Goan feni is GI-tagged: A milestone for this homegrown spirit
Goa has achieved a milestone moment as Ozzo Feni, produced by Cazcar Distillery in Nanora village near Panaji, has become the first-ever feni to receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in India. This means that feni is now recognised for its unique preparation in a specific geographical location (Goa, in this case) and protects it from other imitations and increases its marketability factors both domestically and internationally.
Feni is a traditional Indian spirit, well-known in Goa, made from the fermentation and double distillation of either cashew apples or coconut sap. It's a strong, clear liquor with a unique flavour profile and a history spanning centuries. Feni was introduced to India by the Portuguese missionaries in the 1600s when they came to trade. They brought with them cashew plant trees and also the method of distillation, which was then passed on to the locals.
The people who made feni were called bhatikars, who used earthen pots or bhatis under a fire. Today, copper pots under the coil method are used to make Feni. The juice is fermented naturally for 72 hours, and then distilled twice.
Receiving the GI tag means that feni is now recognised globally and placed at a status comparable to Scotch in Scotland or Champagne in France.
The brand, which makes it strictly adheres to all the regulations of GI certification, sources the cashew apples from Goa, and all utensils used are stainless steel, copper or glass. The condensation of feni takes place in earthen mud clays called launi.
Darjeeling tea was the first product in India to get a GI tag in 2004 and is known for its special aroma and light taste.
Alphonso mangoes from Maharashtra, famous for their sweet and rich flavour, were awarded the GI tag in 2018. Bikaneri Bhujia, a crispy and spicy snack from Bikaner, Rajasthan, received its GI tag in 2008.
Other GI-tagged foods include Kashmiri saffron, prized for its deep colour and strong aroma, which was granted the GI tag in 2020. Manipuri black rice, known for its rich nutrients and beautiful purple colour, earned its GI status in 2020.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Govt forms empowered panel to set standards, certification for ropeways
NEW DELHI: THE Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has constituted an empowered committee to develop standards and certification systems for ropeways and allied components. The 'national framework for technical codes, certifications, commissioning and safety audits' of ropeways to be devised by the committee aims to provide a structured approach to managing risks, verifying adherence to standards and reglations, and preventing untoward incidents or failures. With the ropeway sector growing rapidly, officials said it is essential to create an institutional framework to coordinate technical standards and collaboration between state and Union territory governments; focusing primarily on ensuring public safety. The panel – Empowered Committee for Ropeways Technical Evaluation, Certification and Safety (EC-Rope-TECS) – will be headed by Director General (Road Development and Special Secretary) and comprise Chief Engineer, MoRTH, head of the department of the bureau of Indian standards dealing with ropeway systems and allied infrastructure, and technical representatives from states or UTs with significant experience in implementation of ropeway systems, as members.
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhiwale: Khan Market pilgrimages
Bahrisons, Good Earth, K.K. Lee, Fab Foto, Khan Chacha, Faqir Chand… these long-time icons of Delhi's legendary Khan Market have evolved into necessary pilgrimage points for Khan Market anthropologists. Not many are aware that the same commercial space also harbours actual pilgrimage points from five religions. One is within the market, while others lie within a very short walk of a minute or two, at most. The prayer hall at the serene Sujan Singh Park Gurdwara is sanctified with the divine presence of Guru Granth Sahib. (HT) Posh people are flitting about the market this evening. At quarter past seven, the front lane's west side is startled by a sudden tinkling of what appears to be temple bells. The sound is indeed floating out from this corner of the market lane. This is Shri Gopal Mandir's aarti time, heralding the sunset with prayers dedicated to Ganesh ji, Jagdish ji, Shankar ji, Durga ji, Hanuman ji and Sai Baba ji. The temple has three priests—Vipul, Anil, and Sunit, who are siblings. Each evening, a different brother performs the aarti. Meanwhile, a few shoppers passing by the temple momentarily stop on hearing the aarti. Some keep their hand on the heart, others bow their head. The ceremony lasts 15 minutes. Mother Mary is identified with white robes. This evening, she is in saffron-coloured Kanjeevaram silk. The sari-clad icon stands in the courtyard of Shrine of Vailankanni, on Prithviraj Lane. Vailankanni is the title given by church-goers to Mary in Tamil Nadu, where 'Our Lady of Good Health' is believed to have appeared twice in a town of that name. Ensconced inside a glass case, the blue-eyed Mary is holding her infant Christ. Now, a citizen in red salwar-suit walks up to the icon, her praying palm reaching out to the glass case (see left photo). This evening, Shahi Masjid's prayer chamber on Pandara Road is submerged in darkness. The glass chandelier, though, is glowing faintly. Four or five men are lying on the matted floor, probably asleep. Outside in the marble courtyard, a flight of staircase goes up to the mosque's roof, ascending alongside a jacaranda tree in blossom. The roof is crowned with three domes. The prayer hall at the serene Sujan Singh Park Gurdwara is sanctified with the divine presence of Guru Granth Sahib. The holy scripture is currently covered with a blue velvety fabric. The adjacent wall is adorned with an illuminated portrait of Amritsar's Golden Temple. This evening, Manpreet Kaur is the only devotee present for the moment. Accompanied by a harmonium (see other photo), she is softly singing the following kirtan: 'Mere hearey ratan naam har basiya Guru haath dhariyon mere matha' This hall on Humayun Road is densely decked with sacred symbols, including the Star of David. Judah Hyam is the Indian capital's only synagogue.
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Finding the soul of India through a foreign language
This week, I came across a book that I read last year and its value struck me afresh. Particularly because I am far from 'ashamed' of knowing the English language, despite the odd political opinion in Delhi on the very many Indians who freely inhabit the unparalleled depth and range of the Anglophone world. The book I found was the late scholar-economist Bibek Debroy's last published volume, Sacred Songs—the Mahabharata's Many Gitas, devoted to the 24 gitas in the epic apart from the Bhagavad Gita. It joined a luminous list of translations from Indian scripture by other scholars. People like Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who rendered the Bhagavad Gita and the sixteen principal Upanishads into English; C Rajagopalachari, whose abridged English translations of Valmiki's Ramayana and Vyasa's Mahabharata in the 1950s are still very much around in new editions; and Kamala Subramaniam, who produced monumental English translations of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam. The value of such works is that they used the English language to repossess Indian scripture and make it accessible to the millions of Indians trapped in the English language. People who still longed to know their heritage better but had to get on with life, study, find jobs, sustain family responsibilities, all of which consumed their time. For these millions, people like Dr Radhakrishnan, C Rajagopalachari, Kamala Subramaniam, Bibek Debroy, Ramesh Menon and a score of others performed a valuable public service. Through their labours, they gave the soul of India back to those cut off by history. To look at just Debroy's prodigious output, he translated the unabridged version of Vyasa's Mahabharata into English, in a series of 10 volumes. He also translated the Bhagavad Gita, the Harivamsa (an abridged Mahabharata also credited to Vyasa), the Vedas, no less, and Valmiki's Srimad Ramayanam in three volumes.
