#istrian meal

[scr4n]

Istrian style chicken fillet with fuži pasta and french fries 🇭🇷

[whumped-by-glitter]

The Morning Dasa's Life Began to Change

CW: institutionalized slavery, captivity, bondage

here is a very whumpy excerpt from chapter 2, it takes place the morning of Annika's birthday. I am working on edits still, so aspects may change slightly by the time I post the entire chapter.

word count: 2,066

The slave, who was only called dog, stood spread eagle in his master’s front yard, his arms and legs held taut, and outstretched between two pillars, bound by a force pulling at the bands on his wrists and ankles. two bars were slid through brackets, on both pillars, one at his throat, one at the back of his neck to deter any forward or backward slumping. His well-defined muscles were far past the point of screaming from lack of movement, His black, medium length hair was matted with days of sweat and grime. He'd lost count of how long he’d been out there, 3 days maybe? His master would show up three times a day to beat him and force him to eat. He was never starved for punishment, like the other slaves, because he was being trained to resist, properly identify, and neutralize poisons. Missing meals would mean missing doses, which could screw up any resistance he’d built up, which had taken almost 20 years to establish. He was only being held here, this time because a younger slave, referred to as boy, was stealing food. Dog had taken the blame, to protect the starving kid, who was banned from food because their master’s lazy son Balor was not pleased with how long it had taken Boy to buy more snacks.

The sun began to rise, and the people of the Fief had begun to move about. Some of the passers- by would look at him with pity. Others would poke fun at his predicament, or giggle. Some of the Arcturian children would throw stones or mud, from the gutters, at him. Dog was insensible and numb to all of this by now. For the Drar, such treatment was commonplace. He was an enslaved people.  The position Dog now found himself in was his master, Corvius’s, favorite punishment for him.

The Drar were a race that had incredible physical strength, and heightened senses, like wild animals. They were actually the only race of Balthia that did not possess any magic, in fact they were more sensitive to it being used on them, but their senses and strength more than made up for it. Even their eyes looked animalistic, amber yellow with slit pupils. They also boasted incredibly fast healing, however, dog unfortunately did not, likely due to the poisons he had to drink every day. Dog was also not as strong as other Drar probably for the same reason. He was stronger than the Istrians and definitely stronger than Arcturians though.

As the sun rose higher dog started to grow concerned. Master Atheris should have been outside by now. Did Corvius forget about him? Did Corvius decide to just leave him out here, and to start fresh, with one of the younger slaves? Doubts whirled through his head, which was bound to happen when he had nothing to do but think. It was like torture, to suddenly change a routine when he was in such a vulnerable position.

Finally, after hours, Boy appeared. Relief spread through Dog, followed immediately by confusion. Then Boy started to slide the bars out of their slots, which confused Dog and caused more than a little bit of panic to arise in him. “Wh-what are you doing?” dog asked, in hushed tones, his voice cracking a little, which betrayed concern for the younger slave.

“don’t worry, I’m on orders to get you cleaned up, I’m not helping you escape” Boy replied. He showed Dog Balor’s ring. Boy gave a wry smile when Dog sighed in relief. Boy released Dog's ankles. Then he released Dog’s wrists, first his right, causing dog’s body to slump back, onto Boy’s waiting shoulders. “Why do you do this to yourself?” Boy asked, “you would almost never be punished, if you weren’t constantly defending the rest of us” he said, releasing his other wrist, causing dog’s entire body to crumple and boy had to help him to the ground so he could recover for a moment. It was a relief to allow blood to start flowing back to his arms.

Dog shrugged in response “because, I know how much these suck, and it hurts me a lot worse than the actual treatment ever could to see someone else go through it.” He replied pensively, revealing what might be his biggest weakness, “besides, someone’s gotta look out for all of you. now shhh, you know we aren’t supposed to talk to each other”, talking, between slaves, was strongly discouraged not just by Corvius, but across the board.

Boy gave another wry smile as dog flexed, trying to restore blood flow to his stiff limbs, his muscles aching from prolonged disuse. Boy doubted their master had even realized how fitting the name “Dog” was. Dog was loyal to a fault, almost to the point of being stupid. As the oldest slave in the household, he always took it upon himself to look out for everyone else and protect them from Corvius and his lazy son Balor. The other slaves would sometimes jokingly call him Maso, short for masochist.

Once dog could at least stand, boy half dragged him into the bathhouse, to begin getting him cleaned up. Dog was dreading the cold water, when he realized it was warm. He had never once had a warm or even lukewarm bath. He closed his eyes and melted into it. It felt amazing on his still stiffened and somewhat atrophied muscles. Boy had to help him with his hair, as he still could barely lift his arms. To Dog’s surprise, Boy used real shampoo. This really started to concern dog, as normally, on the rare occasions they were allowed to bathe, it was cold water and only a bar of soap.

After he was cleaned up, Boy handed him a towel and brought in some clean clothes. He then carefully bandaged his still bleeding and thoroughly battered body. When dog started to dress, his concern grew, ‘what was going on?’ he thought. The fabric was soft and clean. The garments were new and had no holes at all. It was a simple black tunic and breeches, with red edging. Dog dressed quickly, not wanting to dawdle too long and get Boy in trouble.

A few minutes later Corvius waltzed in, followed by his portly son, who came waddling in after his father. Dog immediately knelt and bowed his head to the floor, a gesture of humble submission and obedience. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite lawn ornament” the old man sneered.

“And snack retriever!” Balor added dumbly, trying, and failing dismally, to parrot Corvius’s sneer.

Corvius walked around dog, assessing him, “that’ll have to do” he muttered before wrapping a blindfold over Dog’s eyes. Corvius was strictly averse to his slaves making eye contact, even by accident, with any free person.  It wasn’t uncommon for him to just blindfold them, when they were going to be around nobles. In fact, he had trained them, for a couple hours each evening, to function and even serve as usual, while blindfolded. It wasn’t unusual for slaves to wear lace coverings over their eyes, as the nobles found the Drar’s yellow, slit pupiled eyes, quite unsettling, however, Corvius took it to an extreme. “Get up, come with me dog” he ordered sharply, and dog rose, as gracefully as he could and followed obediently, sensing Boy’s eyes watching him intently, as he left the room.

He followed Corvius’s menacing tapping, as he’d put metal plates on the bottoms of his shoes to make himself more imposing. Dog wouldn’t need them to follow his master though, as the Drar have extremely good senses and their sense of smell is was keener than most wild animals. The same was true with hearing and sight, and Dog’s were even more developed from years of training. He could operate the same way, blindfolded or not.

The three of them got into a carriage. Once inside, dog took a spot on the floor, as he was not allowed to sit on the seats, as they were reserved for free persons. to Dog’s shock and surprise, Corvius, whose presence he could detect by scent alone, began to remove his bands one by one. The surprise must have registered on Dog's face, which was another taboo for slaves, because he received a painful prod from Balor with his ring, who sniggered wickedly. Dog dropped his face and resumed his usual void, neutral expression, once more. He fingered the skin around his neck, bands were put on the Drar from birth, so it always felt foreign not having one. ‘It isn’t time for resizing my bands, what is going on?’ He wished Master would tell him.

Then, one by one, they were replaced. However, these bands smelled different. They were of a different metal, gold. He began piecing together, bit by bit, what was going on at that point. Gold bands were strictly for slaves belonging to Royalty.

“hand” Corvius ordered coldly.

Dog obeyed and held out his hand, readying himself for the finger stick. It always made him jump a little for some reason, and attuning the stones was a little painful.

Corvius stabbed his finger hard with a needle. He then roughly squeezed out a drop of blood and pressed it to one ring until Dog let out a hiss, then repeated the process for a second ring.

These bands controlled the Drar’s whole lives. They were linked magically to a ring or rings their owners wore. The rings were simple with a small red stone on it. The stone was linked directly to a specific slave. The bands would cause immense pain if the slave even thought about disobeying, same with touching their own ring, and being too far away from their master. Any ring, the same status or higher could make the bands bind or unbind. This was to protect against rebellion. So, anyone with a gold ring had pseudo control over any slave. The Nobles, with their silver rings, had some command over silver and brass banded slaves. The commoners, with brass rings, only had control over brass banded slaves.

Although the bands only forced them to obey their master, they were still expected to obey everyone or face punishment. The only exception to this being if a command from someone else interfered with their master’s orders. It was a tough line to walk. Dog especially felt bad for brass bands, sometimes poorer communities would share slaves, to do work in the fields. The thought of having maybe a dozen owners made him shiver. However, he had often heard that they weren’t treated as badly, so maybe it wasn’t as awful. Dog had been a silver band. Silver and gold had to be always on point and were often used for entertainment, which often exposed them to more wanton cruelty. He himself had been used in a number of blood sports, which were referred to as “games”.

When the carriage stopped, Dog was ordered to exit. Before leaving, he was stopped by Balor, who placed gold irons on his wrists connected, behind his back, by a chain just long enough for him to reach about 6 inches in front of him, the same was done with his upper arms, but this chain was shorter, which kept his Upper arms at his sides. The two sets were connected vertically to prevent him from stepping over the chains and bringing his arms to the front, not that he would attempt it anyway. Dog was obedient to a self destructive degree.

Dog was led into what seemed to be a ballroom, based on the number of people and the amount of echoing that reverberated off the chamber’s walls. “Kneel, dog” Corvius growled, as he positioned him near the back of the room so that Corvius could go mingle with the rest of the nobility and elites. Dog obeyed, and gracefully took his place. He remained so still, that several women thought he was a manikin at first. That was another pet peeve of Corvius’s, excess fidgeting and swaying, even Dog's breathing had to be measured.

The sounds in the room suddenly changed, some kind of ceremony was beginning. Dasa’s chest tightened, he still didn’t fully understand what was going on and desperately hoped he wasn’t about to be entered in game, his body was still too stiff and sore.

taglist: @whumperofworlds, @3-2-whump, @wounds-seen-and-unseen, @aryox

Masterlist

[travelwiththefallons]

Motovun - Truffle Hunting

I assure you that this post is about our second day in Motovun, Croatia, but first, a tale of mythology that was completely fabricated by me with no knowledge or research, but I’m fairly certain is 100% definitely how it happened. So, basically just like everything else you’ll read on the internet these days.

Many, many eons ago, all the gods assembled to examine this newly created being, the human. All the gods you’ve ever heard of were there. Yes, the god you believe in and the god I believe in and all the numerous gods that our ancestors believed in so fervently. Their goal was to decide what these humans would eat, how it would taste, where these consumables could be found or grown, what would be poisonous and basically hash out all of our digestive details in a round table kind of way. Odin brought the idea of eating other beings that consisted of red meat, Dionysus first suggested a fermented grape based drink called wine, and Heset was very fond of her idea, milk from utters. After many suggestions, discussions, arguments, and compromises, they got our diet mostly sorted and were about to disperse to their various heavenly realms, when Mercury, known to the Romans to be a bit of a trickster god, stood up with a wonderful idea.

