The “Slow Food Presidium” Brand in Switzerland

Transcription

The “Slow Food Presidium”
Brand in Switzerland
The “Slow Food Presidium” Brand
There is no question that the Presidia represent a great value to the Slow Food association. The 350 currently active
projects and the 10,000-plus producers involved around the world are the result of a decade of work, of forcefully
asserting and putting into practice fundamental values like the protection of biodiversity, the preservation of local
environments and traditional knowledge, the sustainability of food production and the ethics of the production process
and the market.
Whether new or of long standing, the Presidia require a constant commitment by Slow Food, especially in terms of
coordination activities, technical assistance, training and promotion of the products.
Out of the 350 international Presidia, almost 200 are in Italy, and it was here, between 2007 and 2008, that the
association evaluated the results from its first few years. Slow Food considered the project’s future prospects,
and decided that it was necessary to launch a new phase. One of the critical issues that emerged came out of the
project’s commercial success and the immense media attention it has attracted. These factors generated a worrying
phenomenon: The Presidia often had to deal with competition from imitations (similar products using the same name) or
products presented as Presidia that had nothing to do with the Slow Food project.
To clearly distinguish the Presidia and to protect consumers, producers and the project itself, Slow Food decided to
accept a suggestion that had come from the producers themselves and to create and assign a brand for use on product
labels.
Once the International President’s Committee had given its approval (the charter for use of the logo was endorsed at the
Puebla International Congress in 2007), Slow Food Italy registered the “Presidio Slow Food®” brand.
The brand has helped bring clarity, and also greater commitment from the producers (it serves as a guarantee of respect
for the production protocol), and their more active involvement in the association and the promotion of the Slow Food
philosophy.
Getting Authorization to Use the Brand
1 – Production Protocol
Only producers who sign the Presidium production protocol (and a series of regulations drawn up by Slow Food) can
use the brand. They thus become active subjects and personally guarantee that they will respect the shared rules.
2 – Producers’ Association
The Presidium producers must first set up an association, or a consortium or cooperative (they can choose which form
they prefer).
If the producers are already joined together in an association, it is enough if the body officially agrees to respect the
regulations for the use of the brand and confirms that it agrees with the philosophy of the Presidia project (with a
resolution from its executive board).
The producers’ association is responsible for the correct use of the brand.
In the majority of cases, the association’s president or chairman is also the Presidium producers’ coordinator.
3 – Checks and Controls
To control the production chain, Slow Food uses a system based on the responsibility of the producers and close and
constant collaboration between the Presidium and Slow Food.
This system brings together various elements: self-checking by individual producers, who commit to respecting the
production protocol; collective management of how the brand is used by the producers’ association, which acts as
a guarantor for its members; and checks by consumers (Slow Food convivium leaders, cooks, visitors to Slow Food
events).
Each year, the producers report how much they have produced, how many animals they raised or how much land was
planted with a specific variety, in a completely transparent way.
The producers’ association collects this information into a single document (Slow Food provides a template for
each product category). Additionally, it must be willing to provide supplementary economic data for any research or
evaluations of the Presidium’s results conducted by Slow Food.
This essential document is used for the first and most important control phase.
Slow Food’s local representatives play a key role in the constant and timely evaluation of the sensory quality of the
Presidia products from their own region.
The regional coordinators must organize annual tasting committees that can evaluate the products (purchased on the
market rather than requested from the producers).
Slow Food also reserves the right to carry out checks wherever and whenever it believes necessary on the correct
use of the brand, product quality, respect for the protocol and adhesion to Slow Food principles. For example, Slow
Food regularly checks product samples from certain Presidia.
The Slow Food Presidia Logo
The brand is composed of a graphic logo and the words “Slow Food Presidium®” and must always be accompanied by
the following text on the product packaging, labels, etc., in the local language:
“The Presidia are Slow Food projects that protect quality products made on a small scale using traditional practices.”
The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity grants the use of the logo to the producers of each individual Presidium,
subject to presentation of the necessary documentation.
The producers cannot grant the use of the Presidium brand to others.
All the production covered by the Presidium must use the brand.
Any promotional publication produced by the Presidium that uses the Presidium brand (labels, brochures, leaflets, etc.)
must always be approved by Slow Food Switzerland.
Processors and Retailers
Specific regulations apply to processors and retailers of Presidia products who want to join the Presidia project network,
like restaurateurs, affineurs and retailers.
Producers who buy and process Presidia products do not automatically qualify as Presidium producers and cannot
automatically use the “Slow Food Presidium®” brand.
To be able to use the brand, the processor must:
• join the Presidium producers’ association
• respect the protocol
• have a small-scale business
Processors who do not belong to a Presidium but who use Presidia products can still indicate that fact on the label,
among the ingredients, but without using the Presidium brand.
Slow Food can establish forms of collaboration with retailers who sell Presidia products and request support for the
communication, promotion, selection or supply of the products. In these cases, Slow Food can grant the retailer the right
to use the “Slow Food Presidium®” brand in their communication, in ways that must be agreed upon in advance.
This decision can only be made by Slow Food Switzerland, in agreement with the Slow Food Foundation for
Biodiversity.
More information can be found on the www.slowfoodfoundation.org website.
Why Use the Brand in Switzerland
The Presidia are one of the most important projects for Slow Food Switzerland.
The number of Presidia continues to grow from year to year, and considering the country’s size, the density of Presidia
is particularly high. The project is in a similar situation to Italy in 2008, which explains the association’s need to start
introducing the brand.
To date, there are 22 active Swiss Presidia. Presidia are found in every canton and in every major product category:
cheese, cured meats, fruit and vegetables, bread, honey, spirits, etc.
The presence of a sponsor with a particular interest in the project (Coop Switzerland) has allowed Slow Food
Switzerland to dedicate much time and attention to the project.
The Swiss Presidia have been overseen with great care and dedication, thanks to the commitment of Slow Food
Switzerland’s coordinators and convivium leaders, the work of a full-time employee and the collaboration of Slow
Food Italy (which has shared its successful experience with the brand) and the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity,
following a collaboration agreement between the Slow Food Switzerland Foundation and the Slow Food Foundation
for Biodiversity and a financial commitment from the Slow Food Switzerland Foundation for 60,000 euros, to cover the
costs of the work carried out in 2011.
The priority given to biodiversity protection in the Swiss association’s work program, the opportunity to access significant
financial resources and the availability of a number of people (within Slow Food Switzerland, Slow Food Italy and the
Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity) with the skills needed to follow the Swiss Presidia projects, have allowed Slow
Food Switzerland to carry out and complete the work necessary to request the International President’s Committee’s
approval for the use of the “Slow Food Presidium” brand.
Work Carried Out For the “Slow Food Presidium®” Brand in Switzerland
In 2011, a work group composed of staff from the Slow Food Foundation and Slow Food Italy, supported by Slow Food
Switzerland, met the Swiss Presidia producers and evaluated the status of the projects with the aim of helping them
complete the steps necessary to obtain the “Slow Food Presidium” brand (specifically drawing up and sharing the
Presidium protocol, creating a producers’ association and checking that the Presidium’s production conditions are in
accordance with the project’s general guidelines).
A total of 24 Presidia were visited: 13 had been started in past years and 11 were new proposals put forward by Slow
Food Switzerland.
During the course of these visits, the Slow Food Foundation experts met with Presidia producers, took part in meetings
with all those involved in the projects, discussed and checked the production chains and practices and explained the
regulations regarding the use of the logo, sharing their experiences from three years of its application in Italy.
The producers’ interest in taking on the commitments connected to the use of the logo was verified, and where
necessary problems and operational difficulties were tackled.
It was decided, in agreement with Slow Food Switzerland, to postpone the entrance of some of the Presidia into the
network.
Some Presidia still have to establish an association and some producers must still bring some production steps in line
with the protocol. A plan was made for these issues to be fixed during 2012.
Additionally, a system was defined for Slow Food to monitor the Presidia, to guarantee that the original characteristics of
the project and various points of the protocol are being respected over time.
Following the work carried out in 2011, seven projects were suspended, some of them new recommendations from recent
months. Their problems arose from different sources: difficulty in organizing the producers, the need to improve production
techniques to bring them more in line with tradition, the need to better define the Presidium’s objectives.
These projects will be visited again and probably relaunched during 2012.
Slow Food Switzerland, in collaboration with the Slow Food Foundation, organized a training meeting in Solothurn, on
November 26, 2011, for the leaders of the Swiss convivia, to update them on the Slow Food Presidia project and the
progress relating to the use of the brand.
The main objective was to encourage the involvement of the members of Slow Food Switzerland, in order to improve
and better coordinate biodiversity-protection work in Switzerland in the future.
Favorable Opinion of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, which has followed every step of the work outlined above and examined the
final documentation of each individual Presidium, has given a positive evaluation to Slow Food Switzerland’s request to
be able to use the brand.
Request for Authorization from the International President’s Committee
Slow Food Switzerland and the Slow Food Foundation therefore request the International President’s Committee’s
official authorization for the use of the “Slow Food Presidium®” logo on the labels of Swiss Presidia products, as of the
end of February 2012.
The Slow Food Presidia in Switzerland
The 22 Swiss Presidia reflect a wide range of diverse environments, production types and traditional knowledge. They
include native breeds, monumental trees and artisanal skills and gastronomic traditions that need to be preserved and
passed on to future generations. They express the complexity of food production in this country, which, like the rest of
Europe, is enduring spreading globalization and struggling with the difficulty of producing food according to tradition
while respecting legal standards.
Below are the product descriptions.
