New International Presidia at the 2010 Salone
New International Presidia at the 2010 Salone
The alliance between
producers and Slow Food continues to be strengthened and
enlarged by new Presidia protecting biodiversity around the
world. There will be 29 new international Presidia
displaying their products at the Salone del Gusto 2010. To
highlight the links between food and place, the underlying
theme of this edition of the Salone, Presidia stands will be
set up according to their geographical area. The following
projects are making their first appearance at this year’s
Salone:
Africa
Ethiopia – Harenna Forest Wild
Coffee
Ethiopia is the country where coffee
originated and the only place in the world where coffee
plants grow wild. For thousands of years families would
roast their own berries, grinding them in a mortar and
offering the coffee to their guests following a solemn
ritual involving symbolic displays of hospitality and
respect. The Presidium was created with about 60 small
farmers who gather coffee berries in the Harenna forest, in
the magnificent Bale National Park.
Production
Area: Harenna forest, Dollo-Mena district, Bale National
Park, Oromia region
Kenya – Lare
Pumpkin
The Lare pumpkin is oval in shape
with light green skin and orange flesh. It is planted during
the rainy season (March or April) and harvested six months
later. An ingredient of many local dishes, it is eaten as an
accompaniment or mixed with the local white polenta. The
seeds can be roasted or dried and ground. The leaves are
boiled and eaten as a side-dish; a paste of the leaves is
used to dry wounds, while the ground seeds have medicinal
properties.
Production Area: Village of Lare,
Njoro district, Rift Valley Province
Kenya –
Molo Dried Nettles
Nettles have always been
an important ingredient in Kenyan cuisine and were once
abundant, particularly in the Mau forest in the Molo
highlands Nowadays, they are much less pervasive due to
deforestation. A group of women has now begun to grow them
in the Molo highlands. The nettles are harvested manually,
dried in the shade and then ground. The resulting powder is
used for various local foods.
Production Area:
Village of Karirikania, Mau forest, Molo district, Rift
Valley Province
Kenya – Ash Yoghurt
Pokot herders from western Kenya produce
fresh milk, butter and an unusual yoghurt with ash from
their cattle (local breeds crossed with zebu) and goats. The
milk is poured into long narrow hollowed-out gourds and left
to settle for at least three days. After draining the whey,
the containers are closed again and agitated with regular
movements. When the yoghurt is ready, ash produced by
burning the local cromwo tree is added, giving
antiseptic properties, an aromatic taste and a
characteristic light grey color
Production Area:
West Pokot (western
Kenya)
Kenya
– Reed Salt from the Nzoia River
In areas
of western Kenya historically cut off from the main salt
routes, local communities have developed a distinctive
method for extracting salt from an aquatic plant. This plant
is a reed which is cut and allowed to dry on rocks by the
river. It is then burned on a slow fire, and the residual
ash mixed with hot water, filtered and boiled. When the
liquid has completely evaporated, a salty mash is left on
the bottom. It is collected, packed into banana leaves and
dried under hot ashes overnight.
Production Area:
Naboyole area, Webuye district, Western
Province
Morocco - Zerradoun
Salt
The village of Zerradoun lies in the
Rif mountains of north-eastern Morocco. Here the Al Wifak
cooperative, comprising twenty women, obtains various types
of salt from a natural source located between two valleys
surrounded by mountains and fields of durum wheat and
barley. The salt pans are at least 200 years old and have
dry stone retaining walls. After the salt is collected the
women take it by mule to the cooperative's workshop where it
may be ground or packed in granulated form. The cooperative
produces table salt (white or flavored with cumin) and bath
salts scented with orange blossom.
Production Area:
Zerradoun, Municipality of Brikcha, Tangier-Tetuan
Region
Morocco – Alnif
Cumin
Alnif is located in southeastern
Morocco in a bare arid valley at the foot of the eastern
Anti-Atlas mountains. One of the most interesting products
of the area along with henna, the cumin is cut manually with
a sickle (when not completely ripe), tied into small bunches
and allowed to dry in the shade. The plants are then
threshed with a stick, and the obtained seeds stone ground.
Cumin is an ingredient of tajine, couscous, and soup and
also has curative properties (for coughs, colds, sinusitis,
colic).
Production Area: Alnif, eastern
Anti-Atlas, southeastern Morocco
Senegal –
Wild Fruit Juices from the Saloum Islands
The Saloum delta is an intricate maze of
salt and fresh water, islands and open spaces covering
180,000 hectares. The main problem in the area is the
increasing pressure on marine resources: this is a result of
exploitation by large foreign fishing fleets and an
increasing local population, which relies almost exclusively
on fishing. A sustainable alternative is to encourage the
harvesting of the many types of wild fruit growing on the
island—such as hibiscus, baobab, ginger, tamarind, ditakh
and new—and converting them to vitamin-rich juices and
preserves.
