CROATIAN PROTECTED AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PRODUCTS, Zagorski puran

ZAGORSKI PURAN “Zagorje turkey” is fresh turkey meat from the autochthonous Croatian Zagorje turkey breed, obtained from free-range turkeys and pasture-raised turkeys. The meat is exceptionally juicy and soft and has the mild and pleasant aroma resulting from grazing and roaming freely in the open air. Zagorje turkeys have been reared in Hrvatsko Zagorje since the second half of the sixteenth century. According to the records of the Venetian municipal authorities, the first Zagorje turkeys were brought into Hrvatsko Zagorje from Italy and the first roast turkey was served at the table of the Pavlins of Lepoglava on the Feast of the Assumption in 1561. Zagorje turkeys are reared in the traditional way, using free-range methods, which rely on turkeys spending the majority of their life in the open air, moving about freely in meadows, orchards and grove, and other habitats rich in vegetation. Zagorje turkey has always been recognised as a speciality on the market, with meat of singular quality, and as linked to the traditional rearing technique for Zagorje turkeys, which has been developed and preserved in the region of Hrvatsko Zagorje to this day. The meat of Zagorje turkey is traditionally served on special occasions and remains a favorite roast dish for holidays and family celebrations. The name “Zagorski puran” is closely linked to the name of the rearing area of the breed of the same name, Hrvatsko zagorje, inhabited by four varieties of Zagorje turkey used to produce “Zagorski puran”, namely bronze-feathered, black-feathered, grey-feathered and light-feathered varieties. Zagorje turkey is produced in the geographical area of Hrvatsko Zagorje which includes the whole territory of Krapina-Zagorje County, the whole territory of Varaždin County and the edges of Zagreb County that border on Krapina-Zagorje and Varaždin Counties, specifically the municipalities of Brdovec, Marija Gorica, Pušća, Dubravica, Luka, Jakovlje, Bistra and Bedenica. Source: Ministry of Agriculture (from the Specification for the PGI “Zagorski puran”, https://poljoprivreda.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/arhiva/datastore/filestore/107/Izmijenjena_Specifikacija_proizvoda_ZAGORSKI_PURAN.pdf)