Switzerland
Basel-Stadt
Zurich
Basel-Landschaft
Jura
Thurgau
22
17
Aargau
13
Zurich
4
Solothurn
18
Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Appenzell Innerhoden
St. Gallen
16
Zug
Lucerne
Neuchâtel
5
Bern
Obwalden
Svitto
9
Glarus
15
Nidwalden
1
3
Uri
Graubünden
Bern
Fribourg
Vaud
21
11
14
2
12
Geneva
Geneva
Valais
20
19
6
Ticino
8
10
1 Alpziger
2 Bregaglia Valley Mascarplin/Mascarpel
3 Chur Sausage
4 Dörrbohnen
5 Emmentaler
6 Farina bóna
7 Furmagin da Cion
8 Locarno Valleys Cicitt
9 Mountain Pasture Sbrinz
10 Muggio Valley Zincarlin
11 Müstair Valley Rye Bread
12 Pays-d’Enhaut Chantzet
13 Raw Milk Butter
14 Raw Milk Vacherin Fribourgeois
15 Swiss Black Bee
16 Swiss Brenzerkirsch
17 Tafeljura Plum Orchards
18 Toggenburg Goat
19 Val Bedretto Pastefrolle cookies
20 Traditional Valais Rye Bread
21 Walnut Oil
22 Zurich Quince Paste
7
Alpziger
Alpziger is a cow’s milk ricotta produced only in the Alpine pastures of central Switzerland, particularly in the cantons of
Fribourg, Bern and Obwalden. The first references to its production can be found in a 12th-century Romansh dictionary,
while Grafschaft Greyerz family documents from 1312 contain a more precise mention.
Alpziger is made only in the summer, from the middle of June to the end of September, exclusively from the whey left
over after making raw-milk cheeses like Sbrinz and Gruyère. The addition of some whole milk to the whey is optional and
depends on the cheesemaker’s tradition.
The production method is simple: The whey is heated to 90°C in special cauldrons, then citric or acetic acid is added.
This lowers the whey’s pH, causing the previously dissolved proteins to coagulate and rise to the surface of the liquid.
The mass is then cut, wrapped in cloths and left to drain for a few hours over the cauldron. After about a day of aging, the
Ziger is ready to be eaten fresh, or it can be aged, and is sometimes smoked. The fresh ricotta is mostly used to fill cakes
or breads. One classic recipe is for Zigerkrapfen, delicious little fried pastries filled with Ziger.
The Presidium
Very few cheesemakers in Switzerland still make Alpziger. The Presidium involves two of the last to follow this tradition. It
is working to promote the product and convince other cheesemakers to revive the traditional mountain dairy production.
The project’s first step is to try and increase the number of producers in the ricotta’s historic area, maintaining production in
mountain dairies in the Swiss Alps. This should make it possible to have a reliable supply of quality Alpziger every summer,
produced only by dairies that work with raw milk. Because it is a delicate and highly perishable product, and therefore not
easily marketable on its own, the second phase of the project will involve artisans—bakers, pastry chefs and confectioners—to encourage them to use Presidium Alpziger to fill their specialties.
Production area
Fribourg, Bern and Obwalden Alps
Presidium supported by:
Coop Switzerland
Producers
Fluonalp
Thomas Schnider
6074 Giswil
tel. +41 416751141
[email protected]
www.fluonalp.ch
Gerschnialp
Anselm Töngi
6390 Engelberg
tel. +41 416373929
[email protected]
Baker
Bäckerei Konditorei Cafè
Stöckli Urs
Dorfstrasse 3
6390 Engelberg
tel. +41 416370750
[email protected]
Bregaglia Valley Mascarplin/Mascarpel
In the tiny, beautiful and unspoilt Bregaglia Valley, in the Graubünden canton, a traditional ricotta-style cheese is made in
the seven localities that are home to around 1,000 people. Called Mascarplin in the upper Bregaglia Valley and Mascarpel
in the lower valley, the cheese is the same throughout the region and no one is sure why it is known by two slightly different
names. It is very similar to the mascherpa ricotta produced in the nearby Valtellina Valley, situated just a few kilometers
south in Italy, and the names mascherpa, mascarpa and mascarpin are used throughout the Italian region of Lombardy to
indicate ricottas and similar cheeses, mostly made from cow’s milk whey mixed with a little goat’s milk.
Just like in the Valtellina, here Mascarplin is not the main product of local herders. Small-scale cheesemakers produce a
number of different cheeses and use the leftover whey to make Mascarplin. Milk from goats pastured on fallow land or in
alpine meadows is used. The most common breeds are Camosciata delle Alpi, Grisons Striped, Grigia and Colomba, and
for six to ten months every year they feed on meadow grasses and local hay.
The milk is heated to a high temperature, above 90°C (194°F) before the cheesemaker adds what is known as the maestra, the whey left over from the previous day. Today, the fermentation process is helped along by adding a little citric acid,
but in the past the cheesemakers would add dried and fermented fruits, berries or roots. The maestra triggers curdling,
the thickening of the residual milk proteins. The curds are left to drain for around eight hours in small, perforated, cylindrical containers. The forms are then removed and dry-salted before being left to dry for a day in a cool, protected place
(sometimes outside). The small forms, around 8-10 centimeters tall and 10 centimeters in diameter, weigh between 250
and 500 grams each.
The cheeses should then be aged for at least two to three weeks, at which point they reach their best flavor and textural
potential. Unfortunately the cheese is usually sold much earlier. Mascarplin was once aged for even longer periods, but it
tends to develop a flavor that is too strong for modern palates.
The Presidium
Still today, all the valley families that keep even a few goats produce Mascarplin/Mascarpel at home. However, very few
produce the ricotta to sell, so it’s availability on the market is extremely limited. The ricotta is produced from Easter to November when the goats are lactating, excluding periods when the milk is need for the young kids. A few of these families,
each with no more than 30 goats, have joined together in a consortium. During the summer, they unite their goats into a
single herd of around 200 animals, taking them to graze on alpine pastures on Alpe Cavlocc at 1,900 meters above sea
level.
Throughout the summer, a young cheesemaker from the valley, Minh Brunner, works in the stone buildings that house a
production facility and retail shop. In addition to Mascarplin, he produces formaggelle, French-style goat’s cheeses and
other interesting cheeses. Everything is sold directly to tourists from the dairy or distributed to restaurants and shops in
the valley. The Presidium wants to promote the hard work of local producers and preserve an ancient tradition at risk of
disappearing.
Production area:
Bregaglia Valley, Graubünden canton
Presidium Supported by
Coop Switzerland
Presidium Producers’ Coordinator
Lucrezia Bischoff
7602 Casaccia
+41 81 824 34 41
[email protected]
Producers
Cavlocc Alp
Val Bregaglia
Maloja
tel. +41 79 32 95166
During the summer, Mascarplin from the Alpe Cavloc goat consortium made by Minh Bunner can be bought directly from
the dairy.
The consortium brings together the following farmers:
Lucrezia and Duri Bischoff from Casaccia, Maria and Erwin Bühler from Soglio, Romana and Giampietro Gini from Soglio,
Raffaella and Gian Radolf Giovanoli from Soglio, Ines Martinoli from Castasegna, Jolanda and Gianni Pedroni from Castasegna, Daniel and Aldo Petti from Vicosoprano, Daria and Elio Filisetti-Rezzoli from Stampa-Monaccio.
Vreni and Fluri Cadurisch
Bregaglia Valley
Maloja
Isola Village
tel. +41 81 82 43484
Vreni and Fluri run their own mountain dairy and produce fresh Mascarplin.
Chur Sausage
Known in German as Churer Beinwurst, this sausage comes from Chur, the capital of Graubünden, in the north of the
canton. The town lies in the upper valley of the Rhine, at the foot of the mountains. The tradition of curing meats here dates back centuries, and products include many salami made from pure pork, or a mix of pork and game, and a distinctive
dried beef. But the one with the longest history, passed down to the present day against the odds, is Beinwurst. It was
mentioned as far back as the early 19th century, in an article by Heinrich Zschokke codifying the recipe.
Beinwurst (“leg sausage”) was traditionally made from leftover cuts of pork, mostly the leg, and eaten directly on the farm.
As it was made from less-prized meat, it was usually given to farm workers and laborers. Today some of these parts of the
pig are no longer used, and the sausage is mostly made from back speck, neck fat and sometimes extremities like the tail.
The meat is carefully trimmed of any tough parts that would make it hard to chew, then cut roughly with a knife and spiced
with salt, pepper, nutmeg, coriander and cinnamon. The mixture is left to macerate in white wine for about a week.
The wine used is Veltliner, characteristic of neighboring southern Austria and South Tyrol, but probably originally from
Lombardy, brought north by the Romans and reaching Graubünden from the Valtellina, which explains the origin of its
name. After maceration, the meat is used to fill beef casings and the sausages are arranged in a smoking room, where
they stay at low temperatures for around eight hours, absorbing flavors from the beech and fir wood used for smoking.
Once the sausages have been made, they last only a few weeks, and a month at the most. They are usually eaten after
being cooked in boiling water. Cooking times vary depending on the size, from 1½ hours for sausages around 350 grams,
up to 3 hours for those weighing 2 kilos or more.
The Presidium
Few people in and around Chur still make the sausage, which has been forgotten along with many other cured meats
of humble origin. The two butchers who belong to the Presidium still sell it in their shops, and are trying to raise its profile among their customers and local restaurants. Following tradition, the sausages are made in the cold months, from
October to March, when the pigs are slaughtered. All the pigs come from local farms and are selected from two small
slaughterhouses near Chur. The tradition of fattening pigs in mountain pastures during the summer has continued in the
canton, feeding them the whey leftover from mountain cheesemaking. The pigs raised in the mountains are slaughtered at
the start of the season, while the farm-fattened animals are slaughtered in later months. The Presidium wants to promote
this excellent sausage and its artisanal production, and to convince other butchers to revive the tradition.
Production area
Chur and surroundings, Graubünden canton
Presidium supported by
Coop Switzerland
Producers’ coordinator
Alois Schlager
Hauptstrasse 64
7075 Churwalden
tel. +41 813821139
[email protected]
Producers
Fleischtrocknerei Bischofberger
Alois Schlager
Hauptstrasse 64
7075 Churwalden
tel. +41 813821139
[email protected]
Metzgerei Mark
Altstadtmetzgerei
Obere Gasse 22
7000 Chur
tel.+41 812523543
[email protected]
www.metzegerei-mark.ch
Dörrbohnen
In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, there is a long-standing tradition of drying fruits and vegetables. This practice
became particularly prevalent during the Second World War when all available arable land was used to grow food for the
nation, and it was essential to find ways to preserve it. Apples, pears, wild fruits, potatoes, beans and green beans were
harvested while still firm, peeled and boiled before being dried and stored, providing an important source of vitamins and
proteins for the long winter months.