He proclaimed that he wanted there to be a small fungus, similar to a mushroom, that tasted unlike anything on the planet. On its own, it would not completely smell unlike a mushroom being musty, sweet, with complicated, overlapping additional flavors that result in an almost soil-ish smell but with a tinge of rich aroma. However, where the beauty lies in this little fungus would be that it amplifies anything it’s cooked with! Normal cuts of red meat somehow taste meatier and become worthy of fine dining once cooked in its sauce, eggs become a gourmet meal, and it amplifies every dish making every aspect of a meal more satisfying! Naturally, the gods loved this idea and told Mercury to make it happen and thus, the truffle was put into existence.

Then, the trickster did in fact make it happen, but decided to make this wonderfully decadent ingredient the most infuriating thing for humans on the planet. He decided to make it tiny, looking almost like small rocks, and hide it underground on the roots of trees, where it would be nearly impossible to find. Attempts to farm it would prove nearly impossible or at least unrealistically expensive. The only way to successfully cultivate these little prizes would be to train dogs and pigs to smell them out deep in the forest and hopefully stop them from eating it before the human could intervene. Finally, the shelf life of these little morsels would be incredibly short. Don’t let them sit for more than a week or they’ll start getting mushy. Wait another week and they’ve lost a substantial amount of flavor. A week after that and it’s either gone bad or is essentially flavorless.

Now that my foray into fiction is over and some knowledge of the truffle has been imparted, we return to our adventures in Motovun. We find our heroes waking up somewhat early after a lovely night of decadent eating (perhaps a bit too much), drinking a plethora of wonderful wines (definitely a bit too much), and one of us spraining an achilles while walking down a minor mountain after consuming said wine and refusing to drink water all night (definitely Jimmy). That wound will have to be ignored because today is to include a trip up another minor mountain where we will be following some well-trained canine friends in our hunt for truffles!

Our guide for the day was Goron, a local veteran of food, wine, truffles and seemingly all things culturally relevant to Istrian region of Croatia. We pile into Goron’s Mazda and make off to meet our truffle hunting guide, Milo and his wife Merra. Milo truffle hunts for a living and occasionally takes small groups with him. After a warm welcome and some shots from homemade liqueurs, we meet our hunting companions which consists of several German and Austrian families, including a couple that want to bring their own dog along for a try. Also joining our group is Svetelana from Moscow who will be coming with us later with Goron. We also meet the stars of the show, Lila and Bella, our canine truffle guides. Lila is a small 2 year old lab who is very excited, but still learning. Bella is a terrier mix and is older and more seasoned in the hunt, who will end up doing a lot of the work while showing Lila the ropes. We pile back into vehicles and head for a short drive into the forest. After that the process is pretty simple. The dogs pile out of the back of Milo’s SUV and we start walking.

(Lila is very excited and would like a treat before she begins)

(I spy Motovun in the background)

Hunt is perhaps not the right word for foraging truffles. It’s basically a lovely stroll through the woods while a couple of off-leash dogs, with a finely tuned nose run all around like adorable jackasses trying to pick up any scent of the prize. It turns out you need to start training incredibly young, only a couple months old, in order for the dogs to develop a taste for truffles, which is necessary to develop this scent. The third dog that was tagging along had none of this training and is having a wonderful time frolicking through the woods, but is mostly getting in the way. It’s not long and Bella is onto something. She stops near the base of a large oak, shoves her snout into the ground for several seconds and once she’s locked on, starts digging like a madman. Milo has to act quick here because the dogs will eat or damage the truffles if they get to them first and since they’re only about a foot deep in somewhat soft soil, that happens fast. Milo gets Bella’s attention with a bread treat and while she is preoccupied, he takes a small shovel and digs the truffle up himself.

(Bella has found one!)

(the smell was unreal)

(a white truffle - the most expensive of the truffles)

They’re tiny, only about the size of a ping pong ball and almost look like a little stone. The aroma gives them away though. It’s an intense smell that is somehow musky with notes of fruit and chocolate all at the same time. As we continue up the mountain on the forest trail, the dogs dart about through the trees seemingly having a great time. We manage to uncover five total, 2 summer black truffles, 2 white truffles and 1 winter black truffle which is rare for our season. Goron tells us this was a very successful hunt and that they normally don’t find that many on one trip out. We walk for about 30 minutes and then turn around. The views from the mountain are capable of holding your attention until your mind has wandered as only substantial scenery seen from precious vantage points can do. Milo keeps the dogs working, explaining that truffles release their odors in spurts. The dogs could pass directly over one that isn’t releasing a smell and then find it half an hour later when it is. The whole event is a total roll of the dice and the odd and inconsistent behavior of these fungi is part of the reason that they have not efficiently found a way to farm the spores. Goron explains that many hunts are completely unsuccessful, but many yield one or two. The most they have ever found on these short tour expeditions is seven. We load back up and head back to Milo’s.

Merra has prepared a truly remarkable spread while we’ve been in the woods. Various breads, meats, cheeses, all cooked with truffle or covered in a truffle spread. We’re told to sit, pour a glass of wine and dig in. Naturally, we need no coaxing. At this point in our trip, we’ve been inundated with truffles in nearly every meal. You would think this would hamper our appetites, but not in the least. The beauty of the truffle is that while it has its own flavor, it’s real purpose is to act as an amplifier for whatever you’re dining on. A truffle steak isn’t going to taste the same as truffle fish or pork or whatever you cook it with. You’re just going to get a very pronounced version of the flavors already present despite the truffle. The spread is amazing, but Merra has one more surprise for us. She’s going to cook truffle eggs for us live. She fires up a heated bowl and gets going with 26 eggs for our group, light seasonings, a criminal amount of truffle and finished with some grated parmesan. The show is a nice way to end the meal, all the food is very good and we’re off to the gift shop, naturally.

(Everyone was very excited to learn Merra's secret to good eggs)

It should be mentioned that Merra and many Croatian restaurants use an ABSURD amount of truffle in their truffle dishes. When you consider the cost of truffles, it’s hard to figure how these $20 meals don’t cost hundreds of dollars. The answer lies in the shelf life of the truffle. Once out of the ground they’re only exceptionally good for a couple weeks. They’re relatively abundant in Croatia so it’s easy to put them in meals all the time and in large quantities. However if you’re in an area where they don’t grow naturally (most of the world), you have to figure out who can get them, when they have them, how they need to be transported to stay fresh, and how to get them to you very quickly. These logistics add up and truffle hunters aren’t fools. The local restaurants get first pick at discount and then the rest of the world gets to fight for the rest at the highest bidder. That’s why most of the world’s truffle dishes are very expensive and use fairly low quantities.

[thestoriedspoon]

My favorite Istrian Lidia Bastianich's Sunday night Chicken Sausage Bake on Saturday night. 🍃 Browned chicken thighs and sweet Italian sausage nestled in with crispy potatoes, roasted garlic, and a little red onion for my own addition. 🍃 Rosemary and parsley all around and a splash of vinegar during baking. One of my favorite meals ever. 🍃 What are you making tonight? 🍃 🍃 🍃 #lidiabastanich #chickensausagebake #comfortfoods #aquarreloffeasts #foodblog #foodblogger #castiron #rustic #quarantinecomfort #saturdaysupper #instafood #instagood #feedfeed @thefeedfeed https://www.instagram.com/p/B_s6Aq4Bhyp/?igshid=mzxjall1xto2

[domhovasse]

The best Balkan.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been hearing and seeing incredible things about Slovenia. Since we didn’t have time to add it to our Balkans trip itinerary, I figured I would claim my last week of holidays and spend an entire week hiking, swimming, and exploring the ‘green’ country of the Balkans. Originally I was planning on leaving alone, but when I found out that my friend Dave was going to be travelling at the same time, I suggested he join me for Slovenia, and he gladly accepted. 

After a night in Venice, we headed to the capital city of Slovenia, Ljubljana, where we spent 2 days learning some history, eating some good food, and exploring the city on bike and foot. After our severely delayed bus ride, we checked-in to our hostel before grabbing some typical Slovenian sausages for lunch. We then walked up to the Ljubljana Castle, where we spent some time exploring the various rooms, and walking up to the tower/lookout, where we got stuck in an agressive rain/hail storm. The rain thankfully subsided intime for us to end the day off on a free walking tour, before grabbing dinner along the river, and later on, participating in a pub-crawl. 

The following day was spent exploring Ljubljana by bike, visiting a few museums, hanging out at a park, and getting rooftop drinks at sunset. After grabbing dinner, we went for a little walk around town before having an early night in.    

The next morning we hopped on a short bus ride to Bled, a beautiful, picturesque lake, famous for its turquoise water and (man-made) island in the middle. Ever since I saw a photo of the place years ago, I’ve been determined to one day visit. And boy was it even more beautiful in person. The forecast had said clouds and thunderstorms, but the sun pulled through and we were able to spend all our time outside, hiking, swimming, and tanning. The lake is about 6km in circumference so we spent our first day walking all the way around the lake, as well as visiting two viewpoints, one at Bled Castle, and the other at the end of a 45-minute hike.

Our second day was spent at Lake Bohinj, another beautiful, much bigger lake, that actually reminded me a lot of BC. We decided to rent an electric scooter for the day, to have more flexibility in regards to time, but this decision ended up backfiring when our scooter stopped working right as we got to the top of a lookout point. I figured if we let it rest for a little bit, the engine would cool down and eventually start-up again, but after hanging out and grabbing some food at the top of the mountain/lookout point, nothing. Since we were at the top of a mountain, we were able to make it back into town mostly by riding in neutral all the way down, but once the road flattened out we ended up walking for a while, stopping people along the way to ask for help, all of which could not get the bike to start either. We eventually found a tourism office, where we asked a young Slovenian guy if he could help us. When him and 2 of his friends couldn’t figure out how to fix the scooter (even after calling the shop owner), they decided to put it in the back of a van, and drive us back to Bled. The shop owner ended up paying them for gas/their time, which we were so relieved about! We thanked them a million times, gave them all big hugs, and were (finally) on our way back to our hostel. 

After a perfect morning paddle boarding on the lake, we caught a bus back to Ljubljana, where we began our journey by train, to visit some of the coastal towns of Slovenia. To cut our journey in half, we decided to make a stop at the famous Skocjan Cave. We caught a free shuttle bus from the train station to the cave, went on a guided tour, and found out that there were no shuttle busses running to bring us back to the train station, where we were to catch our train to the coast. What a lovely situation to be in, stranded in the middle of Slovenia, with no ride to the train station, and the last train of the day leaving in 20 minutes. We desperately asked a worker for advice, who she suggested we walk, until she realized we wouldn’t get there in time. She then decided to call her mom to see if she could give us a ride on their way home (even though it was apparently forbidden for her as an employee to offer rides to customers/travellers). Thank God for kind people! We arrived at the train station right in time to catch the last train to Koper - what a relief. After arriving, we checked-in to our hostel, grabbed dinner, and wandered around town a bit, before heading to bed.

The next morning we woke up bright and early, spent some time walking around the town of Koper, before renting an electric scooter and driving along the coastline, stopping first in the town of Izola for a nice walk and ocean-side cocktail, and then Piran, where we stopped for lunch, and visited a few tourist attractions. We made sure to check that the road was more or less flat so that we wouldn’t have a repeat of our last scooter rental experience. It ended up going very smoothly, and we got back to Koper in the late afternoon, in time to grab a sunset beer, before dinner and another early night in. 

