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The shortage of local farm produce resulting from the harsh climate and
the quality of the land has necessarily left its mark on the eating habits of the people of Sauris.
Their cuisine is based on a small number of dishes with few ingredients but it is nutritious
and well suited to their pace of life and the heavy work load over many months of the year.
Some cereals and a few pulses (buckwheat, barley, broad beans), wild herbs and garden
vegetables and meat from domestic animals and game was all a housewife had at hand.
The only dairy product widely consumed was ricotta; butter and cheese rarely put in
an appearance on the table since they were destined for sale at market.
The sale or exchange of dairy products, sauerkraut, ham and salted meats enabled
the people of Sauris to procure food products such as wheat and corn flour, beans,
fruit and the all-important salt for the preservation of certain foodstuffs.
Other methods of food preservation included smoking (for pork and ricotta) and fermentation
(sauerkraut and ricotta).
Traditional recipes are still passed down within families and, indeed,
reinvented by restaurant owners.
For the food-lover and gourmet Sauris means cured ham because the ham of Sauris is cured using the
centuries-old processes still adopted by local businesses.
But in recent years the processing of pork has been joined by new niche products in the
agriculture and food sector:
- the production of organic beer
- the cultivation of soft fruits
- the preparation of cheese, fresh and smoked ricotta, butter |
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