In the post-war period, green beans were one of the most popular vegetables. In the German-speaking cantons of Berne,
Basel, Zurich, Solothurn, Schwyz and St Gallen, it was particularly common to harvest green beans and transform them
into dörrbohnen (dried beans).
Preparing dörrbohnen is simple and involves a slow drying process at a low temperature (below 30°C). The dry beans can
be stored for as long as two years and must be soaked for a few hours before cooking.
This traditional and natural preservation method enables tasty nutritious meals to be prepared at any time of the year and
dörrbohnen appear in all sorts of dishes in the central and northern Swiss cuisine: from humble soups to the more refined
Bernerplatte, a stew of beef and pork cuts or sausages, served with boiled vegetables.
Presidium
The recent industrialization of the drying process and introduction of higher-yield foreign hybrid bean varieties have put
this old tradition at risk of disappearing. Furthermore, the cultivation of beans in German-speaking Switzerland is being
progressively abandoned. Many beans available on the market today are imported, in particular from China.
The Presidium brings together three growers, who cultivate traditional Swiss native varieties of green beans (such as Berner Landfrau, Saxa, Limka and Victoire) using organic methods, and two processors, who dry the beans in small artisan
workshops.
The Dörrbohnen Presidium has been formed to preserve the native bean varieties; support the continued cultivation of beans in Switzerland; promote artisan drying methods; and thereby protect the authenticity of the traditional regional recipes.
Production area
Cantons of Berne, Basel, Zurich, Solothurn, Schwyz, St Gallen (German-speaking Switzerland)
Coop Switzerland
Presidium Coordinator
Frühauf Urs und Christine
tel. +41 0627541562
[email protected]
Slow Food Presidium Coordinator
Giuseppe Domeniconi
tel. +41 562228915
[email protected]
Producers
Steinmann Joseph
6260 Reiden
Erni Beat
6265 Roggliswi
Achermann Thomas
6263 Richenthal
Geiser Adolf
6265 roggliswi
Richard Gerhard
4923 Wynau
Biomanufkatur Grünboden
Frühauf Urs und Christine
6264 Pfaffnau
tel. +41 0627541562
[email protected]
www.gruenboden.ch
Emmentaler
Emmentaler takes its name from the Emme valley, in the Canton of Bern, where dairy production can be traced back to
12th century. This activity was supported by abundant pastures, pure, cool waters and the tradition of Kühwesen, a custom
in which ownership of family farmhouses was passed to the youngest son, forcing the other brothers to leave the house
and look for livelihood with cheese production. Under these conditions an important dairy production and cheese-making
tradition developed, becoming a guarantee of artisanal expertise for such a “difficult” cheese like Emmentaler. The difficulty lies in the long and complex production technique, but also due to the large forms the Emmentaler is shaped into (often
around 100 kg), which are very difficult to handle.
From the second half of 19th century, Emmentaler began to be appreciated outside of its original region and to started to
be exported all over in the world. As it often happens, its huge success led to a progressive standardization of production
techniques and to the concentration of production into fewer and larger dairies. Luckily some small cheesemakers kept
producing the cheese following the traditional rules, with milk coming from small local breeders twice a day (1200 litres
for each form), used raw and full. The whey is inoculated and the curd heated at 32° C; then cut, cooked and put into
shape. The forms are pressed and put into brine for a short period. Forms are then set in humid and warm chambers for
at least three months, enabling the propionic fermentation responsible for the cheese’s trademark holes. The forms are
finally aged in even more humid cellars where they finish maturation. The perfect aging must assure a bronze-colored and
polished rind, a hard paste with regular and well defined holes, an intense nutty flavor with notes of butter and field flowers,
and a persistent length in the mouth.
The Presidium
Despite the industrial standardization of Emmentaler in the past decades, a group of small-scale cheese makers decided
to use only raw milk, as also prescribed by the DOP, from small local producers breeding cows in the pastures without the
use of silage. The Slow Food Presidium was therefore created to support them. The Presidium of the traditional Emmentaler is concerned specifically with production in the valley of the Emme River - the original production area where some
small dairies still exist on the hills. An important element for the Presidium is the prolonged aging: The cheese ages in natural cellars where expert affineurs (cheese agers) cure them for at least 12 months, developing a dark rind and a strong,
harmonious taste. The cheese from the Presidium can be recognized by its black label and by its “Gotthelf” denomination.
Currently the Presidium is composed of one dairy house, eleven milk producers and one affineur.
Production area
Emme valley, Canton Bern
Coop Switzerland
Ernst Roth
Tel. +41 (0)31 331 03 48
[email protected]
Presidium Producers Coordinator
Ernst Oettli
Tel. +41 (0)71 688 42 48
[email protected]
Producers
Affineurs
Ernst Oettli
Gourmino AG
CH-8574 Illighausen
Tel. +41 (0)71 688 42 48
[email protected] - [email protected]
www.gourmino.ch
Cheesemaker
Bernhard Meier
Käserei Hüpfenboden
Hüpfenboden
3555 Trubschachen i.E.
Tel. +41 (0)34 402 13 12
[email protected]
www.huepfenboden.ch
Milk producers
Brechbühl Bernhard
Hüpfenboden
CH-3555 Trubschachen
Dubach Fritz und Hansueli
Blapbachweidli
Schneeberger Urs
Mittler Hegen
Fankhauser Fritz
Ober Hegen
Fiechter Andreas
Staubern 430
Gerber Jürg
Vorder Scheidegg
CH-3550 Langnau
Haldemann Anna
Lingummen 189
CH-3550 Langnau
Niederhauser Christian
Kadelmann
CH-3536 Aeschau
Röthlisberger Ernst
Hinter Scheidegg
CH-3550 Langnau
Wyss Hans, Martin und Max
Girsgrat
CH-3536 Aeschau
Zurflüh Hanspeter
Farnern
CH-3536 Aeschau
Farina bóna
Farina bóna is a traditional product from Onsernone Valley, one of the poorest and most inaccessible parts of Canton Ticino, just a few kilometers from Locarno. This flour, obtained by finely grinding toasted corn (Zea mais), is distinctive for its
use of toasted corn and very fine grinding using particularly smooth stones, such as ones still to be found in the dilapidated
mill of Vergeletto, a Ticino village of just 90 inhabitants.
In past times farina bóna supplemented the daily diet of people living in the valley and was mixed with milk, water or wine,
but changing food habits after the Second World War progressively reduced its importance until production ended when
the last miller in Onsernone Valley stopped working at the end of the 1960s.
The origin of farina bóna is not known. Several old people in Vergeletto still remember farina sec’a (distinguished from the
farina verda flour, ground without being toasted) which was produced by Signora Annunziata Terribilini, known as Nunzia
(1883-1958), who toasted corn grains in a pan until they burst and went white, before grinding them. The ‘popcorn’ was
called ghèl (rooster) as it resembled a white rooster’s comb.
Farina bóna used to be eaten mixed with water or milk (hot or cold), and added blueberries, strawberries or wine, while
now it is an ingredient in icecream, beer, breadsticks, cookies, mousse, cakes, spaetzle noodles, soups etc.
The Presidium
After the Onsernone Museum restored the Loco mill in 1991, various initiatives and research work revived memory of
farina bóna and stimulated interest in resuming production. Work by a teacher and the Isorno school revealed further
historical information.
The Presidium’s objective is to promote Onsernone Valley farina bóna together with associated products and recipes,
whether traditional or not: icecream, beer, cookies, spaetzle noodles etc.
It is intended to encourage cultivation of corn in the valley and the reintroduction of traditional varieties. It is planned to
restore old mills, adapting the Loco mill to produce farina bóna and renovating the four Vergeletto mills, which are connected through a single channel. One of these, Nunzia’s mill, will again grind farina bóna while toasting equipment will be
installed in an adjoining workshop. Production of icecream, beer and other foods based on farina bóna will be started in
the valley. A shop selling these products will be opened in Vergeletto.
Support for local production of flour and its products will revitalize the economy of the area and help to promote tourism.
Production area
Valle Onsernone, Canton Ticino
Coop Switzerland
Presidium coordinators
Ilario Garbani
6654 Cavigliano
Tel +41 91 796 29 67
[email protected]
Meret Bissegger
Casa Merogusto 6713 Malvaglia Tel +41 (0)91 870 13 07
Fax +41 (0)78 605 10 07
cell. +41 (0) 91 870 13 00
[email protected]
Producers
Toasting and grinding
Ilario Garbani
6654 Cavigliano
Tel +41 91 796 29 67
[email protected]
Onsernone Museum
Marco Morgantini
Mulino Meletta,
6661 Loco
Valle Onsernone
Tel +41 91 780 60 36
Tel +41 79 598 10 75
Furmagin da Cion
The Poschiavo Valley, in the extreme south of the Graubünden canton, is very close to the Italian border. The impact
on language and cuisine has been strong, and the local cured meats particularly reflect the Italian influence. In the local
dialect, cion is pig and furmagin refers to a kind of meat pie. This curious name was perhaps used by locals because the
pork was once baked in pots or the baking dishes used for cakes, giving it a round shape similar to a type of cheese called
formaggetta.
The most famous product from the Poschiavo Valley is Slinzega, a kind of bresaola made from beef or game, but the most
traditional is Furmagin, once made by every rural family in the valley. It was traditionally eaten during the mazziglia, the pig
slaughtering, at homes in the town of Poschiavo and its outlying hamlets. The recipe varied from family to family, but was
always based on the less-prized cuts of meat, like neck, cheek, liver and belly, chopped up, spiced and baked in the oven.
One butcher has continued making Furmagin for the last 20 years, following his father’s recipe. The meat from the neck,
belly and other considered-inferior parts of the pig are mixed with a little pork fat and liver. After the pieces have been minced, they are mixed with onion, garlic, meat broth, local red wine and marjoram. The herb is one of Furmagin’s dominant
flavors.
