When it comes to sustainable food, in your opinion, what are the criteria? Among the most important things include seasonality, regionality, and reducing animal ingredients. Also paying attention to where our food comes from, whether it is organic and what transportation routes it takes is part of it. By the way, reducing animal products doesn’t just mean consuming less meat, but buying less animal foods overall, such as milk, eggs, and cheese. In this way, everyone contributes to more climate protection.
Facts about food waste
Did you also know that Germans produce 82kg of food waste per year and for each person? In other words, every eighth piece of food ends up in the garbage can. Worldwide, about one-third of all food is thrown away. This is alarming, and especially in the current situation with the global short- age of grain and other foodstuffs due to the war in Ukraine, we are chal- lenged to act differently. This is also an important issue when traveling. We asked our green pearls what is typical of their region, how they buy and cook, and what they don’t want to do without.
Local food with own label ‘Adler Regional Partner’
The hosts at the ADLER Lodge in Ritten are keen to introduce their guests to the uniqueness of South Tyrol, also from a culinary perspective.
All the products are solely regional and are manufactured according to ecological principles. The ADLER Lodge labels products from the region with its own “Adler Regional Partner” seal. One such partner is Harald Gasser, who, high above the Eisack Valley, has breathed new life into more than 400 already almost forgotten vegetable varieties. Thus, on the ADLER’s menu you will find, among other things, primeval carrots, radishes as you surely don’t know them or lucky clover.
Together with the kitchen team and the cheese dairy Hof zu Fall (Siusi) the natural and aromatic mountain cheese has been developed. Milk for it is provided by the typical South Tyrolean gray cows, which of course graze on the neighboring lush meadows beneath the Sciliar. The organic wheat and spelled for the homemade bread and delicious croissants grow directly in the Val d’Orcia about five minutes from the ADLER Thermae and are tra- ditionally ground in the artisan stone mill Mulino d’Orcia. Among Tuscan guests, the bread now enjoys a legendary reputation.
The hosts of ADLER Lodge RITTEN are committed to supporting small and medium-sized producers who rely on organic farming. The excellent products that are allowed to bear the quality seal also include different types of fruit as well as crunchy cabbage veg- etables from Val Venosta (VI.P Coop), ADLER tea blends from organic herb cultivation (Pflegerhof), but also meat from Wagyu cattle (Oberweidacher- hof). There are also 100% products from Tuscany such as organic honey varieties, ancient and revitalized cereals and legumes. Also on the menu are the rare and environmentally friendly planted chickpeas, as well as cheeses and meats. And not to forget the wines, the extra virgin olive oil and the aromatic Agrodolce vinegar from their own tenuta. The hosts per- sonally know all the producers, and a lively exchange guarantees many thrilling new developments.
Recommendations/recipe tips from chef Hannes Pignater
Hannes has picked out two regional products with suitable recipes for you to try:
Juniper: In my opinion, juniper pro- vides an aroma, which best represents the taste of our forests and mountains. It grows wild, the berries are used to flavor broths, sauces and marinades, the branches are used for smoking. The ripening period of the berries is three years.
My recipe for juniper salt:
200g salt, 2 tablespoons of juniper berries Mountain thyme to taste.
Heat the thyme of a pan and brown it slightly, then add it to the salt and juniper and puree everything in a blender. Spread the flavored salt on a baking sheet and let it dry for a day. The salt can be used to season salads, meat or vegetables.
Wild garlic: Wild garlic grows wild near the ruscielli in the spring. It has a strong flavor of cippollina grass and garlic and is great with asparagus, grilled meats and fish or as a pesto for a pasta dish.
My recipe for wild garlic pesto:
A bunch of wild garlic Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, roasted sunflower seeds sunflower oil
Blend everything to obtain a thick and tasty pesto. The dosage should be adjusted to personal taste. If the taste of the wild garlic is too strong, you can mix it with parsley.
All the green pearls are united in their emphasis on climate-friendly culinary arts
The Hotel Das Rübezahl in Schwangau in the Allgäu Vis-à-Vis of the famous Neuschwanstein Castle focuses with its in-house restaurant Gams & Gloria on unique alpine taste experiences. Let yourself be surprised by a twist of international and local cuisine. Dishes such as “Mountain pine dashi kisses Allgäu chamois ham” or even “Alpine herbs meets whitefish sashimi” represent a new and distinctive Alpine cuisine for the host family Thurm—international, surprising and local. The focus of both in house restaurants is on regionality and seasonality.
CERVO in Zermatt is also guided by the principle of “regional and seasonal.” The resort cooperates with local partners, thus ensuring that supply chains are organized regionally. Here, too, the focus is on familiarizing guests with the destination through regional culinary delights.
The CERVO’s rule of thumb for transport distances is 150 kilometers. By the way, this applies to the kitchen as well as to the facilities or services. Herbs come from the own permaculture, which holds a considerable selection.
Among other things, the kitchen extracts various herbal oils from them. For the CERVO, sustainable use of resources also includes a well- thought-out value chain. Permaculture produces energy, food, and functions like a small system in a larger network.
The kitchen of the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio stands for regional- ity of the Allgäu. In addition to the gourmet menu, the guests can select from a classic menu with specialties from the Allgäu region. It features regional classics such as Kässpätzle, Kraft broth and sous vide cooked steaks exclusively from the Allgäu region with a variety of sauces and side dishes.
The Berghotel Rehlegg in Ramsau also focuses on regional foods directly from the producer.