After splitting up with Dave, I had 3 days to spare before my flight home from Venice (since the roundtrip flight from Paris was much cheaper than the one to Ljubljana), so I decided to make my way up the Istrian Peninsula by bus, stopping to explore a few cities along the way, since they’re all quite close to each other and small enough to explore in a day. First up was Rovinj, a picturesque town known as ‘little Venice’ built on a rocky spur. I locked up my bag at the bus station and spent the majority of the day wandering around town aimlessly, getting lost in the narrow streets, and eventually following the coastline to the beach, where I spent some time people watching and enjoying the sweet sound of the ocean.

In the late afternoon, I made my way back to the bus station to pick up my things and catch a bus to Pula. I was so shocked by the amount of British tourists in both Rovinj and Pula, I almost forgot I was in Croatia! After checking into my hostel, I got dinner and wandered around the city center with a Canadian guy from my hostel dorm. The following day we explored more of the city, visiting an old castle as well as the famous Pula Arena, the only remaining Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers and the most well preserved monument in Croatia. In the afternoon we decided to head to the beach, where we spent a few hours taking it easy, reading, and enjoying the sun. On our way back to the hostel we picked up groceries to make our own dinner, since the food options all seemed to be very overpriced, and of sub-par quality. 

My 6 hours in Trieste the following day were spent walking around the city center, visiting some sights, stopping for coffee a few times, and (obviously) treating myself to a delicious pizza & glass of wine. I felt so bougey sitting at a nice restaurant and getting the most expensive pizza on the menu, until I realized the exact same meal would have costed double the amount in Paris. After taking a brief nap on a bench along the pier, I eventually made my way back to the bus station, where I caught a bus to the Venice airport. I remember it being so incredibly hot this day, I ended up spending so much time just sitting in random shady spots around the city, trying my best to avoid possibly fainting. 

Another trip for the books, and a region of the world I highly recommend everyone explore! Slovenia had some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen, and the fact that a lot of it reminded me of home was a big plus. If I were to do it again, I probably would have rented a car to have more flexibility while travelling in Slovenia, and I definitely would have skipped Pula altogether.  

[eurotren]

At the sign of the Goat

Not wanting to sit around the pool one late afternoon I offered to fetch some local Istrian wine to accompany our evening meal from the shop in Zbandaj. Our hosts had left bottles of red, white and rose for our consumption, Sal and Chris duly obliged. En route I decided to check out the nearest hamlet to Kirmenjak, a place called Radmani. The road through the hamlet pointed towards the coast so I thought I'd stroll along it and examine the views. Radmani is a pleasant enough place, although the 'front end' looks more like a suburb than an Istrian village, with a small number of older houses and rather more new built villas. The latter looked as though the had been specifically built from scratch for the tourist market and were more '3 star' than the upmarket and salubrious villas developed from older properties in Kirmenjak.

The light was fading when I reached the end of the village, which was marked by a run down house that had to be several hundred years old. Opposite was a farm building with a stone plaque of the Goat of Mendes, complete with red eyes and flated, smoking nostrils. Ahead in the distance I could see a figure walking slowly down the road away from me with a stooping gait and a lump on his / her back. Of course it could have been a hiker trying to make Porec before nightfall, but I knew it was the bloke from the Hotel Brioni. I've seen enough of Hammer's films to know that if I'd have continued down the road into the gathering gloom that I'd have come to a sticky end. The mosquitoes at the Villa Simone had first dibs on my blood and I wasn't about to disappoint them by giving it up to a vampire.

I turned around and walked back through Radmani and onto Zbandaj. At the local shop, as instructed, I bought three bottles of Istrian white wine. The woman behind the till gave me quizzical look. Although she spoke no English her gestures made me understand that I ought to be buying the local red. When I refused, suspecting an ulterior motive, she simply smiled knowingly and shrugged. I returned her smile and made a note to put a few Kunas on her for the forthcoming Mrs. Goat contest. I assumed it was a look-a-like competition and this woman had the beard for it!

[whittlebaggett8]

20 of the most popular European beach resorts, ranked by price, Defence Online

caption

Perhaps Corfu in Greece should be your next holiday destination.

source

Shutterstock/Todoran Andrei

The UK Post Office has ranked 20 of the most popular European coastal resorts by price.

It measured the costs of all the tourist essentials, including suncream, a glass of wine, and dinner out for two.

In 14 out of the 20 locations, prices are cheaper than last year.

Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more.

If you fancy a European seaside break this further but don’t have endless cash to splash, look no further.

The cheapest beach resorts in Europe for 2019 have been revealed in Britain’s Post Office Travel Money Holiday Costs Barometer.

The Post Office surveyed 20 of the most popular European coastal locations, which were then ranked in order of affordability.

The prices of nine tourist essentials were taken into consideration: a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer or lager, a bottle or can of Coca-Cola, a glass of wine, a 1.5 liter bottle of still mineral water from a supermarket, SPF15 suncream, insect repellent, a three-course evening meal for two including a bottle of house wine, and a two-course lunch for two people without drinks.

Read more: RANKED: The 12 cheapest holiday destinations in Europe right now

Overall, it’s good news for tourists: competitive pricing in restaurants, bars, and shops has generally led to lower resort prices – in fact, 14 of the resorts are cheaper this year than the same time in 2018.

The cheapest beach resort on the list came in at an impressive $50.61 (£38.86) for everything in the research, and at the other end of the spectrum, buying everything in the most expensive location would set you back $186.17 (£142.94).

The data was collected in collaboration with national and regional tourists boards, and prices were all converted to Great British Pounds using the correct exchange rate at 11:30 A.M. on April 2 2019.

Scroll down to see the 20 European beach locations, ranked from most to least expensive.

20. Sorrento, Italy

source

Solarisys/Shutterstock

A three-course evening meal for two with wine would set you back a sizable $105.07 (£80.67) in Sorrento. Despite that, prices have actually dropped by 4.7% compared to 2018.

19. Ibiza, Spain

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Shutterstock

Prices in Ibiza are down 2.1% on last year, but a two-course lunch for two (without drinks) would still cost you $41.12 (£31.57).

18. Lisbon Coast, Portugal

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TTstudio/Shutterstock

Prices are actually up 0.1% in Lisbon, where a glass of wine in a café or bar will cost on average $5.70 (£4.38).

17. Nice, France

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Shutterstock/Aleksandar Todorovic

The Côte d’Azur city is famously expensive, and prices are up 1.4% on 2018 – a two-course lunch for two costs on average $34.27 (£26.31).

16. Puglia, Italy

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Bojana Brkovic/Flickr

A new entry in the ranking, Puglia offers tourists a cup of coffee in a café or bar for just $0.91 (70p).

15. Zadar, Croatia

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xbrchx / iStock

Croatia is becoming increasingly popular amongst tourists and prices have risen 0.7% since last year, but you can still get a glass of wine for $4.01 (£3.08).

14. Corfu, Greece

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Shutterstock/Todoran Andrei

Prices in Corfu are down an impressive 4.5% on 2018, and you can get a bottle of suncream for just $8.22 (£6.31).

13. Halkidiki, Greece

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Halkidiki, Greece

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Getty/Marius Roman

In Halkidiki, you can enjoy a three-course dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, for just $53.69 (£41.22).

12. Porec, Croatia

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Old Istrian town in Porec, Croatia

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Motorolka

Prices have fallen by a whopping 8.6% on 2018 in Porec, where you can get a bottle of local beer or lager in a bar for $2.89 (£2.22).

11. Majorca, Spain

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pixelliebe / Shutterstock

Now might be a good time to book a trip to Majorca, where prices are down by 11% and a 1.5 liter bottle of water from a supermarket costs $0.68 (52p).

10. Alicante, Spain

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Dragomir Nikolov/Shutterstock

Alicante just creeps into the top 10, despite prices having risen by 12.3% – you can still get a glass of wine for $2.28 (£1.75) though.

9. Limassol, Cyprus

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ms. Octopus/Shutterstock

In Limassol, travel essentials are on average over a fifth (20.2%) cheaper than they were in 2019 – enjoy a three-course evening meal for two with wine for $59.38 (£45.59).

8. Sliema, Malta

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Zoltan Gabor / Shutterstock

Sliema has also seen a sizable drop in prices (down 9.5%), and you can get a three-course evening meal for two with wine for $50.72 (£38.94).

7. Paphos, Cyprus

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Shutterstock/Leonid Andronov

Paphos holds on to 7th place in the ranking, despite prices having dropped by 5.6% – head there and enjoy a bottle of local beer or lager for a mere $2.51 (£1.93).

6. Crete, Greece

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mirc3a/iStock

The island of Crete is apparently an incredibly cheap place to repel insects, where a bottle of repellent costs just $2.51 (£1.93).

5. Benidorm, Spain

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holbox / Shutterstock

Another new entry in the list, Benidorm may be worth a visit to enjoy a $2.18 (£1.67) glass of wine or four.

4. Torremolinos, Spain

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Getty/Heike Kelm/EyeEm

The cheapest beach resort in Spain on the list is Torremolinos, where prices are 8.7% cheaper than last year and a 1.5 liter bottle of mineral water costs $0.43 (33p) from a supermarket.

3. Marmaris, Turkey

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Monticello/Shutterstock

Marmaris is the cheapest place to get a bottle of Coca-Cola – it costs on average $1.16 (89p).

2. The Algarve, Portugal

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Pawel Kazmierczak/Shutterstock

The south coast of Portugal isn’t just popular for its cave-lined beaches, it’s also incredibly affordable – a cup of coffee costs just $0.74 (57p) – and prices are down 16.2% on last year.

1. Sunny Beach, Bulgaria

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The Beachfront is popular with tourists.

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Lyudvig Aristarhovich/Shutterstock

Sunny Beach holds on to its crown as the cheapest seaside destination in Europe, and prices are down 10.7% on 2018 – incredibly, you can enjoy a two-course lunch for two for just $10.97 (£8.42).

The post 20 of the most popular European beach resorts, ranked by price, Defence Online appeared first on Defence Online.

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Villa Prunella: The best accommodation in a beautiful corner of Istria

Villa Prunella is located in a beautiful location. It is one of the safest and the best family accommodation in Istria.

The villa has four bedrooms with three bathrooms and suitable for eight guests. The villa is homely accommodation and has traditional features. The villa is well equipped with modern facilities such as air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and satellite TV.  The bedrooms are interconnecting. Cloakroom facilities are provided so that the different families or groups can live with privacy. The villa has a wonderful layout.

Villa Prunella is built in a traditional and rustic style. The villa is surrounded by fields and woodlands. It is an ideal place for enjoying relaxing vacations. The house is cozy and has two storeys. The ground floor has a living room with open fireplace, DVD, satellite TV and exit to the garden, one double bedroom, and bathroom with shower, open kitchen, and dining room. The furnishings of the living room are classic. You can enter the verandah from the living room through a French door. The bathroom is equipped with a washbasin, a bathtub, a toilet, a shower, and a hairdryer. The upper floor has three double bedrooms, two bathrooms, terraces with furniture, deck chairs, and fabulous views. You can enjoy a broad view of the greenery outside. You can park your car free of charge inside the entrance gate.

The kitchen is well equipped with modern amenities such as refrigerator, oven, freezer, microwave, dishwasher, and toaster.

