A wild fig preserve, whose traditional recipe remains in the hands of only a few women, becomes the latest product to join the Slow Food Presidia – a project set up to sustain quality production at risk of extinction. The Wild Fig Slatko Presidium is the first presidium to be created in Macedonia, a country in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula that for centuries has been a crossroad of people, religions and cultures, and is now a hidden treasure of gastronomic and cultural traditions.
The municipalities of Bogdanci, Gevgelja, Dojran and Valandovo lie along the Vardar River and the Macedonian shore of Lake Dojran, in the southeast of the country near the Greek border. Here, figs are picked from trees that grow wild on state-owned land. The village men harvest the fruit while the women take care of the long and laborious preparation of preserves that make the otherwise-inedible fruit not only edible but delicious. First the figs are boiled nine times to remove the milky sap.
Separately, a syrup of water and sugar called
sherbet is prepared, and the figs are added to it. The slatko cooks for another hour, and lemon is added so the figs keep their color. After the figs have cooled and absorbed the syrup, they are packed in glass jars.
The recipe for this unique product is in the hands of just a few women, and currently around 20 have joined the Presidium. Wild fig slatko is made only at home for friends and family, and is not found on the market, with the exception of very small quantities sold through word of mouth. Macedonia does not yet have legislation to protect typical products, and at the moment it would be impossible to get the necessary certification to legally sell the preserves.
The aim of the Presidium is to preserve this cultural and gastronomic heritage by helping the women turn the slatko from something home-made for domestic consumption into a quality artisanal product.
The first step was to organize an exchange of experiences with the Pozegaca Plum Slatko Presidium. This Bosnian Presidium deals not only with a very similar product, but also a similar context and similar problems. In April, Jasmina Sahovic, the Presidium coordinator, visited the Macedonian producers, sharing with them the lessons learned in Bosnia over the past three to four years. This exchange is a sign of the growing solidity of the Terra Madre Balkans network, which will hold its first meeting in Sofia on July 16-18.
Following the example of the Bosnian producers, the women of the Macedonian Presidium decided to set up a small NGO to better support their requirements, and this was done on June 27. They will soon establish a production protocol, working with Francesco Sottile, an expert with the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and an instructor at the University of Palermo’s Agriculture Faculty, and Jasmina Sahovic.
The second phase will involve setting up a production workshop that conforms to current legislation, designing suitable packaging and promoting the product.
The Presidium was created thanks to the work of the Slow Food Sharplaninska, Mavrovo-Rostushe convivium. The convivium was only founded a year and a half ago, but is already actively working to safeguard the country’s typical foods, mapping traditional products and organizing events like Janecka Vecer. This festival to promote the Mavrovo national park’s traditional products will be held at the end of July inside the park itself.
The Wild Fig Slatko Presidium will participate in the next Terra Madre and will have at stand in the area dedicated to the Balkans at the Salone del Gusto.
