Prgarija
All about Zasip
EXPERIENCE ZASIP
Prgarija
Descriptions
Zasip locals were given the name Prgarji when tepka pears grew all over Hom. But they did not use them for must or schnapps – not at all! They picked and dried the tepka pears and ground them to a flour called prga. The flour was not tasty at all but the locals were too penny-pinching to buy a different one. They used prga for everything – even bread. It was exactly this flour and the local frugality that made the name Prgarji stick to the locals to the present day.
The villagers of Zasip used to be called Prgarji, because the women dried tepka pears (a type of local pear), ground them into flour called prga, then added wheat flour and used it to bake bread. The name tepka originates from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when the Empress Maria Theresa ordered her people, especially farmers, to extensively plant and propagate pears to prevent hunger. Whoever resisted faced a beating (Slovenian: biti tepen). This is how these pears became to be known as tepka pears.
In their aspiration to maintain tradition and transfer knowledge to the next generations, the Zasip Tourist Association and the Zasip Culture and Arts Society have joined forces in the Prgarija (the area of Zasip) project, which focuses on the preservation of folk traditions and customs, the presentation of Prgarija at various events, the coordination of prga tasting events, the organisation of the annual event Prgarski dan (Prga Day), the hosting of cookery workshops in Zasip, and much more. These two societies have also published a recipe booklet called Dobrote iz Prgarije (Culinary Delights from Prgarija). The publication came to life from the concept of the most enthusiastic Prgarija local, Bojana Pipan. Bojana used word of mouth, as well as her own imagination and cooking skills, to carefully select and gather 15 recipes with detailed cooking instructions for the preparation of dishes made from prga flour. The booklet’s introductory chapter was written by the renowned Slovenian ethnographer Dr Janez Bogataj, and the booklet itself contains recipes for the preparation of sweet and savoury prga dishes, as well as the typical prga bread. The local Kurej Inn, which was the first restaurant to add the delicious prga rolled dumplings to its daily menu, and Tersegvav Farm, which actively partakes in Prgarija presentations, also participate in the Prgarija project.
The Prgarke group has been operating under the Zasip Culture and Arts Society for a number of years. The group’s goal has always been to combine socialising with community activities, mostly pertaining to culture and intergenerational integration. The women of the Prgarke group used to sing old, nearly forgotten songs, and participated in local community events.
Today, the Prgarke also cooperate with the Zasip Tourist Association in the Prgarija project. Under the leadership of Bojana Pipan, the group focuses on maintaining Zasip’s (Prgarija’s) traditions. Bojana has carefully selected and gathered the recipes of typical prga dishes using word of mouth as well as her own imagination and cooking skills. The Zasip Tourist Association and the Zasip Culture and Arts Society then published the recipes in the short cookery book Dobrote iz Prgarije (Culinary Delights from Prgarija). Zasip caters to all culinary enthusiasts by organising the annual Prga Days, as well as different cooking workshops throughout the year.
Mladi Prgarji
Otroška skupina Mladi prgarji deluje pod mentorstvom Bojane Pipan in sodeluje na prireditvah v okviru KS Zasip. Obujajo vaške legende, običaje, narečja, plese in pesmi ter nastopajo na prireditvah v skupnosti. Jeseni na pobočjih Homa pobirajo tepke in se učijo priprave prgarskih jedi.
Dobrote iz Prgarije
Publikacija vsebuje 15 izbranih receptov s podrobnimi navodili za pripravo jedi: značilnega prginega kruha ter drugih slanih in sladkih jedi. Receptom je priložen tudi opis kuhanja žganja iz tepk.
Pri projektu sicer sodeluje tudi vaška gostilna Kurej, ki je v svojo dnevno ponudbo vključila okusne prgine štruklje ter kmetija Tersegvav, ki se ponaša z izvrstnim tepkovim žganjem.
Priznani slovenski etnolog Janez Bogataj je v uvodu knjižice zapisal, da je projekt Dobrote iz Prgarije šolski primer razvoja sodobne kulinarične prepoznavnosti in istovetnosti kraja, če nam le prehranska kulturna dediščina pomeni izhodišče za iskanje inovativnih, sodobnih rešitev.
