Bite: Five more Flemish products given streekproduct status

Recognition as an authentic regional product in Flanders is a big deal. The label for traditional local products has been around for more than 10 years, and more than 180 products have been recognised. The label reflects the region’s great appreciation for quality and tradition; a streekproduct is made in a traditional and artisanal manner and must maintain a strong connection to a particular region.

The range of approved Flemish regional products is diverse, and there are still hundreds of products waiting for approval, which is granted or denied three times a year by an assessment board. The first round of 2015 resulted in five newly recognised traditional regional products.

Alloo Smokehouse in Bruges has been smoking fish since 1885. Around that time, smokehouses were popping up at small ports all along the Flemish coast, and halibut was a popular and cheap alternative to turbot or salmon. The Alloo family’s smoked halibut is first dry salted and then cold smoked for about eight hours. There are no preservatives or colorants.

In 1945, fish processing plant Simar was established along the river Scheldt in Sint-Amands, Antwerp province, by the Van Hemelrijk-Maes family. It’s their family recipe for pickled herring that made the cut for regional product. The meaty chunks of herring are soused in mild vinegar, making for one wonderfully tart delicacy.

Oudenaarde’s legendary tearoom and brasserie Jan Van Gent has been selling lekkies (pictured) for more than 200 years. The recipe has not changed in all that time, incorporating the same ingredients, including different types of brown sugar, candy syrup, glucose and butter. This mixture is brought to a boil, poured onto a marble slab and then pulled repeatedly for a pillow-soft, super sweet result.

Jan Van Gent has bragging rights to another traditional candy-turned-streekproduct. It created its first bierbollen (beer balls) in the 1980s in an attempt to make a candy based on beer from the previously brewery-rich city in the Flemish Ardennes. After some experimentation, the bierbollen based on sour cherry beer turned out the best.

The tradition of smoking ham is nothing new to the Van Hoe family, also of Oudenaarde. The secret behind their St Eloy smoked ham has passed down from father to son for generations since 1892. The dry cured hams are smoked while still on the bone, and then given ample time to mature. After about 40 weeks, when the flavours in the meat have fully ripened, the hams are deboned and wrapped in gift-worthy artisan-style packaging.