intangible cultural heritage

Trnič Cheese from Velika and Mala planina

area : Srce Slowenije
category : social practices
The trnič cheeses are a type of seasoned cheeses from Velika and Mala planina. They are made from sour cheese and ornamented. They do not only have a nutritional symbol but a ritually symbolic meaning as well. Such cheeses are called “trnəč” by local inhabitants. Until today, the skill of making these cheeses has been preserved to a very limited extent.
Relatively little is known in reference with the origin and development of these types of cheeses. All those who have researched agree that we can speak about a relatively archaic form of appearance which does not only hide the question of the role and meaning of the relationships between the genders in so-called traditional society but it leads us to hypothetical deductions in relation to the aboriginal culture and antiquity.

These cheeses used to be made from skimmed sour milk. The latter was warmed a little so that more meagre cheese was obtained, i.e. cottage cheese. First the milk was strained, then salted and some cream added in order to give the cheese mixture adequate softness to enable shaping. Onion-shaped small loaves pointed towards the top were shaped by hand. In some cases tiny warty bumps were made on the surface of the loaves. Pairs of lumps of such cheeses were decorated with ornaments which were imprinted by means of relief-like carved wooden sticks or “writings”. These loaves or chunks of cheese were the size of a man\'s palm. After they have been shaped and ornamented they put them on a shelf above the hearth where they dried, slightly smoked and thus preserved. While the loaves were drying only beech firewood was used in the hearth. After approximately two weeks trniči were dry enough and they had shrunk by half. The number of the cheese loaves produced was always even, as shepherds gave them to their wives and girlfriends as a present and a token of fidelity and love; they also meant a promise of marriage. As some of the persons we have spoken to said, a pair of ornamented trniči is actually an image of a woman\'s breasts: the shepherds thought that “a woman also has breasts in pairs”. Although many women and girls who were presented with the cheese kept the latter for a long time, several years even, the essence of its meaning was its usefulness for nutritional purposes. Not only girls and women were presented with these cheese but other locals as well. Seasoned trniči were frequently soaked in hot or cold milk to make them become softer and suitable to eat. Nowadays these cheeses, trniči, are often used as grated cheese to flavour pasta and meat dishes.

The ornamented trniči to be given away from Velika and Mala planina are undoubtedly one of the specialities of the shepherd ship heritage and Alpine culture in general. The ethnologist Tone Cevc reminded us that “with some good will, understanding and ingenuity we could revive and make alive at least a part of the almost forgotten tradition if we promoted original souvenirs making. This should comprise and draw from the initiatives from the treasure-house of the Velika planina shepherdship. [Cevc: 1993: 73]

Nowadays trniči are made according to an old recipe by Rezka Mali from Godič who transfers her knowledge on to the children. When she way young she was taught the process of making trniči by Debevčeva Zefka who used to be a shepherdess on Gojška planina situated in the immediate vicinity of Velika and Mala planina.

links

The Heart of Slovenia
Development Centre Litija
TIC Kamnik
Velika planina Mountain
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