Tatar's "ghiudem" about to get official status of traditional product

The ?ghiudem', a dry raw sausage prepared by Tatars of the southeastern Romanian province of Dobrogea, is about to be officially recognized as a traditional product, using a very old recipe.

Photo credit: (c) Tatar ghiudem / Facebook

The acknowledgement is owed to Marius Iosif of Constanta (city on the Black Sea shore) who started preparing 'Mos Iosif' (Old Iosif) ghiudem in the commune of Tuzla two years ago. He claims it has the 'unmistakably good taste' of the one prepared by his grandparents, who lived in a mostly Tatar neighbourhood in the town of Medgidia.

'I put passion in my preparations. (...) I made it for myself, for my friends, and two years ago I started somehow slowly ? but I am working with more force lately. Ghiudem is 100 percent natural; we do not add any preservative, no E-s [identification for food additives in the European Union], no additives, nothing of this kind. Ghiudem is preserved cold for up to six months or even one year; its only preservatives are the very ingredients,' the producer says while proudly slicing a curved sausage and offering it for tasting.

The recipe is quite simple and it has no secret, Iosif claims; the sausage is ready after a 21-day maturation period.

Tatar's ghiudem is made of mincemeat ? half mutton, half beef ? with spices, filled into cow intestines.

'Mutton and beef are minced in a machine; ingredients are freshly ground, we have the grinder here. We add allspice, garlic, salt, pepper, cilantro. It's quality meat. The paste is made, spices are added according to the recipe and it's placed in the blender; it can be blended manually or mechanically, depending on the amount, but we prefer doing it by hand, because the result is more uniform. The blender is OK, too, for...