The ingredients are mixed together slowly, by hand, until a uniform mass is obtained. This is shaped into patties which
are wrapped in caul fat and baked in the oven for around 40 minutes at 180-200°C. As it cooks, the caul fat flavors and
encloses the meat.
Furmagin can be eaten hot, straight out of the oven, or cold, cut into slices and often accompanied by Poschiavo Valley
ciambella, a traditional rye bread.
The Presidium
With the disappearance of the tradition of butchering pigs at home, the tradition of Furmagin is also being lost. The Presidium’s objective is to revive its production, and to promote the local farming of pigs, shortening the production chain.
The Presidium has involved an organic farmer, who raises a few dozen Large White pigs from the spring until they reach
150-180 kilos. The pigs are slaughtered and butchered at a local slaughterhouse that uses the prized cuts for some cured meats and to sell fresh, while the lesser-prized parts are sold to the butcher to make Furmagin. The three Presidium
producers intend to form an association and improve production, obtaining organic certification not just for the meat but
also the final product.
Production area
Poschiavo Valley, Graubünden canton
Coop Switzerland
Sandro Marchesi
7745 Li Curt, St.Antonio
tel. +41 818440267 - +41 786000267
[email protected]
www.scalino.ch
Farmer
Reto Raselli
Raselli organic farm
7743 Le Prese
tel. +41 818440814 - +41 796114463
[email protected]
www.bioraselli.ch
Butcher
Michele Branchi
Macelleria Branchi Michele
7743 Brusio
tel. +41 818347931 - +41 793124661
[email protected]
Sandro Marchesi
Macelleria Scalino
7745 Li Curt, St.Antonio
tel. +41 818440267 - +41 786000267
[email protected]
www.scalino.ch
Locarno Valleys Cicitt
Cicitt are a long thin traditional goat sausage unique to the Locarno valleys in southern Switzerland’s Ticino Canton.
Made from the meat, fat, hearts and intestines of local animals in late autumn, the sausage was most likely first created
in Cavergno, a tiny village in the high Maggia Valley. Two of the few remaining producers can be found here and the local
culture is still strongly linked to the Cicitt, with the annual festival of the Immaculate Conception called Festa del Cicitt.
The history of the Cicitt is closely linked to the history of goat farming in the two Locarno valleys – Maggia and Verzasca.
The animals were once known as “the cows of the poor” and almost every family kept some goats. Descriptions of the
region from the 1950s indicate that they were in fact very widely kept domestically: “The villages were teeming with goats.
They were all over the place, even on the roofs of the houses.” Most houses organized the mazza minore each November
- the days dedicated to the slaughter of their goats and the production of Cicitt sausages.
The first commercial production of the Cicitt appears to have been by the Dadò family from Cavergno at the beginning of
the 20th century. During the winter season Giovanni Dadò produced the sausages with the assistance of his seven sons
and a few employees. As production grew, Dadò started buying goats all year long from across the valley and as far as
Locarno. Up to thirty goats were processed into sausages per day during the Cicitt season. During World War I production
reached an “industrial” level and the sausages were sold across all of Switzerland.
In his book about life in Maggia Valley, local author Plinio Marini remembers the intense odor of Cicitt wafting out of the
post offices during the production season due to the numerous packages being sent around the country. The Dadò family
stopped their Cicitt production in the 1950s. This marked the beginning of a steady decline of production all over the region. Today goats have lost their importance in the valleys’ local economies. There are still breeders in both valleys, and
the demand for goat’s milk is quite high, but there are far too few “end of career” goats to produce a significant amount of
Cicitt.
Cicitt are dark brown in color and are typically roasted over an open fire. They have a strong goat flavor and aroma that is
tempered perfectly by the contribution of spice, smoke and roasted notes.
The Presidia
Slow Food first began working to promote the traditional Cicitt sausage by listing it on the Ark of Taste, when it was discovered that while most of the sausage sold throughout Canton Ticino in the course of a year where called Cicitt, they had
little to do with the traditional product.
To try and appease the pallet of modern consumers, butchers started to add pork fat or meat to the sausages to give them
a subtler goat flavor. The Presidium project has been created to ensure the continued production of Cicitt in the traditional
manner. In this way, consumers can choose between the true Cicitt – made with goat meat and fat in the Locarno valleys
from animals raised in the Canton Ticino – or other sausages that may be produced locally and have their own good qualities, but are certainly not Cicitt. The Presidium brings together producers from the Locarno valleys who are proactively
working to promote the traditional Cicitt sausage, increase farming of local goat breeds and support the construction of a
slaughterhouse that would mean farmers could slaughter their animals locally.
Production area
Locarnese Valleys, Ticino Canton
Coop Switzerland
Presidium coordinator
Meret Bissegger
[email protected]
Tel: +41 78 605 10 07
+41 91 870 13 00
Butchers
Stefano Femminis
Macelleria
6690 Cavergno
091 754 13 16
Fratelli Zanoli
Macelleria
6672 Gordevio
091 753 10 47
Breeders
Locarno Valleys Cicitt Producers Association
Pietro Zanoli
6672 Gordevio
Gilbert Yerly
6677 Moghegno
Giorgio Speziale
6676 Bignasco
Luigi Ernst
6694 Prato Sornico
Vittorio Femminis
Az. La Malüra
6690 Cavergno
Tiziano Maddalena
6672 Gordevio
Elio Leoni
6683 Cerentino
Pascal Favre
El Gasg
6634 Brione
Mariapia e Gabriele Giottonini
Az. la Ghironda,
6633 Lavertezzo
Fabiano Foletta
Az. Lorentign
6635 Gerra Verzasca
Sergio Torroni
Az. Lobioi
6632 Vogorno
Adriano Clericetti
6838 Muggio
Renzo Boschetti e Matteo Minotti
6938 Vezio
Annina Staub
6822 Arogno
Mountain Pasture Sbrinz
One of Switzerland’s most famous cheeses, Sbrinz’s long history is thought to date back to Roman times. It is certain
that is has been produced and sold as Sbrinz since 1530, the year in which Bern’s public record office reports the sale of
a huge quantity of the cheese in Italy, carried south by caravan from the central Swiss town of Brienz, most probably the
origin of the cheese’s name.
Prior to this time the cheese was known as Schwyzer or Spalen and was commonly sold under around the country, traveling widely from the cheese’s homeland of central Switzerland. The well-trodden mule track through the high alpine passes
of Grimsel and Gries, which arrives in Domodossola in northern Italy, is known as “Via Sbrinz” (www.sbrinz-route.ch).
Production of Sbrinz is still concentrated in central Switzerland, in the cantons of Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden and
Nidwalden, Zug and the Muri region in the Aargau canton. This area boasts Switzerland’s best Alpine dairies and pastures,
and until the 19th century the cheese was made solely from mountain milk. With the opening of the first dairies in the valley, cheeesemakers discovered that production was cheaper and could be continued year-round. Today only ten of the 30plus dairies that currently produce Sbrinz AOC (a protected denomination of origin since 2002) still work in the mountains.
Traditional production of Sbrinz starts by mixing raw milk from the evening milking with the morning milk, one of which is
partially skimmed. The milk is processed in copper caldrons and curdled at a temperature of 32°C (90°F). The curd is broken with a tool called a lira (lyre), carefully reheated until it reaches a temperature between 54°C and 57°C (129-136°F),
then firmly pressed into round molds. The Sbrinz forms are soaked in brine for 15 to 20 days, followed by an exudation
phase and then an initial drying. This lasts for around four weeks, during which a natural film of grease forms on the cheese’s surface that is rubbed off with a cloth once a week.
Sbrinz is traditionally aged vertically, on pine boards in cellars. The large cheese wheels are matured for at least 16
months and most are consumed at around 18-20 months; the distinctive spicy flavor takes a little longer to develop fully
however, and Sbrinz AOC is matured for a minimum of 24 months. The extra-hard cheese is typically shaved into thin curls
using a special slicer that is found commonly around Switzerland.
The Presidium
The Presidium project was established to promote high-quality production of Sbrinz, carried out exclusively in Alpine dairies during the summer. The production rules require a minimum maturation period of 30 months, the ideal time to allow
the development of complex aromas and full-bodied spicy flavor.
Presidium Sbrinz is made solely from raw cow’s milk, primarily from the Swiss Brown breed, obtained during the summer
months when the animals graze the best alpine pastures. During the winter season the cows are fed dry hay; the use of
feeds and products using industrial seed-oils is forbidden by the AOC production protocol.
The Presidium protects cheeses made from the milk of six mountain dairies (Geschnialp, Bleiki-Alp, Bergmatt-Stöckalp,
Fluonalp, Alp Chünern, Untertrübsee-Alp). In accordance with tradition, aging takes place in cellars in the valley and the
Sbrinz wheels are sold to specialized affineurs after four months, when they weigh around 43 kilos.
The Presidium wants to raise the profile of this excellent cheese among consumers in Switzerland and elsewhere, distinguishing it from the mass of industrialized Sbrinz that dominates the market.
Production area:
Obwalden and Nidwalden cantons, central Switzerland
Coop Switzerland
Giuseppe Domeniconi
tel. +41 562228915
[email protected]
Producers
Anselm Töngi
Käserei Gerschnialp
Alpenstrasse, 5
Engelberg
tel. +41 41 6373929
[email protected]
(Dairy code 6191)
Paul Barmettler
Alpkäserei Bleiki
Oberdorf
Huob
tel +41 41 6205150
[email protected]
(Dairy code 6192)
Werner von Rotz
Bergkäserei Stöckalp
Weidli, 14
Melchtal
tel. +41 41 6691322 - 41 6691285
(Dairy code 6197)
Thomas Schnider
Käserei Fluonalp
Grossteil-Giswil
Chilchweg
tel. +41 41 6752659 - +41 79 2601285
[email protected]
www.fluonalp.ch
(Dairy code 6201)
Andreas Gut
Käserei Alp Chunern
Wiesenberg
Witzig
tel. +41 41 6282562
(Dairy code 6205)
Thomas Scheuber-Durrer
Alpkäserei Untertrubsee
Ennetmoos
Rotzbergstrasse, 5
tel. +41 41 6111076 - 41 6111074 - 41 6373671
(phone number in the mountains)
[email protected]
(Dairy code 6211)
Muggio Valley Zincarlìn
Zincarlin is a ‘border’ cheese, produced in the mountains in both Italy, in the Lombardy region, and Switzerland, in Canton
Ticino, around the border between Lake Lugano and Lake Como. On the Italian side a small production continues in the
provinces of Como and Varese, but even if the name of the cheese is the same, the methods of production technique are
different.
