BULGARIA-FOOD: Preserving for a Hard Winter

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Boris Basmadjiev

SOFIA, Sep 27 1996 (IPS) - Bulgarians desperate to stave off the pangs of hunger this winter are resorting to traditional methods of keeping fruits and vegetables in edible form to withstand the long, cold months.

Successful preparation of the preserves may be the only thing standing between many people and widespread hunger as economic pressures mount. Heating is costly. Food prices are high. The national currenty — the leva — is decreasing in value. All of this is resulting in many millions of Bulgarians feverishly preparing preserves of all sorts.

The tradition goes back to ancient times. “We always put in some 400-500 jars of various preserves — jams, juices, meats and vegetable purees,” says Veromira Krasinska, who works in a food- processing factory in Sofia. “It’s what you put aside that will see you through winter, isn’t it?”

Five hundred jars of preserves may sound a lot, but village and small-town citizens put in at least twice that amount.”We generally prepare around 400-500 jars for our son and so many again for us — the boy is a doctor in Sofia, and we have to help feed his family, you know,” says Ivo Gerov, a 55-year old villager.

Gerov and the thousands of other fathers like him throughout Bulgaria are the mainstay of big-city families. Salaries are so low that without the support they provide no professional would be able to cover basic needs.

“What can I say? My parents provide around half of our food — the more expensive half — and her parents pay some of our utilities, as we live together,” explains Zdravko Naidenov, a 32- year old engineer and a father of two about the way their household arrangement.

Putting in preserves and preparing for winter took on a new meaning this year: Bulgarians expect the upcoming winter to be the most brutal in modern times – and not because of the low temperatures.

“The salaries of me and my wife will hardly cover our kids’ daily needs at school and every day expenses for tickets, coffee, bread, etc.,” says Naidenov.

Over one percent of big-city families have so far decided to stop their central heating during the winter as they could be unable to pay for it.

The cause for this decision is the latest rises in the price of central heating. It would mean that the average heating bill for a four-member family would be around 12,000 leva (about 50 dollars) monthly, or the equivalent of a higher-than-average salary. Some officials say as much as 60 percent of the population may have to go without any form of heating.

However, with a mean January-February temperature of -2 degrees Celsius, Bulgaria is a harsh country for such experiments. “I fully expect to see people dying of cold and hunger on the streets by the end of the year — already, every trash can on the streets is occupied by some poor wretch who eagerly waits to catch any scrap thrown in,” says Genady Aleksiev, a sociologist in this capital.

This pessimism is widespread, especially among people on the street. That is part of the reason for the rush to have preserves …well…preserved. For the process to be done, jars and caps are needed.

Jars in Bulgaria are produced and sold with an old-fashioned cap which does not twist on or off. It is pressed tightly shut and is supposed to be used only once. The economic changes which have beset Bulgaria since the end of the communist system have also altered people’s attitudes. Now they are willing to use and re-use the old caps and are even willing to buy special openers so as not to destroy the caps.

“It would be funny, were it not sad,” says Aleksiev. “There are plenty of inventors producing and selling special apparatus for opening and closing jars and thousands of work-hours are devoted to scouring the market for caps, jars and implements.”

This month most Bulgarian women have been out on the streets searching for bargains on vegetables and meats for preserving, searching for salt, sugar and wheat bargains — and having an eye open for jars and caps which are hard to find.

Having secured all these, they spend at least three to five working days feigning sickness while in fact she is locked away in the house preparing the preserves.

“Nobody – neither private business nor the state, as the largest employer around – is willing to even think about the losses incurred by this,” says Aleksiev. According to him, state enterprises lose over 20 million dollars every year in work-hours missed or shoddy work during the preserving season.

“Work problems – for staying at home, and such? No, I have never had any, and I don’t know anybody who has,” says Naidenov.

Another factor, adding to the sense of urgency and bustle of all Bulgarian women in September, is this year’s uncontrollable rise in prices.

“Besides the preserves, we will put in 20 kilos of cheese in our freezer — that was my salary — and 20 kg of meat – that was my husband’s salary,” says Krasinska. She says she has spent a whole week searching the markets for the best bargains, and now expects to spend another week at home preparing the preserves.

Asked to comment on absenteeism related to the autumn preserving campaign, businessman Zdravko P., employer of 15 people, declared: “Sure, they have to do it — otherwise I don’t know what they will eat during the winter — do you expect me to stop them from preparing their food?!”