There is a large private pool outside where guests can have fun with their families. You can also enjoy a meal on the built-in barbecue. There are two shaded dining terraces to enjoy a meal with your friends and family. The most important benefit to choosing this villa for your vacations is that the villa has an outdoor fireplace with covered patio.

There is a beautiful tiered garden outside with a lawn, shrubs, and beautiful bougainvillea. The outside view is peaceful. Nature’s splendor waits for people who visit the villa for spending quality time with their family and friends.

There are country lanes and trails outside the villa. You can walk and cycle and enjoy the tranquil beauty. The historical town of Sveti Lovrec is situated just 2.5 kilometers from the villa. There are a number of bars and restaurants to enjoy delicious cuisines. You can also get the things of daily needs easily as there are two mini-markets in the town.  There is a beach nearby where you can visit with your family to have fun.

If you want to spend a lovely day with your friends and family, you can visit the ancient Roman town of Porec that is just half an hour drive from Prunella. It is a beautiful town for history lovers because there are a number of Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque buildings in the town which are worth visiting.

The villa Prunella guarantees a peaceful and quiet vacation. There is something to satisfy every member of the family. Villa offers a beautiful view of the Istrian landscape. You can spend a peaceful vacation in the serenity of nature with your loved ones.

Enjoy your villas in costa brava and write your own travel itinerary by booking villas with private pool.

[sbknews]

New Post has been published on Superbike News

New Post has been published on https://superbike-news.co.uk/wordpress/fiva-world-motorcycle-rally-27-30-june-2019/

FIVA World Motorcycle Rally, 27–30 June 2019

Open to any owner and enthusiast with a motorcycle built prior to 1984, not only FIVA members, this 3-day touring event celebrates the fun of riding classic motorcycles on the road – in this case discovering a hidden gem of the Mediterranean: Istria, a peninsula shared by Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.

It is in Istria that the world-renowned truffle can be found, where charming hilltop villages welcome visitors – and it’s easy to enjoy gourmet meals and fine Istrian wines while discovering local secrets, history and spectacular sites.

Of particular interest to many will be the third day of the tour, dedicated to Trieste in Italy, where participants can preview the exhibition on Camillo Castiglioni (a huge influence on early BMW) at Palazzo Gopcevich, and ride the legendary climb of the ‘Trieste-Opicina’ race. Starting from Piazza Unità d’Italia in downtown Trieste, the tour will follow the route of the race that ran from 1911 to 1971 and became known as ‘The Uphill Monza’, arriving some 10km later on the Karst plateau, around 330m above sea-level.

Participants will be staying at the four-star Hotel Sol Umag on the Croatian coast, among Mediterranean pine trees and a short walk from the many seaside pools, buffets, restaurants, fitness and spa centres, as well as the historical attractions of central Umag.

The cost of the tour is 450 euros per person, including three nights’ accommodation from 27–30 June, all food and refreshments during the rally, the social programme and museum visits, reserved parking, motorcycle service at the car park, welcome gifts and a memorial plaque, plus a shuttle/bus for non-riding companions.

Itinerary

27th June – after the breakfast buffet, the tour will spend the day in Istria, one of the most popular holiday destinations in Croatia. Accompanied by experienced marshals on modern motorcycles, participants will visit the town Poreč and its surroundings, returning to the hotel via Grožnjan, a small picturesque medieval settlement.

28th June – a visit to the city of Piran with a guided walk through the city and harbour, followed by a visit to the birthplace – now a museum – of the world-famous violin virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini. The winding road will lead the tour between vineyards and olive plantations to the newly opened wine cellar ‘Rodica’, known for its culinary delicacies such as prosciutto, sausages, cheeses, salami and local wines. The return trip to the hotel is via the picturesque Slovene Istria and the centuries-old salt pans of Sečovlje.

29th June – riding to the heart of Trieste, participants will be welcomed by the Mayor and the President of the region, as well as meeting the members of Motoclub Trieste – the oldest club in Italy, founded in the summer of 1906. While the tour’s motorcycles are on display in the square, participants are invited to preview the Camillo Castiglioni exhibition at Palazzo Gopcevich: ‘Camillo Castiglioni: the Triestino that brought BMW to success’. There will also be an exhibition of the history of BMW motorcycles, from the first prototypes to modern production, and a presentation of the book ‘La Trieste Opicina Motociclistica’ by motorcycle author Dr. Franco Damiani. Plus there will be a display of British Frazer Nash cars in the Piazza Unità d’Italia, following the world meeting in Bolzano.

Then it’s time for the ride up the route of the ‘Trieste-Opicina’ race, starting from downtown Trieste and ending at the Karst plateau, 330m above sea-level. After a traditional regional lunch and local attractions, the tour will return to the hotel for the final night’s gala dinner, with music and an awards ceremony.

For more details and an entry form, please see our webpage https://fwmr2019.svamz.com/.

Notes to Editors

FIVA (the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) is the worldwide organisation dedicated to the preservation, protection and promotion of historic vehicles and related culture, as well as their safe use. Since April 2017, FIVA has been a non-governmental partner of UNESCO, and continues to pursue its successful FIVA World Motoring Heritage Year programme.

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[slayerforbreakfast-blog]

its a life thats made for me where I can be completely free so long as I obey this sound that echoes around just like the ocean or the sea #neworder #brotherhood #weirdo _____________ just go here. a picture is worth a thousand words, but no locution nor word exists to describe the beauty of this place - so these half a dozen additional shots from the istrian peninsula of croatia are essentially faint silence compared to the resonant symphony that awaits you playing on these beguiling & fetching shores xox 1. Brixton with Trevor skipping rocks* 2. Brixton with Trevor at the playground near the port 3. Brixton at the playground near the port 4. Brixton with us at the bay near Banjole 5. the odd statue without a plaque that google cant find info on & Id like to know more about* 6. Brixton with us & the statue* 7. Istrian meal* *asterisk indicates #nofilter #getoutside #letthembekids #letthembefree #toddlerlife #toddleradventures #familyadventures #familyvacation #bringthekids #goadventuretogether #letthemexplore #showthemtheworld #couplegoals #ourcandidlife #fatherandson #toddler #toddlerontheloose #toddlermom #mother #motherhood #momswithcameras #makemoments #thehappynow #justfortoday #odaat #wedorecover (at Istria)

[amberdallas17-blog]

In search of Reasonably priced Catering Companies?

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[accuhunt]

How to Find the Perfect Airbnb and Make the Most of Your Travel Experience.

I often wonder what makes a travel experience truly unforgettable. Take my recent trip to Georgia (the country) for instance. When our plans to travel to the remote Tusheti region got snowed on, we decided to visit a forgotten protected reserve near Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan and the Dagestan province of Russia. I was recovering from a flu, and even on a sunny day, wrapped up in layers and a warm hat.

“Cold?” Otto, our potbellied, jolly Georgian host asked me. I solemnly nodded.

He turned to search for something in the shelves of his outdoor kitchen shed. I tried to tell him I had already taken medicine, but he wouldn’t stop.

He finally found what he was looking for. A bottle of homemade chacha – a strong plum liquor ubiquitous in Georgian households.

“Chacha very good,” he said, even as I resisted it at first. Then we cheered to India, Georgia, family, religion (even if mine is atheism) and good health, and downed shot after shot.

With my Georgian host Otto.

I guess the flu, hiking to the waterfalls in the protected reserve, my friend’s tumble into a glacial river and all the homemade jams we ate for breakfast will gradually fade away in my memory. But I’ll never forget sitting in that little shed by the garden, surrounded by grape and plum vines, the warm sunlight pouring in through cracks in the tin roof, drinking chacha with Otto.

So if you ask me, the most unforgettable travel experiences are the ones that push us beyond our comfort zone, happen outside of planned itineraries and immerse us in the local way of life. And for that reason, I’ve sworn by Airbnb in my last three years of traveling.

My dreamy Airbnb in the Caucasus Mountains.

Here are all my tips and tricks on how to find the perfect Airbnb when you travel:

Think about the kind of experience you’re looking for

The thing about traveling is, one size doesn’t fit all. I might love spending time in an obscure little village deep in the mountains and you might love the vibrant night life of a city. I might love slow days with no plans and you might love road tripping from town to town. The good news is that accommodations on Airbnb tend to offer a rather vast range of experiences – from swanky apartments with a kitchen (ideal for a long stay), to a homely room with a local family (great for local insights), to a unique mountain lodge that is an experience unto itself.

Before I even start looking at Airbnb, I think about what kind of place I’m keen to stay at. If I’m merely passing through a city, I prefer to stay centrally and don’t care much to find a host who’d be very involved. On the other hand, if I’m slow travelling through, let’s say small-town Italy, I’d look for a quiet place with beautiful surroundings, ideally with a host who would be open to conversations and sharing a glimpse of the local life. Before you begin your research, take a moment to think about what you really want from your trip.

Read: Why Long Term Travel is More Like Real Life and Less Like Instagram

A charming home to slow down, in Addis Ababa.

Browse on the Airbnb map

Typically when you search for a destination on Airbnb, the most reviewed accommodations show up on the first few pages. Unexpected gems can often remain buried on further pages. To get around this, I use the map feature that accompanies accommodation search. By checking a box under the map, I ensure that search results change in real time as I move or zoom into the map.

On my Sri Lanka trip last year, I knew I wanted to stay in the hill country, yet not in the busy town of Kandy. So I zoomed into the map, but away from the cluster of Airbnbs in Kandy, till I found one isolated Airbnb on the shores of the magnificent Victoria Lake – it turned out to be one of the most stunning Airbnb experiences I’ve had yet. On the other hand, while looking for an Airbnb in Colombo, I had no idea which part of the city I wanted to stay in. So I moved the map around, looking for green areas not too far from the city centre, and ultimately found College House in a neighborhood I had never heard of before.

The point is, the map feature allows you to find Airbnbs away from the tourist action (or in the middle of it, if that’s your thing), and often in small towns and villages that might not be on your radar otherwise.

Read: 7 Epic (yet affordable) Airbnbs to Stay in Sri Lanka

Waking up in a wine barrel bed in Ljubljana!

Use filters to shortlist accommodations

Just like the map feature, filters make it much easier to find your perfect Airbnb experience. During a typical search, I choose the following filters:

Entire place or private room. I’m not one for sharing a room, like ever.

Wireless internet. Because, digital nomad

Kitchen, if I intend to stay longer than a week.

Superhost, just to get an idea of the top-rated accommodations at my destination.

I almost always use the price filter too, but I usually keep the upper range 10-15% higher than my actual budget, since it’s often possible to get a discount on weekly and monthly prices, off-season travel and solo occupancy.

Read: How I Conquer My Solo Travel Fears

Sleeping under the stars, on the roof of my Airbnb in Mauritius!

Read reviews of past travellers

Once I’ve shortlisted 5-10 accommodations, based on the kind of experience I’m looking for, location on the map, amenities and price filters, I start reading the accommodation and host description, and looking at photos. Over the years though, I’ve learnt to take photos with a pinch of salt – they often tend to be edited for perfect light. I try to ignore artistic photos, and analyze instead how spacious the room looks, whether the surrounding area offers natural beauty, and most importantly, if the bathroom looks clean and modern enough. The last thing I want on my travels, is to pay to stay in a dingy room with a filthy bathroom – which has happened by the way.

