Pálinka is a traditional fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) with origins in Carpathian Mountains, more exactly known under several names, and invented in the Middle Ages. Protected as a geographical indication of the European Union, only fruit spirits mashed, distilled, matured and bottled in Hungary and similar apricot spirits from four provinces of Austria can be called "pálinka", while "Tótpálinka" refers to wheat-derived beverages. Törkölypálinka, a different product in the legal sense, is a similarly protected pomace spirit that is commonly included with pálinka. While pálinka may be made of any locally grown fruit, the most common ones are plums, apricots, apples, pears, and cherries. A similar product exists in the Czech Republic and Slovakia where it is known as pálenka, and in Romania (Transylvania), Italy, and Greece under the name palincă. Etymology The words pálinka (in Hungarian), pálenka (Czech and Slovak), and palincă (Romanian) derive from the Slavonic stem paliti, "to burn, to distill". In Hungarian, the word Tótpálinka (literally 'Slavic pálinka') was used to refer to alcoholic drinks derived from wheat. The Hungarian name derives from German . Legal definitions The production of Hungarian pálinka is regulated by local law LXXIII of 2008, often referred to as "pálinka law", which is based on the regulation of generic fruit spirits of the European Union. An alcoholic beverage may be called pálinka if: it is fermented exclusively from fruit (excluding concentrates and dried fruits) grown in Hungary, and free of additional ingredients; it is grown, distilled and bottled in Hungary; and it is not rectified higher than 86% and is bottled with at least 37.5% ABV. While pálinka is traditionally made from a mash of ripe fruit, the law does not control the addition of non-concentrated fruit juice, and explicitly allows the use of fruit pulp. Dried fruits are excluded from the mash only, and may be used in the aging process. As a consequence of this regulation, a whole family of popular Hungarian products were rebranded as szeszes ital (spirit drinks). Traditional pálinkas mixed with honey were also rebranded as szeszes ital (or liqueur if the sugar content exceeded the required limit), even if there were no unorthodox steps in the process of distillation. Most of the brands re-categorized as spirit drinks, however, are cheap mixtures of flavorings, water, and rectified spirit. In 2004, the European Union accepted pálinka as a Hungarian speciality, and hence its production is limited