bavarian Sauerkraut, created in Wisconsin.
The same with Gouda cheese, bockwurst sausage, Brussel Sprouts grown in America, and to top it off .....
all those French or German chef knives, since this nation has taken a liking to Santokus, Gyutos, and Debas from the Orient.
Wait until red China goes after them over sauerkraut (suan tsai). Maybe even spaghetti too, if people remember the Marco Polo stories (the disinformation superhighway is working extremely hard to attribute spaghetti to the Etruscans).
I don’t know how trademark and copyright laws differ, but I think this is more of a trademark issue if it makes a difference at all.
There are other examples. Champagne has to come from the champagne region of France. Just like Bordeaux. Port comes from Portugal. Technically, to be a Bourbon it has to come from Bourbon County, KY... Though that seems to be less enforced.
The thing with trademarks though is they have to be vigorously defended every time they’re infringed. Once you start letting others get away with using your trademark, you lose it. Something like this, where it has -never- really been enforced before... Seems like a horse/barn situation. It’s way too late to start asserting a TM now, after decades of inattention.
The world must be a wonderful place if this is the biggest problem they have to worry about.
“Technically, to be a Bourbon it has to come from Bourbon County, KY.”
Actually, bourbon can be made pretty much anywhere in the US; the laws regarding bourbon pertain mainly to the ingredients used. But the good stuff comes from Kentucky.
And interestingly enough, there are no major bourbon producers based in present-day Bourbon County. The original county was much larger and has been subdivided numerous times.
Isn’t Wild Turkey still in Bourbon county? I thought Jim Beam was as well. I didn’t know about the county being cut up. I’ve also heard that the rules for being bourbon have been relaxed in recent years. For all I know its down to merely being four years old. Sad, that.
My spirit of choice is Wild Turkey Rare Breed, or Russell’s Reserve. In a pinch I’ll settle for 101, but I really prefer the others. Rare Breed is a ten-year old single barrel, barrel proof bourbon. Proof is usually about 107 to 110 depending on the batch. It’s very, very smooth. Best neat or over a little ice.
Russell’s Reserve is also ten years old, but it’s a blend of ten year old barrels, and it is diluted down to either 90 proof or 80 proof versions. It’s also very smooth and nice to drink. Doesn’t creep up and grab your medulla oblongata and shake it like rare breed tends to do.
How about the rights to “cheese eating surrender monkey”?
The original Bourbon County comprised most of eastern Kentucky and has since been divided into 34 counties. Wild Turkey is based in Lawrenceburg, which is in present-day Anderson County.
Olog-hai wrote:
“Wait until red China goes after them over sauerkraut (suan tsai). Maybe even spaghetti too, if people remember the Marco Polo stories (the disinformation superhighway is working extremely hard to attribute spaghetti to the Etruscans).”
Don’t forget the fermented cabbage so adored by the Koreans.
The spaghetti road was already broadcast by none other than Alton Brown, and it is in his books, which are not found in the history section.
I await what further fun shall come from this!
_______ Europe. And the cheese it rode in on.
Pretty good stuff from Breckenridge Colorado (of all places!). So smooth you can drink it straight. Drank some tonight.
https://www.breckenridgedistillery.com/hooch/products/
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