The spicy sausage, called Aachener Puttes or Oecher Puttes in local dialect (both names will be protected), is made in Aachen city in north-west Germany and is sold fresh, tinned or smoked.
An EU memorandum has explained that for these names to be used in marketing, the production steps must take place in Aachen, from the testing of ingredients upon delivery to the production of the final, packaged product. However, any removal of the initial packaging, such as taking sausages out of the can, cutting-up the sausages enclosed in casings or repackaging of slices in vacuum foils, may take place elsewhere.
Fresh pig ‘essential’ to taste
The product is manufactured using pig’s head skin, pig fat, pork meat, pork rind, blood, nitrate curing salt, braised onions, and a spice mixture (particularly pepper, marjoram, thyme, cloves and nutmeg). The use of marjoram is obligatory.
Fresh pig fat is a particularly important characteristic of the product. “Its freshness is what prevents unwanted oxidation which, if the sausage is stored for longer periods in contact with oxygen, leads to rancidity,” said the PGI application for the product. “Fresh pig fat therefore plays an essential role in producing the typical taste.”
It noted that Aachener Puttes became popular around 200 years ago because it provided factory workers and coal miners with a high-protein and high-calorie diet.