We are located in the premises of KUD Lepoglavski pušlek, an association dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Lepoglav region. Their dedication to tradition is visible in the preservation of the national costume and the room known as the "chamber." This room was once the central part of the household, where everything was housed in one larger room, with the inevitable "pantry." The President of KUD, Štefica Bizek, kindly led us through this historical chamber while we were warmly welcomed by the members of the KUD, who lovingly preserve the tradition of Lepoglava. We were particularly interested in the gastronomic heritage of this region, about which KUD has a lot to tell.
Štefica showed us the interior of the chamber in detail. In the center of attention is the old hearth, around which food was prepared. Next to him stands a sideboard, in which old cups and glasses, some even a hundred years old, are carefully kept, including milk jugs. Among the interesting details are the mill for nuts and poppy seeds and the tunjica, a vessel in which butter was once made. The cream would be whipped until it turned into butter, because butter and other expensive foods were rare. The family mainly fed itself thanks to the cow, which was the foundation of the household.
The bread was baked in a bread oven, and almost every house had its own oven. The bread was kneaded in the crucible, and the antique bench used for sitting during the day would be turned into an extra bed for the children at night. Coats would be stacked on the bench where the children slept. In the center of the room, there is a preserved table over 150 years old, and next to it are old shoes worn by the grandmothers and great-grandmothers of today's KUD members. Even a 120-year-old outhouse, a cradle for newborns, has also been preserved, along with prayer books that stood next to the bed.
Among the folk costumes, the women's shirt, which is over a hundred years old and which women wear to mass and festive occasions, stands out. On the loom, sheets were made from tow, a natural material used for bedding. Clothes were ironed on the spinning wheel, and often, a child who fell asleep during the swing would be placed on it, thus doing two things at once. Things were kept in chests.
The men's national costume consisted of boots, trousers tied to a svitnjak, a shirt, a leibec and a hat. Everyday clothes were less formal, while women's costumes, with krunaš, a special way of tying the headscarf, were specific to this region. The costume was mostly white or beige, and the wrap was a distinctive element of the Lepoglav costume. Also preserved is a wooden suitcase, with which great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and fathers traveled to work in the Slavonic regions, as well as workbooks, men's hats, razors, and soaps. Water for personal hygiene was stored in the cisterns. One of the significant sources of income in the Lepoglav region was lace, which women used to feed and educate their children. It was laced everywhere, even in the pastures while the cows were being herded or at night by the light of the lanterns when most of the households were asleep.
The cookbook of the Lepoglava region, proudly displayed by the president of KUD, includes 29 traditional dishes. Inspired by historical sources and inquiries from older locals, the cookbook is a unique presentation of Lepoglav gastronomy, closely related to the Pauline monastery. Chef Damir Crleni prepared the cookbook, and all dishes were prepared and photographed in the Varaždin restaurant Bedem. The cookbook is a unique insight into the details of Lepoglava gastronomy, which has always been linked to the Lepoglava Pauline monastery. Cookbooks "Dishes from Zagorje Turkey" and "History of the Pauline Monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lepoglava" were previously published, and they also contain turkey-based recipes, including the oldest record from 1561. In addition, many recipes and data on the consumption of capons, chickens, pigs, honey, and other products remain part of the heritage. After all, the Pauline monastery in Lepoglava was among the wealthiest noblemen of that time, with large estates, fields, and forests that abounded with game, and there were turkeys, ducks, and grouse on the estates. Therefore, it is not surprising that many poultry dishes can be found in the cookbook (Turkey from Zagorje with grinders in the Pavlin style, based on a recipe from 1561; holiday turkey from Zagorje; baked chicken in the Pavlin style with mashed, seasoned beans and new potatoes; čuček on saft with homemade wide noodles), but also Pauline roast of game.
Bednja stream flows along Lepoglava. This watercourse was extremely important for the entire region because there were mills on Bednja, fed by water from the Očura stream and Lake Trakošćan. In these mills, rye, corn, wheat, and buckwheat flour were made, the basis of heavier dishes and cakes. Homemade Lepoglav mixed bread from the bread oven, as well as delicious buckwheat zlevka, were also made that way. Since then, the Mlinčani kolač, a specialty of Lepoglava, has been preserved and protected in 2022 with its own trademark certificate.
"Two years ago, we came up with the idea to protect the cake that Lepoglava used to live on, called mlinčani kolač. The Paulines mentioned it, but the name of that cake has not been preserved. We concluded that it could be ground cake, mostly of what people had at home. It consists of flour, water, milk, salt, and fat, which are added at the end. The men carried it to the mowing and the vineyard because it was a heavy cake", Štefica tells us. The basic miller's cake is relatively easy, so we bring its recipe. However, the cookbook also mentions delicious additions to the miller's cake, which is a mince cake with a spread of Ludbreg horseradish, cheese, and homemade ham, a Mlinačni kolač with a spread of pumpkin seeds and Varaždin pumpkin oil (protected at the European level), and a cake with a spread of homemade crackers. Now they are working on safeguarding gibanica with beet, a very local specialty.
The wealth of watercourses in the Lepoglav area is also the reason fish dishes are present in the cookbook. Pauline carp is baked in a bakery and topped with warm butter, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley, and sour cream. Pauline-style perch is a true masterpiece, a combination of sometimes heavy perch with butter, onion, garlic, cauliflower, deer mushrooms, bacon, sour cream, and nutmeg. These fish delicacies were a special blessing during Lent and Advent.
Zagorje is famous for its rich soups. In Lepoglava, homemade soup with dried meat and porcini mushrooms is made, as well as other soup recipes such as beets on batek, barley porridge with sour Varaždin soil, hearty Zagorje turkey soup with green štrukli and Zagorje turkey ragu with corn grits. In the colder times of the year, there is nothing better than home-baked black devenica (which consists of pig's head, lungs and tongue, with the addition of boiled buckwheat porridge, pig's blood and spices) with stewed Varaždin acid soil. Gibanica with turnip is not out of the question, as well as pate from Zagorje turkey in a crispy dough or sarmica from Zagorje turkey and spelt with sweet greens. You should try Zagorje turkey fritters with porcini mushrooms and Zagorje turkey rolls with homemade ham, as well as Zagorje turkey fillet with tomatoes, pumpkin cones, and pine cones.
Every area is known for its sweet delicacies, and in Lepoglava, Fratrova vuha, a potato dough filled with plum jam and caramel, has been preserved. The people of Lepoglav also make buns with plum jam, štrukle on falaček and kumčin kvenjak, using this region's fruit and milk wealth. We tasted Mlinčani cake and meat delicacies prepared for us by the lively and cheerful members of KUD Lepoglavski pušlek. The word about that meeting spread around the city, so the mayor of Lepoglava, Marijan Škvarić, joined us. The cookbook and milled cake are a real hit, and we would not be surprised if the hard work of this KUD could one day be part of the catering offer in Lepoglava and the wider area. After all, the combination of fields and forests also brings together the Zagorje and Varaždin regions and nationally and European protected products such as the Zagorje turkey, the Varaždin pumpkin oil and the Varaždin sauerkraut, and, certainly, the Lepoglava Mlinačni kolač will soon join them!
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