The University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) Cluj-Napoca, through the Faculty of Agriculture, organized the 17th edition of the Traditional Product Festival, supported by fourth-year students of Environmental Engineering as part of the Product Control and Certification course, coordinated by Associate Professor Dr. Avram Fițiu. The event took place at the Biodiversity Research Center on the USAMV Cluj-Napoca campus.

The students presented traditional product recipes from their home counties, including the specification sheets for the recipes, which were judged by professors alongside experts in gastronomy and popular traditions.

"Our festival is already a tradition that brings local Romanian culinary recipes back into the spotlight, recipes that are collected by the students themselves.

In this way, they acquire several skills: certification and control of organic farms and households; drafting specification sheets for traditional agricultural/food products; developing procedures for mountain product certification; local and ethical product certification; and drafting specification sheets for PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), PGI (Protected Geographical Indication), and TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) products, through practical activities in their family’s place of origin.

The objective of this pedagogical activity is to revive traditional peasant gastronomy, as well as to train a USAMV Cluj-Napoca graduate as a specialist in constructing agricultural marketing approaches," explained the event coordinator, Associate Professor Dr. Avram Fițiu (Faculty of Agriculture).

The following traditional recipes were presented for judging and tasting:

• Poale-n brâu moldovenești from Nicolae Bălcescu (Nicolae Bălcescu commune, Bacău county)
• Dalauzi from Gherla (Cluj county)
• Învârtituri from Vale (Aluniș commune, Cluj county)
• Varză a la Cluj (Cluj county)
• Mălăieș from Florești (Florești commune, Cluj county)
• Virșli from Șoimuș (Sălaj county)
• Tochitură dobrogeană (Constanța county)
• Gulyas from Satu Mare (Satu Mare county)
• Sarmale from Cătina (Cătina commune, Cluj county)
• Balmoș from Răchițele (Mărgău commune, Cluj county)
• Secuiesc Gulaș from Sâncrăieni (Harghita county)
• Zamă de șelate from Corușu (Baciu commune, Cluj county)
• Smoked trout in fir bark from Bucovina (Vatra Dornei, Suceava county)
• Lamb goulash from Bobâlna (Bobâlna commune, Cluj county)
• Bean soup from Jichiș (Jichișu de Jos commune, Cluj county)
• Secuiesc Cozonac from Dănești (Harghita county)
• Sweet cornmeal from Sânmihai (Sălaj county)
• Salt rolls/Sóskifli from Pericei (Pericei commune, Sălaj county)
• Scorușe from Țagu (Budești commune, Bistrița-Năsăud county)
• Cheese and caraway seed sticks from Geaca (Geaca commune, Cluj county). (Photo: USAMV-Cluj-Napoca)