Division 5.3 Causal link between the geographical area and the quality or characteristics of the product (for PDO) or a specific quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product (for PGI)

The application for recognition of ‘Amarene Brusche di Modena’ jam as a PGI is justified by the product’s fame and reputation. The jam’s reputation is documented by abundant bibliographical references attesting to the special know-how, passed down over the centuries among the locals, in dealing with the need to process quickly a fruit that does not keep well and creating a product renowned and appreciated especially for the natural way in which it is produced.

To illustrate the product’s reputation, one cannot ignore the existence of a production base, in the area delineated under point 4 above, that already at the start of the last century was home to many cherry orchards and centres for the collection and cold storage of cherries, as well as a number of small-scale businesses and small and medium-sized jam producers. Farmers involved in producing the jam make up a pool of over 350 skilled workers and bring considerable production value. The first trials involving the intensive cultivation of cherry trees were conducted in 1882 by Luigi Mancini, a lawyer and owner of the ‘La Colombarina’ estate near Vignola, although in fact the renowned botanist Giorgio Gallesio recorded as early as 1820 the practice of planting cherry trees around country cottages so that the fruit could be used for making syrups, preserves, jams, puddings and cakes, in line with the solid family tradition of preparing cherries in the rural province of Modena.

There are many centuries-old recipes that testify to the use of the product for preparing typical local cakes, both in the home and on a small-scale commercial basis, from the oldest to the most recent, involving the use of the jam for home-made tarts, in particular. Evidence of this can be found in two Modenese manuscripts from the 19th century which explain how to prepare the jam; one of the manuscripts consists of four notebooks kept by four generations of middle-class house-owners and was published in 1970; the other, published in 2001, was written by Ferdinando Cavazzoni, maker of sweetmeats and preserves for the Molza family.