Production Area: Fatick region
Asia
Georgia –
Georgian Wine in Jars
Georgia is one of the
places where grapevines were first domesticated. Its
traditional wines are made with a particular technique of
fermenting and aging in large amphorae. These are
distinctive earthenware jars with two handles and a long
neck, made by local artisans following practices dating back
to the origins of winemaking. They are buried in the earth,
in cellars or outside, and the wine first ferments and then
ages within.
Production Area: Regions of Khakheti
and Imereti
Tajikistan – Pamir
Mulberry
Introduced to Tajikistan from China
via the Silk Route, the mulberry has adapted perfectly to
the demanding environment of the Pamir mountains, the
“Roof of the World”. There are sixty varieties, which
play a crucial role in the traditional diet, earning
mulberries the name of “second bread”. They can be eaten
fresh (in jam or syrup) or dry (as a sweetener in tea, in
fermented milk or sour cream).
Production Area:
Districts of Shugnan, Rushan, Yazgulyam, Vanch,
Autonomous Province of Gorno-Badakhshan
Europe
Austria –
Pit Cabbage
In addition to the well-known
production of Sauerkraut, another traditional method for
preserving cabbage, still used in the mountainous areas of
eastern Styria, involves keeping the heads in pits dug in
the ground. The cabbage heads are cleaned and blanched in
boiling water, dried in the sun and then stacked between
layers of straw in four meter deep pits with a weight on
top. The cabbages naturally ferment and are ready for
eating, but can keep up to three years.
Production
Area: Region of Fischbacher Alps and Wechsel region,
East Styria
Austria – Tauern Rye from
Lungau
Tauern rye from Lungau (Lungauer
Tauernroggen) is an old variety of winter rye
originating from the Tauern mountains, in the southernmost
part of Salzburg province. Cultivated until the 1970s, it
then almost disappeared due to the decline in growing cereal
crops in mountainous areas. The flour is used to produce
excellent sourdough bread and other traditional products
such as Hasenöhrl (dough fried in
lard).
Production Area: Lungau region, province of
Salzburg
Austria – Wachauer
Saffron
The cultivation of saffron in Lower
Austria is documented from the 12th until the 19th century,
when it was considered to be one of the best available in
Europe. Due to competition from cheaper products from other
countries and the imposition of high taxes on growers, its
cultivation was progressively abandoned. This ancient
tradition is now being revived in the Wachau region and it
is being used in traditional recipes, such as Gugelhupf (an
Austrian ring cake), soups or horseradish sauce, as well as
in new creations of chocolate, jam, vinegar, beverages and
flavored honey.
Production Area: Wachau (UNESCO
World Heritage site), Lower Austria
Bulgaria
– Smilyan Beans
The upper Arda valley of
the Rhodope mountains, close to the border with Greece, is a
little paradise where nature is still pristine and Christian
and Muslim communities have lived peacefully together for
centuries. Here a small mountain community has been
successfully growing Smilyan beans for at least 250 years.
There are two types of Smilyan bean: brown with black
streaks and larger white or purple ones with
streaks.
Production Area: Municipality of Smilyan
and the upper Arda valley, Province of Smolyan,
South-Central Bulgaria
France –
Breton Pie Noir Cow
This breed derives its
name ("Magpie") from its black and white coat. It is a
hardy, disease-resistant breed suited to the poor pastures
of southern Brittany. In the 1960s and 1970s it was
disappearing from the region, but has recovered thanks to an
effective protection program. About fifty producers now
belong to the Union Bretonne Pie Noir. They practice
extensive farming methods which respect the environment, and
cultivate direct relationships with
consumers.
Production Area: The historical region
of Brittany, including the present departments of Côtes
d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan and Loire
Atlantique
Germany – Limpurger
Ox
The Limpurger is the oldest cattle breed
still existing in Württemberg. It has a tawny to reddish
coat, powerful muscles, regular limbs and a fine bone
structure. The pasture-raised oxen are only fed on hay
during the winter and become extraordinarily large and
heavy; their beef is succulent and soft with a fine grain.
At the end of the 19th century there were 56,000 head of
Limpurger cattle, but the breed is now at risk of extinction
with just 480 registered animals, 350 of them
cows.
Production Area: Limpurg district, Baden
Württemberg
Germany – Bamberger Hörnla
Potato
A very old native variety, the potato
is small, elongated and slightly curved with uneven bumps
and hollows on its surface. The skin is smooth and silky
with red streaks while the flesh is bright yellow with a
nutty flavor. The potato stays firm even after cooking,
making it perfect for traditional local recipes such as
potato salad.