Presidium Zincarlin is a raw-milk cheese produced on the Swiss side of the Generoso Mountains, in Canton Ticino. Its
shape resembles an upturned cup and it weighs between 200 and 400 grams when fresh.
Zincarlin is usually made from cow’s milk, but sometimes, small quantities of goat’s milk are also added. One of the
distinctive features of the production process is that the curds are never broken: the curd obtained by lactic and rennet
coagulation, is left to coagulate for 24 hours. In some cases, cheesemakers assist the whey to drain by making a crossshaped cut in the curd twelve hours after the rennet has been added to fresh milk. The curd is then hung in a cloth to drain
for another day, until it reaches the right firmness. The draining time depends on the weather, and if the paste doesn’t
reach the right consistency, it may be pressed for some hours. After draining, pepper and salt are added to the curds and
then the cheeses are formed by hand.
Zincarlin is eaten after a minimum two-month aging period. Aging is carried out in cool semi-underground cellars on the
slopes of Mount Generoso. To avoid the growth of undesired moulds, the crust is treated with white wine and salt almost
everyday. During the maturation period, the Zincarlin rinds turn reddish-gray and the cheese becomes soft and fatty and
develops its complex and lengthy taste and aroma.
The Presidium
When this Presidium was established, matured Zincarlin could barely be found anymore. A lack of adequate structural
facilities as well as the labor-intensive production process lead the Muggio Valley cheesemakers towards selling fresh
cheeses almost exclusively.
Thanks to the work of Slow Food Switzerland, the Zincarlin Presidium has recovered the traditional version of the cheese aged for at least two months, produced using raw milk and treated with white wine during aging. An aging facility has been
identified in Salorino and an association to unite, develop and market the Zincarlin Presidium cheeses together with the
dairies has been established with support from the Muggio Valley, Mara Valley and Salorino municipalities.
However, production of Zincarlin is still scarce and it is necessary to involve more cheesemakers and to work to improve
aging techniques, as well as to promote traditional Muggio Valley Zincarlin.
Production area
Muggio Valley, Ticino Canton
Association of the Municipalities of Valle di Muggio, Val
Mara and Salorino Region, Coop Switzerland
Luca Cavadini
Tel. +41 91 6841816
[email protected]
Cheesemakers and farmers
Lorella Bricchetti
6837 Bruzella
tel. +41 916841618
Marisa Clericetti
Roncapiano, Monte Generoso
6838 Muggio
tel. +41 916841370 - +41 916499067
Giuliano e Fiorenza Livi
6875 Casima
tel. +41 916841536
Petro Geroso
Grassa Alp
Affineurs and retailers
Zincarlin Sagl
6835 Morbio Superiore
tel. +41 797313105
[email protected]
www.zincarlin.valledimuggio.ch
Müstair Valley Rye Bread
The widespread cultivation of rye in high-altitude Swiss valleys has had a significant influence on the diet of people living
in the mountains, who have always eaten food based on the cereal. But in Val Müstair in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden,
situated over the Ofen Pass near the Swiss National Park, the mild climate has also allowed wheat to be grown. As in
other alpine valleys, rye bread was the traditional daily bread of the area for centuries, but here it is a lighter version with
a soft floury crust and dark brown loaf, known as Paun sejel (sejel means rye in the Romansch language). Also known in
Italy in its South Tyrolean version flavored with fennel seeds (Ur-Paarl, a Slow Food Presidium), Paun sejel consists of
two flat loaves joined together along one side and is produced using 70% clear rye flour and 30% semi-white wheat flour.
In the past Paun sejel used sourdough, like all types of rye bread, but unfortunately this is no longer the case. Paun bread
uses a dough of mixed flour called biga, and is left to ferment for 6-8 hours, producing a soft, sticky, almost liquid mass,
as happens when using rye flour. Without leaving the dough to ferment any longer, two handfuls are removed and placed
side by side on a well-floured board to be shaped. The two shapes are then baked in the oven for half an hour at around
250° C, allowing the two loaves to merge together.
Paun sejel is now eaten fresh, or 2 to 3 days after baking when it has slightly hardened and the sour rye flavors are more
marked, but in the past it would be kept for weeks or even months by small farmers who stocked up by drying it.
With the arrival of the first industrial bakeries and the disappearance of rye growing in Val Müstair in the second half of
the 20th century, the original production of Paun sejel gradually began to fade away. But a few small farmers continued to
bring flour to their village bakery once or twice a month to get their personal supply of bread made.
At present there is only one baker in the whole valley who produces Val Müstair Paun sejel according to the traditional
methods, using native Graubünden rye, exclusively mixed with Graubünden wheat flour in the traditional proportions.
The Presidium
The main objective of the Presidium is to support production of Paun sejel from Val Müstair and assure its future, but the
overall project has a range of objectives. It particularly aims to promote the cultivation of native rye in the valley, along
with local varieties of wheat, not only to eliminate long and expensive transport but also to enable the local mill to be used
regularly. This would guarantee income for the millers, cereal growers and bakery which can continue to produce Paun
sejel according to the traditional recipe.
Production area
Müstair Valley, Graubünde Canton
COOP Switzerland
Meinrad Meier
tel. +41 818585116
[email protected]
Ingeborg Fischer
tel. +41 0787450961
[email protected]
Cereal growers
Johannes Fallet
Döss
7537 Müstair
Jon-Jachen Flura
7537 Müstair
Rudolf Malgiaritta
7537 Müstair
Mill manager
Getreide und Mühle
Hans Caspar Trepp
Gran Alpin
Postfach
7450 Tiefencastel
tel. +41 816370307
[email protected]
[email protected]
Baker
Meier Beck
Bäckerei-Konditorei
Meinrad Meier
Sta. Maria, Val Müstair
tel. +41 81 858 51 16
[email protected]
www.meierbeck.ch
Pays-d’Enhaut Chantzet
Pigs and cabbages have long been farmed in French-speaking Switzerland, and both are staples of the winter diet. Many
traditional dishes combine this meat and vegetable, including several fresh and cured sausages, such as the Chantzet, a
blood sausage made from pork and white cabbage.
The ingredients are simple and natural: pork (mainly neck, fat and rind), fresh cabbage, fresh blood and spices. All the
pork cuts, from the slaughter of local pigs, are cut into quite large pieces and the rind is prepared by boiled it without salt.
White cabbage is grown locally and is used in many traditional recipes like soupe au choux (cabbage soup). The sausage
is seasoned with nutmeg, marjoram, salt and pepper.
The meat and cabbage are chopped and then mixed by hand with the blood and seasonings. A small press is used to fill
natural casings with the mixture. The casings are stored dry, under salt, and rinsed in warm water before being filled. The
casings may be from cows or pigs, if the right size can be found, and once filled, each Chantzet is hand-tied using natural
string, creating four to five rings to create its typical U shape.
Chantzet must be consumed within a week, or if vacuum-packed within 15 days. The sausage is only occasionally smoked, and almost always cold-smoked. It is common to simply let it rest for a night in the refrigerator and sell it the next day.
Traditionally Chantzet is eaten boiled, on its own or paired with mashed potatoes or sautéed onions. The sausage has a
dark garnet color, almost brown. The casing is easily cut, though the meat stays slightly attached to it. The meat is soft,
with quite a coarse grain, and flavor of the pork and the seasonings is pleasantly balanced with marjoram at the fore.
The Presidium
Until 50 years ago Chantzet was made mostly by families with the help of the boucher de campagne, a farmer who would
travel to households to help slaughter pigs for personal use. There are various types of traditional pork and cabbage
sausages, but the only one still common today is saucisson aux choux (IGP), made from cooked cabbage. It is not made
with blood and can be smoked. Different types of blood sausage and other traditional pork sausages have been gradually
disappearing, together with the figure of the boucher de campagne.
The Pays-d’Enhaut Chantzet Presidium has been set up in the Chateau d’Oex in the Canton Vaud, where two butchers
have continued to make this fresh sausage according to the traditional recipe, using only local ingredients and processing
them entirely by hand.
Production area
Pays d’Enhaut, Vaud canton
Coop Switzerland
Alessandra Roversi
tel. +41 796430743
[email protected]
Patrick Buchs
Tel. +41 269247881
[email protected]
Producers
Boucherie Buchs
Patrick Buchs
Grand Rue
1660 Chateau-D’Oex
tel. +41 26 924 78
[email protected]
Boucherie Charcuterie Campagnarde de L’Etivaz
Michel CombremontLe Devant
1660 L’Etivaz
tel. +41 26 924 62 72
[email protected]
Raw Milk Butter
Thanks to hygiene regulations and the dominance of industrial dairies, it is now almost impossible find high-quality butter
made from raw milk in Switzerland. Even though butter is one of the staples of the local cuisine, the Swiss eat more and
more industrial butter, which lacks fragrance and intensity and is not suited to raw consumption.
The main problem is that these butters are produced using separated cream, cream that rises to the surface of the milk
as it sits. This practice is common in all the dairies that make cheese from semi-skimmed milk, of which there are many
in Switzerland. This allows for high-volume production, but the finished butter does not have the same characteristics as
butter made from centrifuged cream, when the cream is obtained directly from the centrifugation of fresh whole milk. This
is the technique used in the Presidium dairies.
One of the dairies produces butter from soured cream and their own lactic cultures. Souring the cream using “homemade”
cultures is very rare and requires a long process and great care and skill. The dairy’s butter-makers have been passing
down the secrets of the technique for decades.
