The intriguing taste of Slovenia

When I was in Slovenia for some days, I didn’t only explore it, I also got to taste Slovenia – and it was delicious!

Brettl-Jause

Typical for the region is a selection of cold meats on a cutting board, or Brettl-Jause, as we would call it in german. In Slovenia, there is a variety of meats processed into different sausages and hams. For a Brettl-Jause, the meat is arranged on a plate which is traditionally a wooden panel. It is always accompanied with bread and also mostly with cheese, vegetables and spread.

For me, it is always a very extraordinary meal because of the big variety and the high quality of the food. It is just way tastier than just preparing bread at home for lunch.

Pumpkin, pumpkin and more pumpkin

Besides meat, another typical food of Slovenia is the pumpkin. Slovenians had quite a lot of ideas what to do with the pumpkins. So first, of course there is the pumpkin soup that is served everywhere in the autumn. The fresher the pumpkin the tastier the soup – so now is the perfect time to get your annual pumpkin soup!

But then there are also the pumpkin seeds that can be processed. I already wrote about the great pumpkin seed oil when writing about Ptuj but there are many more products you probably haven’t known. So have you ever tried a pumpkin seed roulade? The dough is actually green because they use pumpkin seeds instead of flour. Or have you tried pumpkin seed chocolate? There are pumpkin seeds inside the chocolate but there is also pumpkin seed oil mixed into the chocolate which makes the taste pretty awesome.

And don’t forget the pumpkin seed oil ice cream – it is green as well and the most delicious ice cream I have eaten in a long time. You can make it at home as well – just pour a little bit of pumpkin seed oil over your vanilla ice cream. I never thought a person with normal sense of taste could actually enjoy this mixture. But then I tried it and now I am converted as well.

Desserts

But there are lots of other delicious desserts typical for Slovenia. Like the Prekmurian layer cake (prekmurska gibanica) that consists of several layers of poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins and ricotta fillings. They also have this special kind of cheese cake that is so flat it looks like pizza (but still tastes like cake). And also the trend of desserts in a glass reached Slovenia and they really know how to prepare it. The strawberry one I ate was the tastiest dessert in a glass I have ever eaten.

Drinks from the region

And of course there is always a typical drink to go with your food. While eating a sweet cheese cake, better drink some schnaps, especially pear schnaps, to stimulate your eupepsia. Afterwards, a coffee is always the right thing to choose. Brewing coffee is also quite traditional in Slovenia, you can find coffee shops there like the ones you find in Vienna.

But never, ever, forget the wine. Slovenia is region of the white wine, with its own wine street and lots of wine yards. The wine can be accompanied to almost any kind of food because there are so many different kinds of white wine. Strong wine is best with cheese or meat, sweet wine is for desserts and light wine is for in between. The best you can do is to taste them all and find your personal favourite. I already found mine: the Sauvignon Blanc from Steyer.

Note: I was invited to take part in this trip to discover the beauty of Slovenia. All experiences and opinions about the trip and the country and region are my very own.

Pictures by Moni Kindslehner