Saltpans Cuisine 2024 – The Bread

On Wednesday, 29 May 2024, the first event of this year's edition of the culinary heritage project “The Saltpans Cuisine” took place in the Museum of Salt-making at Fontanigge in the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park.

 

In 2024, the European Heritage Days are dedicated to the heritage of cultural routes, networks and connections.  

 

The fifth edition of the “Saltpans Cuisine” project is focused on the study, presentation, and preparation of dishes related to the culture of living and working at the saltpans.

 

The event was opened with introductory addresses by the organisers Ajda Purger, Matjaž Kljun, and Giorgina Rebol from the Maritime Museum "Sergej Mašera" Piran, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and the Self-Governing Community of Italian Nationality Piran with the Community of Italians "Giuseppe Tartini" Piran.

 

The Museum’s councillor Flavio Bonin gave a highly interesting lecture on the history of saltpans and salt use. He described the differences between the local diet of the past and the present, warned about the harmful effects of chemically processed foods, and emphasized the many advantages of consuming local produce.

 

The subject of healthy and locally grown food was continued by the cook Emilija Pavlič who demonstrated how to prepare bread and impressed us with her bread baked in the traditional saltpans wood-fired oven.

 

The ethnographic group “La Famea dei salineri” demonstrated traditional games. The participants enjoyed freshly baked bread, salt, homemade olive oil, wine, and tomato sauce, and learned a great deal in the picturesque environment of the Sečovlje Saltpans.