The preparation of the cultures is the most delicate and fascinating part of the whole process. A liter of fresh raw whole milk
is filtered and heated to 26-27°C (79-81°F), then put in an incubator for around 36 hours. The culture is then refrigerated
overnight. The next morning one spoonful of the culture is used to inoculate a liter of fresh milk which is then put in the
incubator for at least eight hours at 26°C (79°F). This process is repeated four or five times, until the culture is ready to be
used for butter production. One liter of culture is added to 40 liters of raw cream centrifuged at 31°C (88°F). The mixture
is left at room temperature for 24 hours and then put in cells at 3-4°C (37-39°F) for aging (two to four days) until it reaches
the required acidity. Once the pH is correct, the cream is left at room temperature for two days so that the bacteria can
slowly return to life. Finally, the butter is processed in the normal way.
The Presidium
The Presidium was created to protect and promote a rare product and its extraordinary production technique. Only a few
small dairies who make their own cheeses, working outside of the PDO system, can periodically switch their production
to raw-milk butter.
The project brings together two dairies in northwestern Switzerland who use centrifuged cream to make high-quality butter.
Their butter expresses all the scents and flavors of the northern Swiss pastures. It is made from organic and biodynamic
milk from small-scale local farmers, processed into butter at least once a week, hand-kneaded and pressed into traditional
wooden molds. The quality of the milk and its raw processing give it a slightly sour fragrance and a lingering flavor.
Production area
Wernetshausen, Zürcher Oberland; Ganterschwil, St. Gallen canton
Coop Switzerland
Markus Baumgarten
Tel. +41 443916512
[email protected]
Producers
Sennerei Bachtel
Sennhüttenstrasse 13
CH 8342 Wernetshausen Hinwil
Tel. +41 0438431220
[email protected]
Melchior Schoch
Käserei Berghof
Aewil
CH 9608 Ganterschwil
Tel. +41 0719831572
[email protected]
Raw Milk Vacherin Fribourgeois
Gruyère’s little brother
Vacherin fribourgeois is a semi-hard and semi-cooked cheese made in the canton of Fribourg, not to be confused with
vacherin Mont d’Or, a creamy, small cheese produced in the Jura region.
It was first made as an upshot of the renowned Gruyère cheese production; when the amount of milk was insufficient at
the beginning of summer alpine cheesemaking period to make the region’s most important cheese, it was used to make
smaller wheels of vacherin. This “little brother” of Gruyère displays the same characteristics of the quality pastures and
the skills of the local cheesemakers and is aged together with Gruyère in cellars, where they influence the qualities of
each other.
The name vacherin derives from the Latin vaccarinus, meaning the young assistant of the cowman in charge of the cheeses. In the 1950’s, hygiene concerns saw the increasing use of pasteurized milk in the production of vacherin fribourgeois.
This resulted in the loss of traditional processes and knowledge and the impoverishment of the cheese’s defining sensory
qualities. Production of the Presidium vacherin takes place in alpine dairies and begins by adding the morning milk to the
milk from the previous evening and heating it over a wood fire. Following the usual procedures of curdling, breaking the
curd, draining the whey and forming the cheeses, the more unusual delactosage technique of washing the curds takes
place. This method, rarely used outside of the Netherlands, releases lactose and decreases the cheese’s acidity to give
it an appealing sweetness. The wheels are matured for a minimum of three months to allow for the development of the
unique flavor and its optimum texture.
The cheese rind is typically grey-brown or red-brown in color, is washed, and has a wavy or even pleated surface. The
cheese is soft and creamy, with a fruity and intense flavor that is sour and a little bitter. Vacherin fribourgeois is a perfect
dessert cheese, but it is also used in the preparation of fondues, namely the fondue fribourgeoise.
The Presidium
Presidium producers use raw milk from their own cows in Alpine pastures, and if this is not possible it is sourced from local
farmers living within five kilometer radius from the dairy. Today, of the 2,500 tons of vacherin fribourgeois DOP produced
annually, only two percent is made with raw milk. The Presidium cheese are produced following traditional methods, including the important ‘curd washing’ and matured for at least three months to achieve optimum results that set them apart
from their industrially produced counterparts.
Production area
Canton of Fribourg
Coop Switzerland
Alessandra Rovesi
tel. +41 (0)79 643 07 43
[email protected]
François Raemy
tel. +41 (26) 9198750
[email protected]
Producers
Coopérative fribourgeoise des producteurs de fromage d’alpage
André Remy (Président)
en Coppet 12
CH 1637 Charmey
tel. +41(0) 269271523 - [email protected]
Philippe Caille
La laiterie
CH 1776 Montagny la Ville
tel. +41 (0) 26 660 18 84
[email protected]
Michel Eggertswyler
Laiterie de Belfaux
Route du Centre 30
CH 1782 Belfaux
tel. +41 (0) 26 475 26 01
[email protected]
Marc-Henri Horner
La fromagerie
CH 1633 Marsens
tel. +41 (0) 26 915 28 42
Swiss Black Bee
The Swiss black bee (Apis mellifera mellifera), present in the country since the last Ice Age, has adapted perfectly to the
climate and flora of the Alps and their foothills.
Until a few generations ago, it was the only species found in central Europe, but it suffered a crisis in the 19th century
when other bee populations were introduced to Switzerland, including the Carniolan bee (Apis mellifera carnica Pollman)
from Austria and the Balkans and the Italian bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) from the Mediterranean. Their introduction
immediately proved a mistake, because the species and their resulting hybrids showed a strange aggressiveness and
adapted poorly to the area. The importation of other types of bee gradually fell, and today the problem does not come from
the Italian bee, which is no longer raised by Swiss beekeepers, but from the Carniolan and the Buckfast (from Northern
Europe), which are still present and whose morphological differences are not so evident.
The distinctive feature of the black bee is the dark color on the back of the body, which helps the insect soak up warmth
from the sun, even when its rays are weak. Unlike other types, the bee flies in cooler periods, even close to winter. It is
tolerant of low temperatures and has a wide flying range, visiting a great variety of flowers from early morning until late
evening. When pure-bred, the bee has a very placid nature.
Feeding on nectar and pollen from a much larger number of flowers than normal, the black bee produces a honey rich in
complexity, with an intense aroma and an especially balanced flavor.
The honey is traditionally extracted in the spring to get the floral essences, and in the summer for the forest essences.
Honey production does not continue beyond July; the beekeepers leave the rest of the harvest to the bees so they can
build up their winter stocks.
The Presidium
After decades of decline, many beekeepers are now rediscovering this ancient and hardy bee, and are working to maintain
its purity. Some years ago, the beekeepers, together with Pro Specie Rara (a non-profit organization dedicated to dedicated to the preservation of endangered domestic species) launched a project to revive the bee. In the 1990s, they joined
together in the Black Bee Association, which now has over 300 members around Switzerland. Anyone who owns black
bees can join the association, irrespective of the bees’ level of purity.
The Presidium involves 12 beekeepers who have signed a production protocol and who have at least 75 percent genetically proven pure-bred black bees. These small-scale producers, who generally have between 6 and 30 families, sell their
honey under a single label. The objective of the Presidium and the association is to safeguard the bee, creating protected
zones for its pure-bred reproduction. This has already been done in the canton of Glarus, and protected regions will also
be created in Sargans and the Val Müstair in the future.
Production area
Central Switzerland
Coop Switzerland
Balser Fried
tel. +41 817831351 - +41 774503003
[email protected]
Producers
Renata Bott
7532 Tschierv
tel. +41 818585296
[email protected]
Markus Eberle
9300 Wittenbach
tel. +41 712981435
[email protected]
Emil Feurer
9470 Buchs
tel. +41 817565209
[email protected]
Balser Fried
9478 Azmoos
tel. +41 817831351
[email protected]
Ernst Hämerli
3234 Vinelz
tel. +41 323381923
[email protected]
Werner Hardegger
9473 Gams
tel. +41 817711063
[email protected]
Hanspeter Küng
7324 Vilters
tel. +41 817233300
[email protected]
Hans Roth
6144 Zell
tel. +41 9881274
[email protected]
Karl Sochor
8049 Zürich
tel. +41 443084080
[email protected]
Werner Walker
9472 Grabs
tel. +41 817713915
Emil Breitenmoser
9050 Appenzel
tel. +41 717875653
[email protected]
Swiss Brenzerkirsch
Swiss Brenzerkirsch is a cherry brandy, or ‘Kirsch’, typical of central and northwestern Switzerland. It is distilled from the
small-medium sized sweet black cherries of a heritage variety known as Brenzerkirsch (Brenzer cherry), that grows through out the cantons of Basel-City, Basel-Country, Solothurn, Aargau, Lucerne, Schwyz and Zug on tall trees. This variety is
not eaten fresh, and is cultivated solely for the distillation of the Kirsch, to which it gives its name. The spectrum of aromas
characteristic of a high quality Kirsh, is in fact linked directly to the use of heritage variety cherries.
The cherry harvest usually takes place in July when they are fully ripe. In preparing traditional kirsch it is essential that the
whole fruit are pressed (without crushing the stones) on the same day of picking, to obtain the must. Following a fermentation period of at least two weeks, the distillation is carried out. The distillate obtained has an alcohol content of 70-80%,
and is aged for at least one year in non-reactive containers (usually glass, steel or terracotta). Before bottling, the alcohol
content of the final product is lowered to between 40-43 %, depending on the producer, by adding spring water or distilled
de-ionized water.
Traditional Swiss Brenzerkirsch has aromas of marzipan, almond, chocolate and cinnamon. It can be enjoyed neat as a
digestive, is used in fondue and in cooking and baking, especially in traditional desserts like Zug cherry cake or the famous
Basel Läckerli.
The production of traditional Brenzerkirsch is seriously threatened today. Since 1990, the national kirsch has become
vulnerable: a reduced duty on imported spirits and cherries, coupled with changes to the “fruit-based alcoholic beverages”
category in order to have standard rules across the European Union, has caused a major decrease in the price paid for
the fruit for distillation, making the production of Kirsch using cherries from the heritage varieties extremely unprofitable.
The Presidium
Currently the Presidium includes three distillers and about 30 farmers, who are united in the Hochstamm Suisse Association, and follow their guidelines created to support traditional orchards and the landscapes they preserve.
The transition to growing modern varieties of cherries (lower trees) is relatively recent, so it is still possible to find the fruit
needed to produce a traditional Kirsch. However, the heritage varieties are being increasingly abandoned.