But what I rely on most are the reviews of past travellers. I look at what aspects of a place most reviews tend to praise – the hospitality of the host, the location, the surroundings or the room/apartment itself – and assess if those are the ones most important for me. I pay close attention to anything negative, especially if it concerns cleanliness.

Read: My Worst Travel Memories

An eagle’s eye view on Lake Atitlan (Guatemala) from my balcony.

Manage expectations with your host

I think the best part about Airbnb, as compared to other accommodation websites, is that you can have a conversation with your host before you book. I always do that, asking questions that are unanswered in the description, like whether I’ll be able to get around without a car, my options for food (and the availability of vegan food), if there are hiking or cycling trails and other activities to keep me busy for a while, and if the internet usually works well. Asking such questions also gives the host an idea of what I’m looking for from my stay, and such discussions have often led to hosts going out of their way to create experiences for me.

On the Croatian countryside for instance, I stayed at an Airbnb with little public transport connectivity. My hosts not only picked me up from the train station, but also invited me on their day off to show me their favorite spots along the Istrian peninsula!

Read: Dreamy Airbnbs to Experience Europe Like a Local

With my Quichua host family in Ecuador.

Remember you’re not in a hotel; be a mindful guest

Time and again, my Airbnb hosts have gone beyond a business relationship to invite me into their lives. Many of them became good friends over the course of my stay, some invited me to come back and stay as a personal guest, others I still keep in touch with and hope to see again. But these relationships are always a two-way street.

When I arrive at an Airbnb, I remind myself that I’m not in a hotel but in someone’s house. If the host is up for it and I haven’t had a very long journey, I try to keep my first hour or so for a get-to-know-each-other conversation. These conversations often reveal amazing personal stories and great recommendations in their neighborhood. I keep myself open to tea or meal invites, or join my host for a day out, but never try to impose on their lives. I try to be accommodating, ask politely for anything I need (just like I would in a friend’s or relative’s house), and make sure I adhere to the house rules and keep my space clean. Little gestures go a long way.

Over the course of my travels, I’ve realized that most Airbnb hosts are not in it just for the money. They are people like you and me, who love to travel and share their part of the world with those passing through.

Read: How I’m Funding My Adventures Around the World Through Travel Blogging

An incredible Airbnb abode in Himachal <3

Leave an honest review

I’ve heard some travellers say they feel frustrated with Airbnb because the reviews sometimes seem too positive – travellers are worried about hurting the hosts’ sentiments after building a personal connection with them. I understand their frustration, and believe it’s up to each of us to keep the Airbnb spirit alive – by being honest.

On my part, I ensure that my Airbnb reviews are as helpful as possible, without being too flowery or brutal. I highlight aspects of the place I loved, and those I believe could’ve been better. Genuine feedback can enable hosts to offer better experiences, and manage expectations for future travellers.

After all, we have to rely on each other, the travel community, to discover travel experiences that are truly unforgettable.

Do you use Airbnb on your travels? Any tips on how to find the perfect place to stay?

I wrote this post in collaboration with Airbnb India. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, sign up with my referral link to get 18$ off your first stay, and use it to find local experiences the world over. 

Join my adventures live on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

How to Find the Perfect Airbnb and Make the Most of Your Travel Experience. published first on http://ift.tt/2w0EToM

[croatia-hotels-and-apartments]

Subtitle A traditional folk festival accompanied by a rich culture & entertainment program and a gastro offer   Celebrating the feast of St. Maurus, the protector of the city, citizens of Poreč are organizing various commemorative events, and among many is Polenta Festival, with its gastro-entertaining content for all the citizens but also interesting to guests that happen to visit the city in this winter period.   Program will start on November 21st, at the Freedom Square, with a presentation and tasting of whole variety of polenta-based meals. Apparently simple meals of our fathers combined with very good istrian wines, followed by music and get-together at the Freedom Square will surely make that day an amusing and interesting experience.   Definitely, this is festive moment, a place of meetings, tastings and reminiscing some of the old dishes, stories and people, but also a chance to come up with some new experiences, so it could be interesting to see and to feel such unusual and alive winter scenery. Region Istria Coordinates Geolocation is 45.227296, 13.595692 Nov 21 2017 Events list image Highlited in events list 0 Link http://www.myporec.com/en/what-to-do/events/17824 Place Poreč Show in home 1 http://croatia.hr/en-GB/Activities-and-attractions/Events/NewEvents/Polenta-Festival

[alexandertbaer]

Kanegra, near Umag

After breakfast in the mountain sunshine we left the Gailberghöhe and made our way further along the pass towards the italian border. Parts of the road were not in a very good condition and it remained very steep und winding. Eventually we reached the valley floor on the italian side and here the roads improved greatly. We got on the Autostrade to take us down to Triest, pulling a toll ticket at the entrance and had a quick and uneventful drive through Italy. The toll for the italian motorway cost 7,10 Euros which we paid at a toll booth when leaving the motorway. When we crossed the border into Slovenia we also had to pay a toll for the use of the motorway. This we purchased at the petrol station close to the border and here the charge was 15,00 Euros for one week. Continuing, we discovered we only used the motorway for a short distance before turning off onto the road to Umag in Croatia......lesson learned! On our return journey we used the coastal road and avoided paying the toll. We had decided to try the camping site in Kanegra just north of Umag on the Istrian coast. The site was still quite full at the end of the summer season but we had a choice of three or four pitches and we were lucky to get a pitch in the front with direct views of the Adria and with shade from neighbouring Pine trees. We booked in for five days and then set ourselves up. As this was a naturist site one of our first tasks was to get our clothes off and the sunscreen on! The campsite has two main sections, on one side there are a large number of simple holiday homes with a large number of families and young people. This was not a naturist area. On the other side there is the clothing optional camping site with tents, caravans and motorhomes and on the whole there seemed to be fewer young people and children here.

The weather was for the most part glorious with a couple of hefty thunderstorms just to make things more interesting! We were quite happy just to spend the days being very lazy, just soaking up the sun. And we liked it so much we decided to extend our stay for another five days. This meant we would have to move as our first pitch was already reserved but our second pitch was just about as good. The first big thunderstorm was followed by a rather cooler day so we took the opportunity to ride our ebikes along the coast to Umag, the next town. This involved bicycling along some rather rough gravel tracks where you had to be very careful when braking or changing direction. The route took us along normal roads as well and after about forty minutes we reached Umag. I have to say, Umag was a little disappointing. The old town with its picturesque alleyways is very small while the rest is rather uninteresting. We did however stop for a snack in one of the harbour restaurants which was very pleasant. The rest of our stay in Kanegra was very quiet, reading, sleeping, sunbathing and probably every second night eating in one of the campsite restaurants. The meals were simple but always hot when they reached the table and very tasty too. After ten days we reluctantly decided that we had better start to make our way home. During the whole of our stay we could see the town of Piran from our pitch, across the bay in Slovenia. It looked lovely and so we wanted to visit on our way back. On our final day, once we had packed and paid our bill, we drove along the coastal road to Piran. There was a bit of a wait at the croatian and slovenian border stations but once we got through them it was a quick drive to Piran. Being such a popular place and wanting to preserve the character of the beautiful old town only residents and delivery vans and buses are allowed into the centre. It was difficult to find a place to park the motorhome near the town but we did find somewhere in the next town Portoroz. Portoroz and Piran meld into one another and could be one town. In any case we walked along the coastal promenade and it didn't take us long to reach Piran centre. It was well worth the effort. A really beautiful old town with winding streets, an attractive town square, a pretty harbour, nice little shops and cafés and looking all over this and the red-roofed buildings a beautiful church and its prominent Campanile (bell tower). If you are in this part of the world, we recommend visiting Piran! After a good couple of hours we had to get on our way. There was quite slow progress as we were not the only tourists following the coastal road to avoid the motorway toll! Not always sure if we were following the right road we eventually found the entrance to the italian motorway and after that made fairly quick progress back to the Gailberghöhe where we were going to stop over.

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Relationship between sensory attributes and volatile compounds of polish dry-cured loin.

