Terra Madre Balkanlar 29-30 Haziran 2012

Terra Madre BalkansIt would have taken more than the sweltering heat to stop the hundreds of Slow Food delegates that arrived in Sofia over the last few days. For the second year running, from June 29 to July 1, the Bulgarian capital was at the centre of the Balkans’ Terra Madre event, a meeting that annually brings together the Slow Food and Terra Madre networks in the region. For three days, over 150 delegates from more than 10 different countries – including numerous Presidia and food community producers – arrived to discuss, address and recount their own experiences in this corner of Europe, a crossroads of peoples, cultures and religions. There was a sense of great occasion at the opening conference that focused on the role of civil society in promoting rural sustainable development through the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Participants at the conference included, as well as the delegates, Dr. Paolo Caricato of the European Commission’s Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General, and Alina Ujupan of Dacian Cioloş’ European Commission Cabinet for Agriculture and Rural Development. Over the course of the two days of meetings and conferences emerged a strong desire to discuss and find solutions to the many problems that afflict the food communities of this region, all too often at the mercy of national institutions that remain deaf to the needs of small-scale producers and the larger rural community. Terra Madre Balkans was, however, above all a festive occasion, involving eat-ins, roundtable discussions, tastings, sensory educational activities for children and a “Taste the Balkans” market for learning more about and sampling unique products from all of the countries participating in the network: cheeses, jams, distilled spirits, mixed herbs and much more. Among the delegates, there were also many young people present that enthusiastically related their own efforts towards sustainable agriculture and fishing, an example being two young members of the Slow Food office in Istanbul, Burcu Gezeroğlu and Biriçim Ozhuy, active in the campaign to protect the lüfer (bluefish). Present at the event was Carlo Petrini, the international president of Slow Food, who spoke of plans for a similar event in 2014 that may be held in another regional capital other than Sofia. “We cannot hope to change the food world if we do not seek to understand what is happening on our own doorstep,” he explained. “The Balkans is a part of us and part of Europe. We are facing a momentous challenge: creating a new model of development or resigning ourselves to the disappearance of a wiser, older world”. He continued in this vein when discussing the Ark of Taste, a project of the Slow Food foundation. “Every Balkan country will have to come to Turin with at least 30 new products in the Ark,” he declared, adding, “the Ark of Taste has to be an instrument of public exposure, a photograph of the gastronomic and cultural heritage of each country, a map that allows us to see the threat posed by the erosion of biodiversity”. For now, all that is left is to wait for the next Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre event. Held in Turin from 25-29 October, the Balkan countries will be in attendance with more than 50 food community and Slow Food Presidia products. Artisanal and mountain cheeses, wines and distilled spirits, aromatic herbs and medicinal plants as well as preserves will be on display for visitors wishing to discover extraordinary biodiversity. For centuries an area of transhumance (seasonal migration of people and their livestock from one grazing pasture to another), the Balkans are a symbol par excellence of conviviality: from the wide range of distilled spirits produced from Anatolia to the Dalmatian Islands, to the unparalleled traditional use by women of aromatic and medicinal herbs and across the pastures and unspoilt forests that serve to produce exceptional fruit jams, compotes and preserves. ------------- Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be made with Saxon Village Preserves, one of the 11 Slow Food Balkans Presidia that will be available at the Salon of Taste and Terra Madre event being held in Turin in October… The territory of Siebenburgen, the seven villages of Transylvania that were founded and inhabited for eight centuries by the Saxons, is a sort of lost paradise, now home to Romanians, Saxons, Hungarians and Roma alike. Numerous home-made preserves are produced here, made using locally-grown fruit from gardens or wild berries gathered from the surrounding unspoilt forests. Romania - Saxon Village Preserves Gerda’s Fritters Serves 4 100 g flour 2 large or 3 small eggs 3 tbsps sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract salt 300 ml sparkling water extra-virgin olive oil Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes Mix together the flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Gradually add the sparkling water, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth. Heat abundant olive oil in a frying pan and fry spoonfuls of the batter until golden. Drain with a slotted spoon. Serve hot or cold, accompanied by Saxon Village preserves. Discover the Balkans at the Salon of Taste and Terra Madre! www.slowfood.com Terra Madre Balkans - Watch the video >>

Kaynak: http://www.terramadre.org/pagine/leggi.lasso?id=C274517211370161F9SLCEB6704A&ln=en