The Presidium aims to protect the Brenzerkirsch cherry orchards by promoting their continued production and working
to ensure growers can receive a fair price for the labor intensive work of cultivating cherries on tall trees. If not, the trees
will inevitably be abandoned in favor of varieties that are easier to manage. To raise awareness of the unique qualities
of Swiss Brenzerkirsch, it will be important to promote the quality, identity and image of cherry distillates in Switzerland
through exchanges between Presidium producers and distillers.
Production area
Cantons of Basel-City, Basel-Country, Solothurn, Aargau, Lucerne, Schwyz and Zug
Coop Switzerland
Presidium Coordinators
Lorenz Humbel
Humbel Spezialitätenbrennerei
Tel. +41 (0) 564965060
[email protected]
Erich Wintsch
Tel. +41 (0) 566410461
[email protected]
Producers
Hochstamm Suisse Association
c/o Oekoskop,
Gundeldinger Feld,
Dornacherstrasse 192
4053 Basel
Tel. +41 061 336 99 47
Fax +41 061 283 02 70 [email protected]
Distillers
Lorenz Humbel
Humbel Spezialitätenbrennerei
Stetten
Tel. +41 (0) 564965060
E-mail: [email protected]
Toni Eberhard
Arnold Dettling AG
Brunnen
Tel. +41 (0) 418202618
E-mail: [email protected]
Hermann Röllin
Bauernhofbrennerei Röllin
Baar
Tel. +41 (0) 417611159
Tafeljura Plum Orchards
With its narrow valleys and flat expanses, the Tafeljura plateau of Basel-Country and Fricktal presents an attractive green
setting for impressive rows of tall trees. Here the areas of open countryside have always grown cherry and cider apple trees, while in the damper areas along streams and on the valley floor, tall plum trees are cultivated. This distinctive cultural
landscape is a legacy from ancient times when local peasant farming families still lived in a subsistence economy,. They
did not cultivate the land with monocultures, but used grazing pastures (also producing hay for cattle) and orchards with
tall trees. With the passage of time, thanks to this mixed use of the land, a very distinctive, almost unique landscape was
created. Its beauty and environmental importance caused it to be included in the Swiss Federal Inventory of Landscapes
(the inventory of the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN). The old orchards of the Swiss Tafeljura now risk disappearing, threatened by the introduction of new varieties of lower trees which require less attention and produce larger
fruit than the native varieties (such as Hauszwetschge, Bühler and Fellenberg). The old Swiss plums, though having an
intense aroma and juicy flesh, no longer have a market and the orchards are gradually becoming outdated. For this reason
a Slow Food Presidium was created in the eastern part of Basel-Country. It promoted the Posamenter project, launched
in 2005 by the Verein Erlebnisraum Tafeljura which aims to develop products based on ancient plum varieties, prepared
following traditional recipes and artisan production methods. Various products based on dry plums have been developed,
such as Posamentertörtli, a delicious plum cake, and Prune d’Or, an excellent chutney that goes well with meat pâté,
roasts, stew meat, game or cheese.
The Presidium
This Presidium was set up to preserve and promote the unique landscape of the Tafeljura plum orchards. To ensure that
the cultivation of ancient varieties of tall trees can be economically profitable, it is necessary to increase the volume of fruit
sold by offering high quality transformed products. The project involves 20 growers and 11 transformers. The plums are
cultivated by farmers from villages in the eastern part of Canton Basel-Country and Fricktal, who follow the guidelines of
the Hochstamm Suisse Association.
Production area
Tafeljura in the canton of Basel-Country and Fricktal
Coop Switzerland
Dora Meier
Erlebnisraum Tafeljura
Vordere Gasse 30
4493 Wenslingen
+41 (0)61 991 06 86
+41 (0)79 578 8602
[email protected]
Jürg Ewald
Convivium Slow Food Basel Stadt und Land
Tel +41 061 931 20 12
Fax +41 061 933 90 70
[email protected]
Producers
Erlebnisraum Tafeljura Association
Dora Meier-Küpfer
Postfach
4493 Wenslingen
Tel./ Fax 061 993 91 88
[email protected]
Hochstamm Suisse Association
c/o Oekoskop,
Gundeldinger Feld,
Dornacherstrasse 192
4053 Basel Tel. +41 061 336 99 47
Fax +41 061 283 02 70 [email protected]
Marianne e Jürg Gysin
Spielhof
4494 Oltingen
Caroline e Erich Schweizer-Hirzel
Juchweg 1
4463 Buus
Samuel Gerber – Baumann
Talweid 102
4446 Buckten
Daniel Niklaus
Dorfstrasse 9
4469 Anwil
Vreni Wüthrich
Hof Horn 4445 Häfelfingen
Käthi Schweingruber
Mettenberg 126
4444 Rümlingen
Paul Sutter
Häfelfingerstr. 8
4495 Zeglingen
Urs und Daniela Weiss
Eigenried 36
4463 Buus
Theres und Ernst Buess
Wollstel
4495 Zeglingen
Margrit Frank
Rosenau 1
4462 Rickenbach
Heidi Brunner
Hof Hochhübel
4431 Benwil
Stiftung Ökojob
Sissacherstr. 20
4460 Gelterkinden
Wohn und Werkheim Dietisberg
4448 Läufelfingen
Backer
Ernst Schmid-Pfeiffer
Schmid Beck AG
Hauptstrasse 58
4455 Zunzgen
+41 61 971 51 51
Gabriela Jetzer
Dornacherstrasse 67
4053 Basel
+41 61 361 64 40
Michael Grogg
Brändli AG
Lindenhofstrasse 8
4052 Basel
+41 61 271 57 10
[email protected]
Butcher
Stephan Furter Metzger
Fluhmattweg 16
4207 Bretzwil
Toggenburg Goat
For centuries, this breed of goat was the main source of income for the poorest families in the Toggenburg region and the
neighboring region of Werdenberg, in the St. Gallen canton. This vast Alpine region is dominated by the rocky peaks of the
Churfirsten chain, seven mountains over 2,000 meters high that overlook wide valleys rich in coniferous forests, streams
and rivers. Traditionally all the goats from one village were united into a single herd, which was brought up to the Alpine
pastures in the summer. The milk would be used to make cheeses which were distributed to the goat-owning families. The
official selection of the breed dates to 1892, when the first examples were officially recognized.
The Toggenburg goat has always been characterized by its adaptability and hardiness. Its strong ankles, a distinctive
feature of the breed, allow it to graze on steep slopes, and its thick coat, varying from pale to reddish brown, protects it
from the rain and cold temperatures. This makes it particularly suited to the changes in climate between the mountains
and the lowlands. A goat of medium size, somewhat thickset, it has a broad chest and short white legs. Generally without
horns, the head has short white ears, black in the center, and two long white stripes running from the eyes to the nostrils.
In the Toggenburg and Werdenberg regions, the goats graze the whole summer in mountain pastures. In the winter they
are kept in sheds where they can move freely, with high welfare standards. The goats produce excellent milk as well as
a good yield of meat.
According to SZZV, the Swiss goat-farming association, in 2006 there were around 850 Toggenburg goats in the Toggenburg and Werdenberg regions, out of 3,000 distributed around Switzerland. These numbers are small compared to
the past: In the 1950s, there were over 20,000 animals. An association has been created to protect the breed, the Verein
Ziegenfreunde, which unites all the owners of Toggenburg goats in the historic area. From May to September, 250 Toggenburg goats belonging to association members are collected by a coordinator and taken up to the Malschüel pasture, at
1,400 meters, where they graze along with a few hundred other goats under the supervision of two young herders. Every
day the milk from the goats is turned into little cheeses in the mountain dairy.
The Presidium
The Presidium wants to promote this breed in its native area. Paradoxically, the breed risks dying out in its place of origin,
while many Toggenburg goats are found in other regions and countries, including Italy and the UK.
The Presidium supports the activity of the farmers’ association and is trying to safeguard the breed through the promotion
of its products. A local butcher makes two sausages from Toggenburg goat meat, and the Alp Malschüel cheesemakers
are working to produce a cheese made only from Toggenburg milk. Thanks to the promotion of these products, the farmers
hope to increase the number of Toggenburg goats being farmed locally.
Production area
Toggenburg region, St. Gallen canton
Coop Switzerland
Sven Baumgartner
Rheinhofstrasse 11
9465 Salez
tel. +41 582282459 - +41 794317385
[email protected]
www.lzsg.ch
Slow Food Presidium coordinator
Michael Higi
tel. +41 718915416
[email protected]
Farmers
The Presidium farmers are united in an association:
Verein Ziegenfreunde
Rheinhofstrasse 11
9465 Salez
tel. +41 582282459
[email protected]
Butchers
Roland and Karin Preisig
9633 Bächli-Hemberg
tel. +41 713771184
[email protected]
www.preisig.metzg.ch
Traditional Valais Rye Bread
Rye is the preeminent cereal in the mountain valleys of the European Alps: it is much more robust than other cereals, and
has always easily adapted to the harsh climate and high altitude, making it a staple food in the diet of mountain people
for many centuries. In the Swiss Canton of Valais, wheat was rarely seen and was very expensive, becoming a luxury
product. Instead people ate a sourdough rye bread, often produced by “diluting” the dough with inferior quality ingredients
such as chaff.
Considered a “poor people’s bread”, Valais rye bread used to be in everyone’s house, while now it is almost impossible to
find anywhere in the Canton. The last baker still making it according to the traditional recipe lives in Simplondorf, a village
with no more than 360 inhabitants. The baker, Urs Arnold, is the fourth generation to ply his trade: he learned everything
from his mother, and is now passing everything on to his son. He bakes bread six days a week and jealously guards not
so much the simple ancient recipe as his sourdough starter, the “Chef”.
The traditional recipe for Valais rye bread only uses flour of pure fine rye bran, water (sourced from the valley) and salt.