Sensory analysis. Louis, MO, USA) had been analyzed. Your analysed products were characterized by specific and also special sensory profile along with around the schedule of Principal Element Analysis were grouped directly into three various quality clusters. Dry-cured loins had been processed through local manufacturers making use of the caudal 1 / 2 of the particular Longissimus dorsi muscle mass of all animals. These loins have certainly undergone an intense smoking process. The Particular fiber was preconditioned with 250[degrees]C for 60 min inside the GC injector port, according to supplier's instructions. Relationship among sensory attributes along with volatile compounds Volatile profile regarding dry cured loin [6.] Szulc K, Skrzypczak E. Meat Sci 2003;65:571-80. . Boca Raton, NY: CRC Press; 1999. [11.] Soto E, Hoz L, Ordonez JA et al. These kind of metabolic activities rely on, inter alia, meat composition, extra components and also technological variables, such as temperature, pH, gaseous environment or perhaps extent associated with drying. they are responsible for providing excess fat odour to a product. However, the manufacture of dry-cured loins as well as hams during these countries is actually similar and generally consists regarding 4 stages--dry salting with salt as well as other ingredients, washing, postsalting for salt equalization after which drying for three in order to six months, nevertheless the majority of of them tend to be cured with regard to 9 to 12 months or even 24 months. food Qual Favor 2010;21:225-33. [10.] Luna G, Aparicio R, Garcia-Gonzalez DL. RT Compound title ID 1 4.668 Pyridine MS+LRI 2 5.38 Methylbenzene (Toluene) MS+LRI 3 8.449 Furfural MS+LRI+ST 4 8.89 2-methyl-cyclopentanone MS+LRI 5 10.353 Ethylbenzene MS+LRI 6 10.703 2-Furanmethanol MS+LRI+ST 7 13.527 2-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one MS+LRI 8 17.022 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one MS+LRI 9 20.807 2,3-dimethyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one MS+LRI 10 22.79 3-methylphenol MS+LRI 11 23.201 guaiacol MS+LRI 12 27.363 2-methox[gamma]-4-methyl-phenol MS+LRI 13 30.496 4-ethylguaiacol MS+LRI 14 2.266 Hexane MS+LRI+ST 15 3.491 Heptane MS+LRI+ST 16 6.639 Hexanal MS+LRI+ST 17 12.773 2-Heptanone MS+LRI 18 19.224 Octanal MS+LRI+ST 19 23.872 Nonanal MS+LRI+ST 20 27.661 Dodecane MS+LRI 21 27.876 Decanal MS+LRI 22 1.686 Ethanol MS+ST 23 3.83 3-hydrox[gamma]-2-butanone MS+LRI 24 6.059 2,3-Butanediol MS+LRI 25 4.038 Butanoic acid, methyl ester MS+LRI 26 11.981 3-methyl-butanoic acid MS+LRI 27 14.865 Thujene MS+LRI 28 15.16 [alpha]-pinene MS+LRI 29 15.955 Camphene MS+LRI 30 17.497 Sabinen MS+LRI 31 19.374 4-Carene MS+LRI 32 19.74 [alpha]-Terpinen MS+LRI 33 20.189 Cymene MS+LRI 34 20.351 Limonene MS+LRI+ST 35 20.498 Eucalyptol MS+LRI 36 21.814 [gamma]-Terpinen MS+LRI 37 22.149 trans-4-Thujanol MS+LRI 38 23.521 cis-4-Thujanol MS+LRI 39 23.71 Linalool MS+LRI 40 25.372 Camphor MS+LRI 41 26.255 Borneol MS+LRI 42 26.726 4-Terpineol MS+LRI 43 31.005 Tymol MS+LRI 44 31.702 4-Vinylguaiacol MS+LRI 45 33.191 Eugenol MS+LRI 46 35.242 Caryophyllene MS+LRI 47 3.269 2,2,4-trimethylpentane MS+LRI 48 13.968 1-(2-furanyl)-Ethanone MS+LRI 49 14.138 Butyrolactone MS+LRI+ST 50 17.9 3-methyl-2(5H)-Furanone MS+LRI group Supply of No. The Particular obtained results tend to be shown as suggest value with normal deviation. Caption: Figure 1. Additional saturated aliphatic aldehydes give characteristic odours. Meat Sci 1998;49:111-23. [25.] Olivares A, Navarro JL, Flores M. In: Robinson R, Sadler M, Fullerlove G, Macrae R, editors. Nonanal gives odours described as rancid, fatty, soap, and plastic. However, Theron et al [14] reported that this aromatic hydrocarbon may become created by the oxidation regarding lipids, the particular catabolism regarding phenylalanine or may be just an environmental contaminant. Eur food Res Technol 2010;231:225-35. REFERENCES * Corresponding Author: Ewa Gorska Traditional meals is surely an important element of the European cultural heritage. quality characteristics of dry-cured ham produced from 2 different three-way crossbred pigs. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci 2016;29:257-62. [13.] Pastorelli G, Magni S, Rossi R et al. The Actual variability observed among your teams inside the content material associated with terpenes showed that different amount of spices have been extra through the output of your different dry-cured loins. The sensory analysis ended up being conducted right away following opening the packages. Contents of volatile compounds quantified Inside dr[gamma]-cured loins (percentage of the total area) No. Qualitative along with quantitative data. Odour and also flavour regarding dry-cured loins inside the I team were mainly determined by simply volatile compounds originating through seasoning and also smoking (49.3% and 38.1%, respectively), whereas through compounds derived via lipid oxidation (7.6%) and carbohydrate fermentation (1.9%) they were determined to some little extent. [15.] ISO 13299.2:2003. Except volatile compounds derived from lipolysis and also proteolysis aroma could be formed coming from spices added inside the production procedure [4,9,10]. Meals Chem 2006;94:271-7. MATERIAL AND METHODS In conclusion, based around the results regarding this study, it could be stated that dominant compounds inside dry-cured loins were: aromatic hydrocarbon (toluene); alkanes (hexane, heptane, and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane); aldehyde (hexanal); alcohol (2-furanmethanol); ketone (3-hydroxy-2-butanone); phenol (guaiacol); and terpenes (eucalyptol, cymene, y-terpinen, and also limonene). Meat Sci 2008;79:666-76. Submitted Mar 29, 2016; Revised Could 25, 2016; Accepted Jul 13, 2016 [19.] Seong PN, Park KM, Kang GH, et al. Vol. Obtained goods may additionally endure any cold smoking process [2]. Such products are dry-cured meat products, which are produced inside many countries, nevertheless the main production is situated inside the Mediterranean area. Ewa Gorska (1),*, Katarzyna Nowicka (1), Danuta Jaworska (1), Wiestaw Przybylski (1), along with Krzysztof Tambor (1) Smoked-derived compounds dominated in the headspace regarding dry-cured loins coming from III team (65.4% regarding total area percentage). Obtained results suggest that smoking procedure is a crucial stage throughout Polish traditional dry-cured loins production. [9.] Muriel E, Antequera T, Petron MJ, Andres AI, Ruiz J. 1277-82. [2.] Comparison regarding European & American Methods of Production and Consumption associated with Dry-Cured Hams [Internet]. 3rd ed. Talanta 2014;120:342-8. [22.] Martin D, Antequera T, Muriel E, Perez-Palacios T, Ruiz J. Volatile compounds of refreshing and dry-cured loin as affected simply by dietary conjugated linoleic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids. The Actual outcomes associated with PCA showed that 57.07% involving total variation inside the data could potentially be explained simply by two principal components (Table 2). Headspace volatile compounds through salted and also at times smoked dried meats (cecinas) as affected simply by animal species. Afterwards, SPME fiber ended up being brought to sample headspace for a time period involving 45 min. Subsequently, your fiber has been quickly transferred from your vial to the GC injector doing work in "splitless" mode and set to become able to 250[degrees]C, in order for you to desorb extracted volatiles in order to GC system. INTRODUCTION [4.] Marusic N, Petrovic M, Vidacek S, Petrak T, Medic H. Characterization involving conventional Istrian dry-cured ham through indicates of physical and also chemical analyses along with volatile compounds. Meat Sci 2009;81:549-56. Chromatographic separation was performed utilizing GC Agilent 6890 (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA), coupled together with quadruple MS Agilent 5795 (Agilent Technologies, USA). Although the aroma regarding decanal may be determined as roasty, sweet, fruity, citrus, waxy, floral, and penetrating [10,25, 26]. Methylketone (2-heptanone) can be typically responsible for the aroma of "blue cheese" [7,10]. Rocz Inst Przem Micsn Tluszcz 2006;44:141-9. [30.] Montel MC, Masson F, Talon R. Throughout opposite a low intensity in the sweet taste, sour odour and flavour, "other" odour and also flavour has been noted. Straight-chain aliphatic aldehydes are typical products of lipid oxidation with suprisingly low odour thresholds. The Particular predominant volatile compound originating coming from smoking ended up being methylbenzene (Table 3). Afterwards, loins had been washed with cold water to end up being able to eliminate the excessive salt. Volatile compounds within Iberian dry-cured loin. mass spectra databases. Meat Sci 2005;69: 297-305. Correlation analysis showed that a few compounds derived from smoking (especially, pyridine, furfural, 2-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 2,3-dimethyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, and guaiacol) were positively correlated with the intensity of cured meat odour and also flavour and negatively with just about all the intensity regarding dried meat odour and also flavour, while 2,2,4-trimethylpentane stood a positive effect on the intensity associated with dried meat odour and flavour. Impact associated with feeding and rearing methods of Iberian pigs in volatile profile as well as sensory characteristics involving dry-cured loin. The assessment ended up being performed within special odourless laboratory along with daylight and limited noise. The Particular examples had been stored for up to a minimal of one month. Considering the class of volatile compounds derived through lipid oxidation one with the most abundant had been hydrocarbons--heptane and hexane--although due for you to their relatively higher odour threshold values they most likely did not possess a significant impact about the final aroma of the studied loins [24]. Bacterial role throughout flavour development. The tentative characterization associated with white dry-cured hams from Teruel (Spain) simply by SPME-GC. Food Chem 2006;97:621-30. [16.] ISO 8586.2:1996. Inside dry-cured meat products, through the ripening process, complex chemical and biochemical changes within the major components regarding raw meat (proteins as well as lipids) lead towards the generation regarding flavour precursors such as peptides, free regarding charge amino acids and also totally free fatty acids, which usually are transformed in order to volatiles. Encyclopedia of food science, meals technologies and also nutrition. Methodology. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION [7.] Sanchez-Pena CM, Luna G, Garcia-Gonzalez DJ, Aparicio R. Characterization associated with French as well as Spanish dry-cured hams: influence regarding the volatiles from your muscles and also the subcutaneous fat quantified by SPME-GC. Because any base of retention index information NIST 08 Mass spectra database was used. I, II, III, groups of trials varying in sensory quality. [14.] Theron L, Tournayre P, Kondjoyan N, et al. Characteristics regarding hams ripening in raw state produced from uncooked material via selected primitive Polish races. Some Other terpens found in higher concentration were cymene, limonene, y-terpinen, a-pinene, sabinene as well as linalool, which may have been derived from your added black pepper, rosemary and also laurel [4]. Sensory evaluation techniques. Temperatures regarding ion source and mass analyzer had been 230[degrees]C and 150[degrees]C, respectively. food Chem 2008;110:233-8. The certain sensory profile regarding formerly selected groups was reflected within their volatile profile. Meat Sci 2010;85:453-60. The analysis of volatile compounds has been performed according to the methodology presented by simply Muriel et al [9] with modifications. Throughout this work, due in order to extended drying some occasion and higher manufacturing temperatures, microbial activity ended up being considered like a minor element inside the formation regarding volatile compounds. https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Relationshipbetweensensoryattributesandvolatilecompoundsof...