The book is a collection of the best food representatives of individual Slovenian regions, mostly forgotten dishes. Slovenia should not be measured by a square kilometres, but through geographical and consequently climatic diversity of its regions and their culinary uniqueness. A country with just a bit over 20,000 square kilometres boasts with 24 gastronomic regions each offering its specific culinary experience. The relationship between the young and older generation is also the field for culinary arts and can be a bond that revives the area. In addition, Slovenia can proudly stand right next to world’s most renowned cuisines, because of her geographical and climate diversity that offers exceptionally rich variety of distinct and tasty historical and today's dishes.
Local dishes which are being recognized as symbols of their regions due to use of locally sourced ingredients - some have the official certificate of authenticity – play an important role in promoting local culture and food production, healthy lifestyle, reviving local economy and especially tourism.
The book Slovenian Grandma’s Kitchen is based on the 9-years rising project of researching culinary - cultural heritage of Slovenia with Slovenian Primary School pupils. In order to avoid the fact that local or regional typical dishes are becoming just written or even only spoken memories which with the extinction of the older generations sink into oblivion, our wish is to turn the wheel and to encourage respect and awareness of food produced at home. They stepped where ethnologists cannot - into the kitchens of their grandmothers. Pupils were entrusted with an extremely important task: with intergenerational communication to search for authentic information about forgotten recipes, ways and reasons for preparation with the cultural background and to place all that among us again. What they do is present eye-pleasing and tasty meals in front of experts at home and abroad.
 |
By taking a few steps back into our past, with the project we try to recognize the source and the reasons why such locally specific dishes were used in a certain period. Here we encounter influences of religious and state holidays, jubilees, weddings, birth celebrations and funeral gatherings, rituals related to planting and harvesting, Sunday family gatherings or just poor daily meals. The project has grown into a movement for: encouraging youth to become aware and to respect their own culinary - cultural history, to use seasonal local food, to upgrade knowledge about the production of food from surroundings, to promote the cultivation of autochthonous varieties. Children also learn about food preparation in historical methods, which they compare and adapt with today's body needs.
|