Yesterday’s Harvest, Today’s Lunch

However, let’s not forget that hops is what gives beer its recognizable taste. And Slovenia is the fifth largest producer of hops in the entire world! Not only that, but records of first hop-growing efforts in Slovenia date as far back as the 12^th century. 

It is therefore certainly no surprise that there is a plethora of microbreweries in Slovenia. 

Slovenians sure do like keeping warm in winter – schnapps, made from fermented fruit, and spirits are perfect for this job. While Slovenia was under the Austro-Hungarian and Italian rule, spirit distilling was forbidden, and so Slovenians performed spirit distilling in secret. 

No wonder there are so many different spirits made from different fruits and herbs, most notably those made from Williams pears. 

You cannot drink on an empty stomach, though – that is where grain cereals come in. Agriculture was once a fairly widespread industry and even though nowadays, wheat and corn are the most frequent cereals on Slovenia’s fields, it was not always so. 

In the past, buckwheat was the king of the fields amongst the poor. However, it is quite delicious, especially in “ajdovi krapi”, a kind of dumplings made of buckwheat flour. 

There was an ingenious wooden structure that allowed Slovenes to dry their harvest efficiently – a hayrack, or “kozolec”. 

Around 80 % of all hayracks still around today can be found in Slovenia. Some of them were constructed without a single nail, others still were an expression of artistry.

Corn grain has also yielded some authentic Slovenian dishes, especially “koruzni žganci” and “polenta”, a type of cornmeal mush, where “žganci” are a bit more dehydrated and “polenta” is more liquid in form. 

In Slovenia, there is a saying that those who lack the strength or experience must “eat a little more of žganci”, which is considered a hearty dish. If you haven't heard of it yet, well, you'll just have to eat some more of žganci. 

They are the first Slovenian dish to be awarded a protected geographical status . . .

. . . and they may or may not resemble the shape of Napoleon Bonaparte’s hat.

Dessert should be part of every meal, and Slovenians are quite adamant about that. One of the most-known Slovenian desserts is “potica”. It is a sort of rolled pastry, most frequently with a walnut filling, but can also be filled with poppy seeds, fruit jams, sour cream, etc. 

If you are celebrating a holiday in Slovenia, “potica” is a must!

In the eastern part of Slovenia, the preferred dessert is “gibanica”. 

It’s made of strudel dough and filled with either sour cream and cottage cheese (“Prleška gibanica”) or with 4 types of filling, as seen in the photograph: cottage cheese, poppy seed, walnut, and apple (“Prekmurska gibanica”).

While olive oil is predominantly produced in the west of Slovenia, the eastern part of the country is crazy about pumpkin seed oil. To get the oil, pumpkins, preferably the Styrian sort, must be cleaned out so that the seeds are separated from the rest of the pumpkin.

Then, the seeds have to be put under pressure and siphoned until the beneficial and tasty pumpkin oil is ready for use. 

From the fields to the table – Slovenians are still immensely proud of their past as farmers and cooks, so it is no wonder that some of the dishes today still so closely resemble the eating habits of simple folk from 150 years ago. 

Tasting authentic Slovenian dishes and products means tasting history.