From Ptuj red onion to Ljubljana lettuce and from the Kranjska turnip to the Igor potato

Are you familiar with traditional Slovenian produce?

Native and naturalised vegetable varieties grown in Slovenian soil have developed special characteristics due to the specific environments in which they have been cultivated for centuries.

Growing vegetables is a very old tradition in Slovenia. Native and also naturalised varieties are part of our cultural heritage and biodiversity. They come from Slovenian fields and gardens and are well adapted to our climate, and also to our customs and cuisine. The most popular are Ptuj red onion, Ljubljana Ledenka lettuce and Ljubljana yellow carrots, Češnjevec beans, the Igor potato variety and more.

Double protected geographical indication

For a long time, the only agricultural product protected under the protected geographical indication label was Ptuj red onion. This onion variety has been grown in the Ptuj Field for over two hundred years. According to a local legend, it was brought here by the Turks. A certificate of organic or integrated production is mandatory for growing this cordate and oblate onion. Its flesh is white with a purplish-red tinge and a more distinct purple edge. It is mandatory to harvest it by hand. It is traditionally sold woven into rye-straw wreaths with six to twelve onions of approximately the same size.

In 2017, Štajerska hops was entered into a group of products labelled with the protected geographical indication. The following hops varieties are entered into the Slovenian variety list: Savinjski Golding, Aurora, Atlas, Ahil, Apolon, Bobek, Buket, Blisk, Celeia, Cekin, Cicero, Cerera, Dana, Styrian Gold, Styrian Eureka and Styrian Eagle. Our hops producers mostly grow Aurora, Bobek, Celeia and Savinjski Golding, while the new varieties Dana and Styrian Gold account for a few percentages of production. Some 99 per cent of Štajerska hops are used in the brewing industry, giving beer its typical bitterness and aroma.

Hops growing has a very long tradition in Slovenia. The earliest mention of hops being used for beer brewing is from around 1160 from the land register of the Škofja Loka nobility. Štajerska hops are distinguished by a fine aroma with a herbal, fruity or flowery note. Abroad, they are known by their English name of Styrian hops.

Delicious lettuce varieties

Ljubljana Ledenka lettuce, also known as Ajsarca, is a well-known name among gardeners and lettuce enthusiasts, and was once synonymous with the offer of Trnovo and Krakovo lettuce producers. The origin of the name was vividly described by R. Justin in the Kmetovalec newspaper in 1893, “Due to its juicy and delicious leaves, which somehow crush between the teeth, this variety is called “ice lettuce.” The crisphead lettuce with gently closed heads originally produced in the surrounding area of Ljubljana started to be cultivated elsewhere in Europe in the 19th century due to its excellence. It is a summer variety with firm yellowish green heads with wavy and jagged leaves. It tolerates summer heat and bolts late.

Another variety of crisphead lettuce called Solata Belokriška is known from the broader area of the Primorska region. It was never marketed under this name in the past and is known among people as Primorska Ledenka. There are several varieties of this lettuce; one is Marija and another one was grown for a long time in the border areas of neighbouring Italy under the name Adriatica Agostana, but its cultivation was abandoned several years ago. It is usually sown in spring, but September sowing is also successful in Primorska. It forms gently closed heads and is pale green, but bolts relatively quickly.

In addition to the most known ones, there also subvarieties that developed from these or other varieties that were once popular, i.e. Bistra, Majska Kraljica, Tolminka, Posavka and Šempeterka.

In addition to Ljubljana Ledenka, there are also lamb’s lettuce, carrots and cabbage. Of Ljubljana!

A native variety of carrots, Ljubljana yellow carrots, developed in the surrounding area of the capital. These pointy carrots are light yellow and long and particularly popular as an ingredient in the traditional Slovenian Sunday beef soup. Ljubljana lamb’s lettuce is also one of the native species. It is a low-maintenance vegetable that tolerates low temperatures and develops delicious, long, shiny dark green leaves that contain an abundance of chlorophyll, vitamins and iron.

Ljubljana cabbage forms light green heads of oblate to round shape. The heads weigh about four kilograms and are used in fresh salads and for fermentation. In Slovenia, it is popular because of its delicious leaves and abundant harvest.

Turnip, garlic, beans, potatoes

There are two native turnip varieties, i.e. Kranjska Podolgovata and Kranjska Okrogla. They both have a strong and sharp flavour that comes out particularly in fermentation. Turnip is oblate to round with a reddish-purple root, while the greens are red, green or purple. It is excellent for fermenting. Its leaves are also edible, as their flavour resembles that of mustard.

There are six registered varieties of garlic that originate from the native seed material from various Slovenian regions. Three are spring varieties, i.e. Ptujski Spomladanski, Primorski and Štrigon and three autumn varieties, i.e. Ptujski Jesenski, Haloški and Anka. Both Ptuj varieties are native to the Ptuj Field. The Haloze Hills are known for their own garlic, while Primorski and Štrigon come from the Slovenian Istria and Anka is produced in the central Slovenian region.

Beans production has a long history in Slovenia. Due to their exceptional nutritional content, beans were once called the meat of the poor. That was at the time when meat was too expensive to be eaten every day by common people. It is still popular among Slovenian producers today and we know a number of old beans varieties. The Plant Gene Bank at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia stores several thousands of different beans samples collected in the last twenty years throughout the entire Slovenian territory. The best known ones are Češnjevec beans (a group of dwarf and climbing varieties with various reddish spots) and Lišček beans (half of the bean is white and the other half is either red, yellow, brown or black), famous for their colours. There is Savinjski Sivček most frequently grown in the Lower Savinja Valley and Ribničan from the area of Ribnica, and a whole range of others such as Jabelski Stročnik, Klemen, Ptujski Maslenec, Jeruzalemčan, Koks, Prepeličar, Jabelski Pisanec and Cipro.

The offer of different potato varieties is also abundant. In the 1980s, Igor was considered the most frequently cultivated potato variety in Slovenia, as it was grown in 70 percent of fields. There was also Cvetnik, a high-quality potato for winter storage and Vesna, which gave the largest yield.

Slovenian vegetables used by renowned chefs

Most Slovenian chefs mentioned in international guides such as Michelin and Gault&Millau have their own gardens and fields in which they grow vegetables and herbs for their dishes. These include traditional Slovenian vegetables. The queen of Slovenian gastronomy, Ana Roš, swears by local Livek beans and the Gorizia Rose radicchio. Chef Gregor Vračko from Hiša Denk in Zgornja Kungota, which also received a Michelin star, uses Slovenian traditional vegetable varieties. As he comes from a village, he has always been involved in gardening and self-sufficiency and cannot imagine the hospitality service in any other way. Next to Linhart House, chef Uroš Štefelin keeps a garden in which he grows Sivček beans. One of his favourite ingredients is also local Trdinka corn.

Local native varieties are a priceless natural heritage that comes from fields and gardens. Due to their properties, they successfully withstand climate conditions, give sufficient yield and delicious produce despite weather extremes such as heat, drought and cold. In accordance with the tradition and awareness regarding sustainability, Slovenian gastronomy relies on the seasons, but always strives for organic and integrated vegetable production.