Original scientific paper
Nutrition on the Adriatic Islands An Ethnological View on Nutrition of the Croatian Adriatic Island Population
Mirjana Randić
; Ethnographic museum, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The present paper deals with nutrition and food habits of rural population
living on the islands of the Croatian Adriatic. The author has based her work
on material concerning traditional food, published by several investigators in the
last twenty years, and on notes taken during her own resea rches in six Adriatic island
localities from 1991-1999. The survey on nutrition of this specific pa11 of the
Mediterranean region covers the period of time from the beginning of the 2oth centuty
tili today. It includes the list of aliments (cereals, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy
products), ways of preparing food, description of the kitchen and cooking utensils
and food-taking habits . Typical everyday and festive dishes are listed according to
the main ingredients, followed by daily timetable of meals. Next topics are preservation
of food for winter and list of beverages, ending with dishes in connection
with folk festivities. In conclusion, the author points out at certain prehistoric traits
that can be found in traditional food habits of the Adriatic island population today,
mentioning the influences of the neighbours from the Mediterranean in the past, as
well as in the present time. Always in the frames of the Mediterranean tradition,
with lots of vegetables and fish, a modest amount of meat and unsaturated fat in
the form of olive oil, the island kitchen has also embraced some new food that was
coming to the region in the past centuries. On the whole, it is considered a healthy
kitchen, also from the medical point of view.
The fo llowing facts emphasize the importance of this paper: the nutrition and food
habits make a part of the culture of some nation, which is particularly true for the
so-called traditional societies and for relatively small island rural communities that
existed on Croatian islands still in the beginning of the 2oth centllly (and in some
places even until the 1940s); the choice of aliments and the way of preparing food
reflect the influence of different cultures (the Mediterranean area is typical for the
different cultures elements circulation); the research of the nutrition habits points at
a number of aspects of social differentiation and integration as well. And although
the author considers the researches of the traditional nutrition of the Croatian islands
population to be far from their comple tion, it is sure that through their results
a more thorough insight in these aspects of islands and the way of living of Croatian
islanders is already now made possible, and this particularly from the
socio-anthropological point of view.
Keywords
nutrition; ethnological view; population of the islands; Croatian Adriatic
Hrčak ID:
100243
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2002.
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