Production Area: Municipalities of
Bamberg, Nuremberg, Kitzingen and Schweinfurt, Region of
Franconia (northern Bavaria)
Macedonia – Wild
Fig Slatko
From the banks of Lake Dojran to
beyond the River Vardar on the border with Greece, the
production of slatko ("sweet" in Macedonian), a wild fig
preserve, is an ancient tradition. It is mainly women who
maintain the traditional recipe for transforming an
otherwise inedible fruit into a consumable product, which
involves boiling the fruit nine times. The figs are then
immersed in sherbet, a syrup of water and sugar, and cooked
for another hour. Lemon is added to the resulting slatko to
maintain the color of the figs. It is finally packed in
glass jars.
Production Area: Municipalities of
Dojran, Bogdanci, Valandovo
Gevgelja
Netherlands – Drenthe Heath
Sheep
The Drenthe Heath Sheep is one the
oldest sheep breeds in Western Europe. Small in size, it can
remain outdoors the whole year, grazing on the sandy soils
of the heathlands. The Presidium will promote meat from the
sheep in local restaurants as well as developing an
education center for schools with information on the
breed’s history, its characteristics and heathland
habitat.
Production Area: Drenthe province,
northeastern
Netherlands
Netherlands
– Kempen Heath Sheep
The Kempen Heath
Sheep has a white fleece, elegant profile and no horns. It
is a hardy breed which spends its days outdoors throughout
the year Conserving the pasture is crucial for protecting
this environment and also ensures that the sheep meat will
be of excellent quality. The Presidium aims to preserve this
sheep breed and reintroduce free-range grazing as a way of
conserving the heathland.
Production Area: Kempen
region, southern Netherlands
Spain – Zalla
Purple Onion
Sweet, juicy and flavorsome but
without sharpness, the Zalla onion has a medium sized purple
bulb, conical in shape with a pointed end. Though mainly
produced for family consumption, it can still be found on
market stalls. In the pig-slaughtering season
(txarribodas) the onions are used to make Morcillas
de las Encartaciones, a traditional local blood sausage.
They are also excellent in salads and give a delicate flavor
to soups.
Production Area: Municipality of Zalla,
province of Biscay, Basque Country
Sweden –
Öland Island Brown Beans
Brown beans or
bruna bönor are grown on the Swedish island of
Öland in the Baltic Sea. Four varieties are cultivated:
Stella I, Bonita, Katja and Karin. According to the
traditional Swedish recipe, they are stewed in a sweet and
sour sauce and served with fried bacon. The Presidium
producers aim to promote the beans in a market dominated by
large chains and precooked beans from other
countries.
Production Area: Island of
Öland
Switzerland – Dried Green Beans
Drying fruit and vegetables has always been
a natural preservation method in Switzerland: it has been
customary to harvest native varieties of green beans and
then dry them at low temperatures (below 30°C). However, in
recent years the native varieties have been displaced by
hybrids and industrialized drying processes are increasingly
being used. The Presidium was created to preserve the native
beans and to promote artisan drying
methods.
Production Area: German
Switzerland
Switzerland – Rye bread from Val
Müstair
The traditional daily bread of Val
Müstair is made from rye, but here it is a lighter version
with a soft floury crust and dark brown crumb. Known as
paun sejel, it consists of two flat loaves joined
together along one side and is made from 70% light rye flour
and 30% wheat flour. It is eaten fresh, or 2 to 3 days after
baking, but in the past farmers would dry the bread and keep
it for weeks.
Production Area: Val Müstair,
Canton Graubünden
Switzerland – Raw Milk
Vacherin Fribourgeois
Vacherin Fribourgeois
is a semi-hard, semi-cooked cow's milk cheese, originally
from the French-speaking canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.
Around 2,500 tonnes are produced annually, but only 2% are
made with raw milk. The Presidium was created to promote the
raw-milk Vacherin aged for at least three months, when it
begins to express its unique characteristics.
Production Area: Canton Fribourg
Middle East
Lebanon
– Freekeh di Jabal ‘Amel
Freekeh, an
unusual green wheat, has long been produced in the region of
Jabal ‘Amel in the south of Lebanon. Unripe wheat is
harvested and left to dry in the sun for a day. It is then
laid out on stones together with branches from a local bush
called balan. The branches are used as fuel for an
intense but brief fire which toasts the wheat quickly and
evenly. This stops ripening, improves preservation and gives
Freekeh its characteristic toasted flavor.
Production
Area: Jabal ‘Amel
Oceania
New Caledonia - Lifou Island
Taro and Yam
Taro and yam are two tubers
which have always been a staple part of New Caledonian diet
and play a significant role in Kanak social life.
Unfortunately they are gradually disappearing, being
replaced by imported rice and bread. On Lifou, the largest
island in the Loyalty Islands, the producers of the Taro and
Yam Presidium are spreading knowledge about the two products
to local schools and working to revive local demand.
Production Area: Island of Lifou, Loyalty
Islands
ENDS