Foraging In The Forests of Slovenia

Foraging is a big part of Slovene culture. 

Most travel shows that focus on Slovenia at least mention it in one way or another (most recently the Netflix show Restaurants on the Edge in Season 2)  because it is so quintessential, but also because it is an art form that other parts of the world are slowly leaving behind. As Slovenia's gastronomy is getting more notice (best female chef in the world), much of the "where" concerning their food is in the spotlight. Chefs here love to use local and seasonal ingredients. But they're not the only ones. It is a pastime that most people engage in on one level or another. Some pensioners use foraging as a way to supplement their income by selling whatever is in season at their local markets.

Slovenes forage for all kinds of things, such as herbs, berries, elderflower, chestnuts, and most importantly mushrooms.

When we were living in Ljubljana, the capital city, we didn't really do any of these things, however NOW, since we live in a small town in a different part of the country - we have been able to be a part of many more authentic Slovene experiences. This weekend our friends invited us to visit their parents and go chestnut and mushroom hunting with them. We were delighted at the invitation, and had an incredible time.

When foraging - especially for mushrooms - it is very important that one knows what they are doing, and can identify the types of mushrooms in the woods.

People who take mushroom foraging seriously know what they're doing, but many also have a mushroom encyclopedia to make sure the food they're bringing home to their family won't do them harm. Our friends' dad guided us through which mushrooms to pick, and then had his wife consult their encyclopedia when we got home. We were all good! We found chanterelle mushrooms as well as porcini. 

The Slovene Forest Service mandates that those who forage for mushrooms are required to use baskets so that the spores can fall to the ground as you are walking along in the forest. 

To add to the sweetness of the day, our friends' dad actually made the baskets we used. They were beautiful, and he made them out of reeds that he - you guessed it - foraged.

I like mushrooms fine (and those chanterelle were the best I've ever had), but I was there mostly for the chestnuts. Chestnuts are so quintessential fall! In Hungary, where I grew up they also cook/bake with chestnuts, but I never knew much about them. There was a tree in front of my house that dropped horse chestnuts (the non-edible kind), from which we made chestnut people using toothpicks - but I don't recall ever seeing actual chestnuts in the wild. I know we have them, because my Hungarian grandma and neighbor ladies all made chestnut puree, and we had roasted chestnuts at the Christmas market, but that was the some total of my knowledge.

The area where we were searching for chestnuts was actually right along the Hungarian border. The way one can know if the chestnut they are holding is edible or not, is this: if it is pointy at the end and has a little "tail", it is edible. 

Because chestnuts are wild, there is no way to know how much of a "harvest" there will be. Additionally, there are quite a few people visiting these forests every year with the same goal in mind - to find as many chestnuts as possible. We weren't sure how much we would find. As it turned out, we had nothing to fear, and had an abundance of chestnuts to choose from. 

To make sure that no one can hog all the chestnuts, the Slovene Forest Service only allows 2 kg of chestnuts per person. Luckily for us, kids count as full people too, and we were able to take home quite a lot. 

After our lovely time of hiking, discovery, foraging, chatting and taking in all the natural beauty we headed home to our friends' parents house, where their mom treated us to a delicious and traditional Slovene meal. Once we had finished with that, they showed our kids around on their property where they have an orchard, fields, gardens, and an old tractor that each of our kids had a chance to drive. Needless to say, childhood memories were made.

When we returned home, we saw our elderly neighbors out an about in their front yard, and we decided to take them over a bag of chestnuts. Their family visits every weekend, and they had grandkids smiling and running around all over the yard. The wife told me that she hadn't seen me much this week and had been worried that I was sick. I replied that I had actually just started back at work with more hours, but really appreciated her concern. 

She explained that she and her husband usually went foraging for chestnuts in the fall as well, but that due to COVID-19 they weren't going anywhere at all. They grow all their own produce, and their children bring them anything else they might need.

There is such beauty in connecting with nature and taking in all of the splendor of God's creation - the trees, the sunlight, the sounds of the birds, even the bugs that are all part of the eco system. 

But yesterday also reminded me that it is even more important to connect with our community, those living around us and inhabiting the same spaces that we are. There are so many studies that show that cultures who live intertwined with their community lead happier and more fulfilled lives than those who live more individualistically.

Living in the digital age, we are becoming more and more isolated which is then being compounded right now by this pandemic. 

Yesterday was a great reminder to find joy in the simpler, everyday things and to then turn around and spread those feelings with the people around us.

Thanks, Slovenia. You really are one in a million.