These ingredients are then mixed with the Chef—which constitutes 10% of the final volume—until a homogenous nonsticky mass is obtained, and then left for at least 12 hours (possibly rising to 15 or 18) when it doubles in volume. An essential factor in the process, the Arnold family’s Chef has been handed down through at least four generations. Its perfect
microbiological equilibrium gives acidity to the dough and a very long life to the bread (as long as a few months). This was
crucially important in these alpine regions where the communal oven would only be fired 2 or 3 times a year
Before dividing the dough into the various sizes (500, 700, 1000 or 1500 grams), a part is removed to be used as the
starter dough for the next bread-making session.
After raising, the molds are put in the oven at a temperature of 230-250˚C and baked for about one and a half hours. The
resulting bread is very compact, golden brown in color and with a slightly flattened conical shape. It has a thick crisp crust,
while the inner part of the loaf is grey-brown, moist and with a distinctly sour taste. Valais rye bread, which is kept in a cloth
napkin, is perfect with dried meat or cheese, also with sweet foods.
The Presidium
Traditional Valais rye bread enjoys PDO status, but the PDO rules permit the addition of wheat flour (up to 10%) and beer
yeast, allowing faster and easier preparation. This results in a bread with a less complex flavor which is different to the
traditional bread, particularly in its texture and storability. The aim of the Slow Food Presidium is to support and promote
the artisan production of traditional Valais rye bread produced with 100% rye bran which is finely ground and mixed exclusively with sourdough starter.
The Presidium is assisting the entire production chain, enabling the use of old mill stones at the mill in Blatten, near Naters, where the rye for Presidium bread is finely ground, and in the future it may also be possible to revive other old stone
grinding mills in the Valais.
Production area
Canton of Valais
COOP Switzerland
Bernhard Augsburger
Rhonemühle 3904 Naters
Tel. +41/27/922.16.61.
Fax +41/27/922.16.69.
[email protected]
www.rhonemuehle.ch
Producers
Mill manager
Bernhard Augsburger
Rhonemühle 3904 Naters
Tel. +41 279221661
Fax +41 279221669
[email protected]
www.rhonemuehle.ch
Baker
Urs Arnold
Bäckerei Arnold
Simplon-Dorf
Tel. +41 027 979 11 25
Val Bedretto Pastefrolle Cookies
The pastefrolle (shortcrust) cookies made in Bedretto Valley in the north of Ticino Canton have been a tradition here since
at least the mid-19th century. In this poor region, which was exclusively agricultural in the past and experienced a massive
emigration, sweet foods were only prepared for special occasions, such as religious festivals and village fairs. Until the
1990s a historic bakery in the valley jealously guarded the recipe and continued to produce the authentic version of the
cookies: thin, in the shape of an “S”, golden in color, crumbly and with an intense buttery flavor. When the bakery closed
down, the cookies also disappeared.
In 1999 the hotelier Paul Forni, who used to buy the cookies for his guests to enjoy with their afternoon tea, decided to
revive this ancient tradition and produce the Val Bedretto pastefrolle cookies himself. After trialing recipes to find the right
ingredients and method, as well as designing and creating suitable molds, he has been producing the cookies commercially since 2004.
The flour used is a mixture of stone-ground Ticino wheat flours: the eggs come from three Canton Ticino farms; and the
butter is produced in the local Gotthard dairy. The sugar is the only ingredient that comes from outside Ticino, but it is a
Swiss product. The cookies are baked for about twenty minutes at 180-200 before being cooled, packaged and labeled.
These last two operations are managed with the help of young people from the Diamante Foundation, an institution involved in projects to integrate disabled persons into society.
The Presidium
The pastefrolle cookies produced in the Bedretto Valley disappeared when a local bakery closed down suddenly, but they
remained alive in the memory of the local families.
Hotelier Paul Forni has revived this tradition today with assistance from the young people of the Diamante Foundation,
and is now able to supply a number of pastry shops, hotels and restaurants in Canton Ticino with traditional pastefrolle
cookies made from local ingredients.
The Presidium has several objectives: to find a new production premises and return the cookies to their area of origin
(Val Bedretto); to establish rules of production in order to guarantee the quality and traditional features of the recipe; and
to involve more producers, so these cookies can be once again enjoyed by local families and sold on the market in their
most authentic form.
Production area
Bellinzona, Canton Ticino.
Coop Switzerland
Paul Forni
6702 Claro
079 620 40 60
[email protected]
Producers
Paul Forni
Swisscookies di P. Forni
Via San Gottardo 34
6532 Castione
In Matro 8 (ufficio amministativo)
6702 Claro
Tel. +41 79 620 40 60 Fax. +41 91 863 46 56 [email protected]
Diamante Foundation
Via Ronchetto 7 CP 4030 6904 Lugano Tel. +41 091 972 86 86 Fax +41 091 972 92 82 [email protected]
www.f-diamante.ch
Walnut Oil
In some parts of the Alps—Valle d’Aosta, the French Rhône Alps and the northwestern Swiss cantons—the extraction of
walnut oil is still common practice today. This reflects the widespread tradition of producing plant-based oils other than
olive oil, characteristic of the countries north of the Alps.
These oils were cheaper than butter, and the use of walnut oil in the kitchen has a long history. Known and appreciated by
the Romans, during the Middle Ages it was used as both a food and a lamp fuel. One of the oldest surviving mentions of
cooking with walnut oil in Switzerland dates back to the 16th century. The documents are stored in the archives of the city
of Neuchâtel, in the French-speaking canton of the same name, one of the oil’s historic production areas. The documents
describe two types of walnut oil: a small production of cold-pressed oil used by nobles, and a hot-pressed oil destined for
lower social classes and the production of medicines. The hot extraction produced higher yields and gave the oil a pleasant toasted, fruity note. For these reasons it became the only production technique common in Switzerland in the early
20th century and later between the two wars.
After the Second World War the consumption of walnut oil fell dramatically, as food technology brought cheap butter, margarine and other vegetable oils to the market. The cultivation of walnuts and the laborious harvesting, drying and shelling
of the nuts were abandoned by farmers, surviving only as a marginal, supplementary activity for families. Currently the
production of hot-pressed walnut oil is carried out by a few mills, dotted around the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Solothurn,
Aargau and Zurich.
The dried nuts are picked over, shelled, ground and then baked in the mill’s wood-fired oven at a temperature over 120°C.
The ground nuts are stirred continuously for 30 minutes, so that they cook evenly. The resulting mass is then wrapped in
two cloths, an internal one made from cotton or polythene and an external one of jute, and placed in a press. During the
pressing, the external layer of jute holds a little of the pressed oil and ensures its slow release. The extracted oil is very
aromatic, with pronounced toasted notes. The mass that remains inside the press, the nillon, is dried and used as a flour
to make cakes, or further pressed to make a crunchy sweet given to children.
The Presidium
Walnut cultivation is no longer considered a profitable agricultural activity. Many walnut groves have been abandoned
for years, and only a few families continue to tend their own trees. Safeguarding the production of oil allowed the revival
of some cultivation in the Vaud canton, where the tradition is still very strong. A few thousand walnut trees have been
replanted, and Switzerland’s most important extraction mill is active here. The canton of Vaud produces 90 percent of all
of the country’s walnut oil, but the tradition has also survived in the neighboring cantons, where the mills process small
quantities for the local population or for family consumption. The walnuts for the oil are grown by individuals or small-scale
local growers.
The Presidium wants to support this activity, informing consumers about this centuries-old tradition, to safeguard the walnut trees and keep this local economy alive.
Production area
Vaud, Bern, Solothurn, Aargau and Zurich cantons
Coop Switzerland
Bovey et Fils
1141 Severy
tel. +41 218003333
[email protected]
Slow Food Presidium coordinator
Alessandra Roversi
tel. +41 796430743
[email protected]
Producers
Bovey et Fils
Moulin-Huilerie de Severy
1141 Severy
tel. +41 218003333
[email protected]
Zurich Quince Paste
This confection of quinces and sugar is typical of the canton of Zurich and surrounding areas, but is known and eaten in
much of the rest of the country. An ancient recipe for Quittenpästli (the German for “quince paste”) can be found in a 1751
cookbook, but the product was already being mentioned in documents from the 16th century written by a famous doctor
from Basel, who praised the quince paste’s nutritional properties.
In Zurich it is considered a typical Christmas sweet. Each family has its own traditional recipe, but artisans use the version
in the cookbook written by Lina Rytz in 1835.
The main ingredient is quinces, once commonly grown throughout German-speaking Switzerland, their trees an essential
element of the hilly landscape. In the past, as now, the quince trees were not officially cultivated, but used as ornamental
trees in gardens and parks, their fruits picked to make jams and sweets.
To make the quince paste, the fruits are peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes. The cubes are soaked in water overnight.
The next morning the liquid is strained off and can be used to make fragrant jellies. The quince cubes are meanwhile
combined with an equal quantity of sugar and cooked for several hours, stirring constantly, until they break down into a
smooth paste.
The paste is then dried for several days before being cut and sprinkled with sugar. The final product is orange in color, with
a gummy consistency and a characteristic tart flavor.
The Presidium
The Presidium unites two confectioners from the Zurich area who are still following the traditional recipe. The Presidium
protocol specifies that only quinces from the Zurich countryside can be used. In fact one of the project’s aims is to protect
the landscape, which is still characterized by quince trees. The second phase will involve the selection and distribution of
some historic quince varieties from the Zurich area.
Production area
Zurich canton
Presidium supported by:
Coop Switzerland
Producers
Mischa Klaus
Confiserie Cafè Klaus
Marktgasse 17
8180 Bülach
tel. +41 44 860 07 44
[email protected]
www.klaus.ch
Raphael Stadelmann
Vier Linden Holzofenbäckerei
Freierstrasse 50
8032 Zürich
tel.+ 41 44 268 88 22
[email protected]
www.vierlinden.ch
Stiftung St.Jakob
Leo Peterhans
Kanzleistrasse 18
8004 Zürich
tel. +41 44 295 93 46
[email protected]
www.st-jakob.ch
For more information:
Giuseppe Domeniconi
Slow Food Switzerland
tel. +41 562228915
[email protected]
Alessandro Ferri
Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
tel. +39 0172 419649
[email protected]
www.slowfoodfoundation.org
www.slowfood.ch
www.presidislowfood.it

The “Slow Food Presidium” Brand in Switzerland

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