-a0497178389 CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Table 1. Seasoning, spicy and also herbal odour and also flavour as well as sour odour and flavour had been positively correlated using the presence involving terpenes, which originate coming from spices additional throughout salting phase. The Particular III group was just distinguished by the highest intensity of smoked meat odour (Figure 2). The volatiles originating through smoking were alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, cyclopentanones, cyclopentenones, phenols and pyridines, most regarding that are characteristic compounds regarding wood smoke [24]. Phenolic compounds along with heavy, pungent, burnt, cresolic, smoky notes and the lower sensory threshold values were essential contributors for you to the flavour with the studied dry-cured loins. several studies happen to be conducted to identify and quantify your volatile compounds in a selection of kinds of dry-cured loins and also hams, including Iberian [11,12], Parma [13], Bayonne [14], Istrian [4], and American [8]. Analysis involving volatile compounds in traditional smoke-cured bacon (CSCB) with various fiber coatings using SPME. the PC1 dimension, which explained 36.91% of your variance, has been strongly and positively related with seasoning, spicy along with herbal odour along with flavour, sour odour and flavour, cured meat odour and "other" flavour, and negatively using dried meat odour along with flavour, salty taste along with smoked meat flavour. Meat Sci 2005;69:635-45. The trained 10-person assessing panel [16] had been experienced (4 to 12 years associated with sensory evaluation practice), along with good command associated with sensory methodology and also familiarity with almost all the sensory high quality involving meat along with meat products. the impact involving ripening time upon technological quality traits, chemical change as well as sensory characteristics involving dry-cured loin. Within the particular studied loins the majority of the detected volatile compounds derived coming from smoking, lipid oxidative reactions and also seasoning (46.8%, 21.7%, along with 18.9%, respectively). [18.] Garcia-Rey RM, Quiles-Zafra R, Luque de Castro MD. Relationships associated with genotype as well as slaughter period using the visual appeal and texture of dry-cured hams. The results for your sensory evaluation were elaborated online cams sex chat by simply principal component analysis (PCA). The Actual dominant compound was eucalyptol, however it was located just within examples coming from I group (Table 3). Characteristics associated with sensory top quality regarding dry-cured loins based on quantitative descriptive analysis approach (n = 21) Intensity associated with studied Imply value Normal Coefficient attributes [0 for you to 10 c.u.] deviation involving variation Cured meat odour 5.74 1.62 28.15 Smoked meat odour 6.25 1.30 20.83 Dried meat odour 5.28 1.39 26.36 Seasoning, spicy as well as herbal 3.36 1.90 56.58 odour Fatty odour 2.32 0.42 18.20 Sour odour 1.92 0.75 38.89 "Other" odour 1.68 0.79 46.83 Cured meat flavour 5.85 1.56 26.61 Smoked meat flavour 6.18 1.20 19.47 Dried meat flavour 5.16 1.40 27.12 Seasoning, spicy along with 3.14 1.72 54.60 herbal flavour Salty taste 6.04 1.42 23.46 Sweet taste 1.55 0.39 25.41 Sour flavour 2.15 1.04 48.39 "Other" flavour 1.76 1.08 61.41 Overall quality 6.43 0.69 10.82 c.u.--conventional unites. Table 2. Influence involving dietary fat, upon fatty acid composition along with sensory properties involving dry-cured Parma ham. Hexanal was probably derived from oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic and also archidonic acid [4,7]. Descriptors had been chosen and defined during the panel dialogue then verified in the preliminary session. 1. the load factors associated with major a couple of principal components of measured sensory attributes PC1 PC2 Intensity of cured meat odour 0.52 0.8 Intensity associated with smoked meat odour -0.20 0.83 Intensity regarding dried meat odour -0.81 0.11 Intensity regarding seasoning, spicy and herbal odour 0.91 -0.04 Intensity of fatty odour -0.03 0.23 Intensity associated with sour odour 0.81 -0.01 Intensity involving "other" odour -0.07 -0.89 Intensity involving cured meat flavou 0.47 0.77 Intensity involving smoked meat flavour -0.63 0.66 Intensity regarding dried meat flavour -0.84 0.07 Intensity associated with seasoning, spicy and also herbal flavour 0.90 -0.15 Intensity involving salty taste -0.66 -0.00 Intensity of sweet taste 0.19 -0.01 Intensity of sour flavour 0.75 -0.10 Intensity regarding "other" flavour 0.64 -0.52 Overall quality 0.05 0.60 % of variance 36.91 20.16 PC1, principal element 1; PC2, principal element 2. Table 3. You could find three native breeds involving pigs in Poland--Zlotnicka White, Zlotnicka Spotted, along with Pulawska, regarding which Zlotnicka White may be the most favored [6]. The outcomes for your sensory evaluation had been elaborated by PCA. Based about the outcomes associated with this analysis three categories of examples various in sensory top quality have been identified. Most dry-cured loins had been purchased whole. Analysis of volatile molecules in Iberian dry-cured loins as affected simply by genetic, feeding techniques and ingredients. Lipid oxidation had been also an important pathway of volatile generation within the team of dry-cured loins. A total regarding 50 volatile compounds were detected and identified in the headspace associated with dry-cured loins using SPME coupled in order to GC/ MS (Table 3). Identified compounds were assigned for you to 17 chemical families: acids, alkanes, alcohols, aldehydes, aliphatic, and aromatic hydrocarbons, cycloalkanes, cyclopentanones, cyclopentenones, esters, glycol, ketones, lactones, pyridines, phenols, terpenes, along with terpenoids. A 5%-diphenyl-95%-polydimethylsiloxane capillary column (DB-5MS, 30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 [micro]m) was used together with helium as a carrier fuel with a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min. Higher concentration of this compound had been also detected in dry-cured ham, fermented sausages along with cecinas, that were salted and also from time to time smoked along with dried meats [4,24,25]. Pertaining To sensory evaluation the middle part of loins (amount regarding 500 to be able to 600 g) were used. Remaining bits of dry-cured loins had been cut inside pieces of twenty to end up being able to 30 g for further analysis, packed within closed Ziploc bags as well as frozen at -80[degrees]C. Physical Appearance and texture attributes of dry-cured meat goods mainly rely about the genetic top features of the actual pig breed, although flavour and also odour attributes tend to be markedly affected by processing techniques and aging moment [12,18,19]. Caption: Figure 2. Perception of traditional food items in 6 European regions utilizing free word association. While reported in case regarding exactly the same as well as comparable sort associated with meat product, the actual volatile compounds composition might be due to end up being able to seasoning, smoking or the reactions between lipids, protein and carbohydrates caused by microbial or even endogenous enzymes [11,23]. Meals Chem 2009;115:1464-72. The distribution of analyzed biological materials in the area created by two principal components (based about the sensory attributes) is actually demonstrated in Figure 1. Additionally inside Poland a growing interest in traditional meals has been observed throughout current years. Family Members volatile I II III compounds 1 0.69 0.02 0.36 Pyridines Smoke 2 7.53 30.25 36.58 Aromatic hydrocarbones 3 1.36 ND 1.00 Aldehydes 4 ND ND 0.07 Cyclopentanones 5 ND 0.07 ND Aromatic hydrocarbons 6 7.41 ND 0.87 Alcohols 7 1.20 0.02 0.95 Cyclopentenones 8 1.54 ND 1.58 Cyclopentenones 9 1.11 0.01 0.98 Cyclopentenones 10 0.91 ND 1.72 Phenols 11 4.91 ND 3.28 Phenols 12 2.02 ND 1.50 Phenols 13 0.67 ND 0.59 Phenols 14 2.10 7.71 5.81 Alkanes Lipid oxidation 15 2.79 10.94 7.33 Alkanes 16 0.17 8.84 1.32 Aldehydes 17 0.03 0.35 0.09 Ketones 18 0.12 0.21 0.31 Aldehydes 19 0.53 0.46 0.93 Aldehydes 20 0.11 0.27 0.15 Aliphatic hydrocarbons 21 0.04 0.04 0.05 Aldheydes 22 1.06 0.50 0.69 Alcohols Carbohydrate fermentation 23 0.16 9.13 0.22 Ketones 24 0.22 1.80 0.15 Glycol 25 0.05 0.11 0.13 Esters Microorganisms esterification 26 ND 0.24 ND Acids 27 0.55 0.01 0.05 Terpenes Spices 28 1.29 0.07 0.31 Terpenes 29 0.41 ND 0.04 Terpenes 30 0.96 0.13 0.44 Terpenes 31 0.20 0.87 0.78 Terpenes 32 0.86 ND 0.03 Terpenes 33 6.64 0.14 0.23 Terpenes 34 1.30 0.71 1.05 Terpenes 35 14.90 ND ND Terpenes 36 3.13 ND ND Terpenes 37 0.36 ND 0.01 Terpenes 38 0.67 ND ND Terpenes 39 1.63 ND 0.17 Terpenes 40 1.88 0.01 ND Terpenoids 41 0.65 ND 0.08 Terpenes 42 0.89 0.02 0.17 Cycloalkanes 43 0.88 ND ND Phenols (derivative) 44 0.17 ND 0.06 Phenols 45 0.31 ND 0.07 Terpenes 46 0.24 0.21 0.45 Sesquiterpenes 47 0.85 7.50 3.64 Alkanes Others 48 0.04 0.01 0.24 Ketones 49 0.79 0.01 0.73 Lactones 50 0.60 ND 0.48 Lactones RT, retention time; ID, method involving identification; MS, identification based about MS databases; LRI, identification depending on linear retention index; ST, identification according to comparison regarding spectra and retention occasion together with commercial standards; ND, certainly not detected. Samples [12.] Ventanas S, Ventanas J, Estevez M, Ruiz J. Meat top quality involving polish native pigs. Wiad Zoot 2015;53:48-57. Mass spectra had been obtained inside Electron Ionization (EI) mode (Agilent Technologies, USA) in 70 eV by simply scanning array of 20 to 350 m/z (a.m.u). Throughout regular dry-cured products, exactly where the microbial population can be relatively low, this compound will be formed by simply a chemical process. Your marks of anchors of the tested attributes were as follows pertaining to most of them: absolutely no intensity--high intensity as well as overall quality (very lower to really high). [23.] Yu AN, Sun BG, Tian DT, Qu WY. Octanal provides meat-like, fresh, green, citrus, herbal, and floral odours. Smoked meats and sausages are usually the majority of frequently purchased by simply Polish consumers, nevertheless a expanding number of producers often offer a lot more durable products with special along with substantial quality, classified as luxury goods [2]. Your II team was characterized through the lowest intensity involving cured meat odour along with flavour, but the actual highest intensity regarding "other" odour along with salty taste (which ended up being similar such as III group). Among the subsequent evaluations, the particular assessors received hot tea without sugar in order to neutralize the actual taste. Sensory quality regarding well-known Spanish, Italian and also French dry-cured meat items varies depending about the pig breed, rearing system, carcass weight, sort regarding cut along with certain processing circumstances [3,4]. Your analytical panel created every evaluation inside duplicate (two sessions) for that reason every mean result had been depending on 20 individual measurements. p. similar findings have been observed amongst consumers involving American dry-cured ham [8]. Your principal component in this team had been hexanal. food Chem 2004;85:649-57. The research was performed together with 15 dry-cured loins created from meat of Zlotnicka White pigs bought in three distinct suppliers (5 dry-cured loins via every manufacturer) and 6 dry-cured loins made from meat of crossbreed involving Polish Huge White and Polish Landrace pigs purchased via one manufacturer. These discriminants (except for sweet taste) were seen as a high variability comparable towards the intensity associated with odour and also flavour involving seasoning, spicy along with herbal. Organization regarding the contribution involving volatile compounds for the aroma of fermented sausages at different phases regarding processing and also storage. Foodstuff prepared along with conventional methods, making use of old recipes, cultivated by nearby communities is considered to be tasty, healthy and also natural. Pertaining To sensory assessment, the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) approach [15] was utilized and an unstructured, linear graphical scale (100 mm) was transformed for you to numerical values (0 to ten conventional units). Sensory quality was characterized around the time frame involving 16 sensory attributes, grouped within odour, flavour and general quality. a higher intensity of your odour and also flavour of smoked meat and also salty taste has been stated (Table 1). These results will become in accordance using the ones reported simply by Fortin et al [21] in which juiciness, tenderness, flavour and absence of off-flavours were the most significant attributes comprising the actual sensory experience during meat consumption. [3.] Olkiewicz M, Moch P, Makala H. presence of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone ended up being reported in some other dry-cured loins [11,12,22], dry-cured hams [13], fermented sausages [28] and cecinas [24]. [24.] Hierro E, De la Hoz L, Ordonez JA. These kind of attributes can be established by sensory descriptive analysis as well as the composition regarding volatile compounds [7,8]. Volatiles quantities had been expressed as percentage of total identified signal. Tel: +48-660-730-763, Fax: +48-22-59-37-066, E-mail: ewa_gorska1@sggw.pl https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.16.0252 Sensory analysis In creating the final aroma associated with loins throughout II group your majority was compounds derived via lipid oxidation (35.7%). Although an abnormally higher concentration associated with this volatile compound is an indicator regarding reduced top quality meat products, it can also always be formed by simply microorganisms [13]. We certify that will there is simply no conflict of curiosity along with any financial organization concerning the information discussed in the manuscript. [29.] Sun W, Zhao Q, Zhao H, Zhao M, Yang B. Toluene was the particular element along with the highest location percentage in II and III group, while in I team components with the highest location percentage were toluene and also 2-furanmethanol (Table 3). the aroma of limonene may be described as fresh, citric as well as wood, while a-pinene gives sharp, pine along with peppery notes [10,26,28]. the slices were obtained utilizing a commercial slicing machine (Zelmer 294.5 NP, Rzeszow, Poland). Zeist, The Netherlands: Nutrition and Meals Analysis Institute TNO; 1989. [21.] Fortin A, Robertson WM, Tong AKW The Particular consuming top quality of Canadian pork along with its