Hungary's pálinka distilleries have until 7 March to submit their entries for the Pálinka Country tasting, and as a result of the competition a publication on the country's most outstanding fruit brandies will be published in early March, Minister for Rural Development and Chairman of the Hungaricum Committee Sándor Fazekas announced on Monday at the pálinka museum in Visegrád, north of Budapest.

The goal of the programme launched by the Committee is to collect the country's most outstanding pálinkas, Hungary's famous fruit distillates, and promote them both at home and abroad, similarly to the National Tasting programme for wines.

Mr. Fazekas added that a further goal is also that, if possible, all pálinka houses should enter the competition to enable the related publication to include all of the country's finest pálinka distillers and show consumers which pálinkas are recommended.

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He also said that products would be included in the publication within the framework of a quality testing procedure and selection process, as a result of which the book would provide a kind of cross-section of the achievements of the past ten years, adding that the competition would be the first in a long tradition to find the country's best pálinkas every year.

Providing further details, Ministerial Commissioner for the renewal of wine-growing settlements and the development of the grape and wine sector Eliza Kiss, who is also a member of the Hungaricum Committee, said that the challenge is not a competition as such and is not aimed at setting up an order of merit, but instead to present the various grape marc and fruit brandies available in Hungary to the public. Participation is by invitation, and the organisers are expecting entries from several hundred pálinka distilleries. Home-made and other distilled products not officially regarded as pálinkas will not be involved. Submitting entries to the competition is free, she added.

With relation to applying to take part in the competition, she said that the required information would be made available on the National Food Chain Safety Office website. The products will be examined by both a public and professional jury and the exclusive collection of selected pálinkas is expected to be published by 10 May.

Ms. Kiss also said that plans include for the publication, which will also be printed in English, to reach foreign expos as well as foreign experts and traders.

(MTI)