Сирена и трюфели – храната като наследство
Cheese and Truffles – the Food as a Heritage

Summary/Abstract: The main topic of the article is the transformation of the local food into cultural heritage. Examining specific examples, it reveals the actions of big and small agribusiness players who “re-discover their connection with tradition”, play the role of guardians of the local heritage, and engage themselves in private negotiation and public presentation of the food, by means of which to educate the public with regard to the “rediscovering” and cultural valuation of the local products. The specific ethnographic description includes information from two regions – the Municipality of Smolyan in the Central Rhodope Mountains and the Municipality of Ugarchin on the foothills to the North of Stara Planina mountain. The regions are presented in comparative perspective but also as a common ground of local food valuation. The“traditional” dairy products are at the core of the valorization in the first region, and the “local” truffles – of the second. In addition to the study of the relationships, which these products generate on the ground, the article examines two specific festivals (the yoghurt Festival in the village of Momchilovtsi and the Truffle Fest in the town of Ugarchin) that present the scene of the heritage and the relations between the various social actors symbolically and literally

• Details
• Contents