relationship along with intramuscular fat. That compound imparts butter, soft and also cheese odour and because of to reduced sensory threshold can be regarding fantastic significance towards the final aroma [24,28]. Nevertheless, little information is available for dry-cured loins produced inside Poland. Sensory evaluation [26.] Garcia-Gonzalez DL, Tena N, Aparicio-Ruiz R, Aparicio R. Sensor responses in order to excess fat meals aroma: Any comprehensive study associated with dry-cured ham typicality. Among examined traits simple Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated. in Poland, traditional manufacturing technologies of dry-cured meat items will be based on the actual dry salting along with salt, spices and very often starter cultures, and two-step maturation (under a constant temperature along with reduced humidity conditions) for six to eight months. To extract volatile compounds in the headspace polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene absorption fiber (PDMS/DVB, 65 pm thickness) was used. Usually the actual raw material with regard to this production originates through native breeds. Although several terpens happen to be seen in meat as a results of their presence in animal feedstuff's [4]. Comparable findings are already reported by simply Marusic et al [4]. [8.] Pham AJ, Schilling MW, Mikel WB, et al. Analysis associated with the volatile profile as well as identification of odour-active compounds in Bayonne ham. High concentrations regarding 4-carene along with camphor probably resulted from your use of rosemary, whereas thymol, that was discovered merely throughout dry-cured loins coming from I group, had been most likely derived coming from marjoram as well as thyme [27]. Characteristic odours given by simply terpens are very established. Ockerman HW, Basu L, Crespo FL, Cespedes Sanchez FJ. These kinds of groups of volatile compounds mostly agree with just about all the ones reported through different authors with regard to dry-cured loin [12,22] as well as dry-cured ham [4,7,14]. Asian-Australas J Anim Sci 2015;28:677-85. (1) Department of food Gastronomy and also Meals Hygiene, Faculty of Human Nutrition as well as Consumer Sciences, Warsaw University Or College of Life Sciences, Warsaw 02-776, Poland The results were elaborated using STATISTICA variation ten software (StatSoft, Inc. Your content material associated with compounds originating through carbohydrate fermentation ended up being the actual highest when compared to various other teams and also accounted regarding 14.2% with the total volatile content. Compounds through unknown sources, particularly 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, were probably the particular most abundant among loins within this group, which might correspond to their own very high intensity of "other" odour. According to Montel et al [30], your relative input involving microbial flora upon volatile compounds depends on the number as well as identity of microorganisms and also their metabolic activities. The impact of the sensory session has been insignificant for many evaluated attributes, which usually positively verifies the knowledge with the panel and assessments conditions. Meat Sci 2008;80:728-37. [1.] Guerrero L, Claret A, Verbeke W et al. LWT-Food Sci Technol 1998;31:559-67. [17.] Meilgaard M, Civille GV, Carr BT. differences throughout sensory top quality regarding studied dry-cured loins may always be the end result associated with diversified raw material along with slightly different production technology. Curing: Processes and applications. Your aroma of hexanal has been described as green, grassy, fatty, rancid, strong, unpleasant, hot and nauseating. Eventually, most loins were hung up and also ripened under a constant temperature (about 10[degrees]C to 15[degrees]C) along with relatively low humidity condition (65% for you to 75%) for 2 to 3 months. The obtained results indicated that every one of the dry-cured loins studied were characterized by relatively substantial overall quality. Volatile compounds had been extracted simply by SPME (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) and subsequently analysed by fuel chromatography coupled together with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA). Just About All 15 dry-cured loins obtained from the meat regarding Zlotnicka White pigs underwent flu smoking process (16[degrees]C to always be able to 22[degrees]C) twice inside 14 times (2 times of smoking and 5 events of aging), while loins produced from your meat with the crossbreed of Polish Huge White and Polish Landrace pigs did not endure this process. General guidance regarding the selection, training and also monitoring regarding assessors component II--Experts. It is actually important to identify the origin in the volatile compounds to understand your formation involving flavour inside dry-cured loins. Moreover, these compounds had antimicrobial and also antioxidant activity, which usually significantly increases sustainability of smoked products [23]. National Pork Board, American Meat Science Association Fact Sheet; 2010 [cited 2016 Jul 4]. Identification had been made around the basis of mass spectra comparison associated with 90% minimum accuracy and then confirmed simply by linear retention indices (LRI) and by using pure compound's standards for selected volatiles. Volatile compounds of Cantonese sausage introduced at different phases associated with processing and storage. Characteristic, unpleasant aroma of 3-methyl-butanoic acid described as cheese, feet and also dirty socks may contribute for you to lower overall quality of loins coming from II group. London: Academic Press; 1993. Loins had been seasoned with the combination of salt, nitrates and spices (400 g per kg) as well as stored with 4[degrees]C and also relative humidity of 75% for you to 80% for just two for you to 4 weeks. The predominant volatile compound in studied loins had been methylbenzene, followed by simply heptane, hexane, hexanal, eucalyptol and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (Table 3). Once the actual ripening procedure was finished, dry-cured loins were vacuum packaged to always be able to avoid an excessive dehydration involving the merchandise until evaluation. the significance of distinctions among means was calculated on the basis regarding minimal significant differences test. the I group had the actual highest intensity involving sour as well as seasoning, spicy along with herbal odour along with flavour or "other" flavour, nevertheless the lowest intensity regarding dried meat odour and flavour or smoked meat flavour (Figure 2). samples were grouped in to 3 clusters making use regarding their own, unique sensory profile. Sensory profile (quantitative descriptive analysis [QDA] method) associated with three groups of dry-cured loins obtained according to end up being able to principal component analysis (PCA). 2011) and also Microsoft Excel 2007 program. General guidance for establihing a new sensory profile. [5.] Flores J, Toldra F. Spectra had been subsequently analyzed with Enhanced ChemStation data Analysis plan using NIST 08 (US National Institute of Standards and also Technology) as well as Wiley 8th Ed. * Values are significantly different (p Statistical analysis Approximately 5 g regarding homogenized trial (Bosch MSM 67160, Gerlinger, Germany) had been placed inside a twenty mL vial, closed with silicone-teflon sealing cap along with heated to 37[degrees]C with regard to 1 h throughout order to stabilize concentrations of volatile compounds in the vial. Meat Sci 2011;88:786-90. The aim of this work was to carry out a reliable identification of the volatile compounds composition inside a standard dry-cured loin made in Poland using sound stage microextraction (SPME) and also gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol may originate via bay leaves, rosemary or basil [27]. Within order to calibrate LRI, C8-C20 alkanes mixture (Fluka, Buchs, Switzerland) and also pure standards associated with hexane and heptane (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Yet Another purpose ended up being to determine the connection between objective sensory descriptors and volatile flavour compound composition involving studied dry-cured loins. [27.] Maarse H, Visscher CA, Willemsens LC, Boelens MH. Volatile compounds in food. the 2-furanmethanol, giving burnt meat as well as vitamin-like odours, has numerous suggested formation pathways for example thermal degradation during smoking, the Maillard response or the deamination and dehydration of Amadori goods throughout heating [8]. [28.] Schmidt S, Berger RG. Accessible from: http://artides.extension.org/pages/27342/ comparison-of-european-american-systems-of-production-andconsumption-of-dry-cured-hams#top Dry-cured loins of II team showed your highest concentrations associated with volatile compounds coming from fermentation regarding carbohydrates with 3-hydroxy-2-butanone becoming probably your most abundant (Table 3). Relationships between sensory descriptors, consumer acceptability and volatile flavor compounds associated with American dry-cured ham. the situation mode has been determined in respect with Meilgaard et al [17]. [20.] Yim DG, Hong DI, Chung KY. Based on Yim et al [20], salty taste just isn't simply determined from the add-on associated with salt, nevertheless may be influenced by other compounds such as nucleotides as well as amino acids or even a low content involving intramuscular fat. Sensory analysis. Aroma compounds throughout fermented sausages of different origins. Meat Sci 2004;68:391-400. A higher concentration associated with fermentation compounds within drycured loins from II team indicates an increased metabolic activity in the microbiota in these samples, that is reflected inside the quantity associated with volatile compounds derived through microorganisms esterification. The Particular PC2 dimension, that explained yet another 20.16% with the variance, was positively correlated with smoked meat odour as well as flavour, cured meat odour and flavour and general quality, and negatively with "other" odour as well as flavour (Table 2). Aroma along with flavour are usually key attributes that will impact the actual overall acceptance involving dry-cured loins and therefore are markedly affected by simply uncooked material, production process and aging time. Production and sale regarding conventional food products provide the decisive economic input to many parts of your European Union [1]. The Particular GC oven ended up being programmed as follows: initial temperature involving 38[degrees]C held regarding 10 minutes, then increased to 200[degrees]C at a rate regarding 4[degrees]C/min and held for two main minutes, then increased in order to 250[degrees]C in a price of 20[degrees]C/min and also final temperature (250[degrees]C) has been held for 7 minutes. Another, very numerous group regarding volatile compounds identified in the studied dry-cured loins, ended up being terpens, phenols as well as their derivatives originating via spices. We assumed that high content material regarding toluene within this team may have derived via lipid oxidation, the particular catabolism associated with phenylalanine or the environmental contamination, as loins through this group had not undergone the smoking process [14]. Analysis regarding volatile compounds The biological materials had been ready through placing size comparable, 5 mm thick slices (amount 25 to be able to 30 g) throughout covered, odourless, single-use plastic boxes using lids (volume 150 mL). food Chem 2010;121:319-25. Overall high quality has certainly not differed significantly in between separated groups, nonetheless it offers higher scores throughout III group reducing in II group. This might declare that panelists estimated higher dry-cured loins with distinct smoked as well as cured meat odour along with flavour. Your dominant compound (3-methyl-butanoic acid) could be generated from leucine by the functions involving Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus carnosus, or fungal protease EPg222 [29]. the outcomes regarding principal element analysis (PCA)--distribution of most analyzed biological materials presented inside the 1st two principal components PC1 as well as PC2. during this period regarding time humidity and also temperature are controlled to reduce the particular chance of bacterial spoilage [5]. Odour along with flavour associated with drycured loins inside the I team had been mainly determined simply by volatile compounds originating via seasoning and also smoking, in II team the particular vast majority were compounds derived coming from lipid oxidation, while within III team dominated smoked-derived compounds. Based around the results involving this analysis 3 groups of biological materials various inside sensory top quality and also volatile compounds composition have been identified. These outcomes are already developed making use of one-way analysis of variance

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A sweet end to a divine, four-course lunch focusing on local, Istrian ingredients - fresh fish, wild asparagus and wild garlic, plus four regional white wines - in Portorosa on the Slovenian coast. Fried Istrian dough balls with a fresh basil ice-cream complete the meal at the iconic Sunset Restaurant in the five-star Grand Hotel Bernadin. #testaccina #ifeelslovenia #grandhotelbernadin