Blato Municipality, Blato tourist office and Blatski fižuli will organize the event in late October.
We mentioned in our article about top five things not to miss in Blato that blatska lumblija is a very specific type of cake, made almost exclusively in Blato on the island of Korčula, and that it’s traditionally made for the All Saints day – November 1st. That is one of the reasons why the Days of Blatska Lumblija, the event aimed at promoting and keeping the tradition of the cake, is held in late October, as the part of the preparation for the day when every family in Blato will be making it.
The promotion of the festivities, as well as presentation of how the cake is made was held in Zagreb, organized by the GET Association. The guests heard that the final evening of the event in Blato will be held on Saturday, the 27th, and it will include an exhibit, tasting and competition for the best blatska lumblija, presentation and tasting of the treditional Blato liqueurs and other specialty drinks (especially different types of “rakija”). The special guests will be coming from three other Croatian islands, and the motto ‘Four Islands – Four Places – Four Recipes’ will cover presentations of hrapoćuša cake, from Dol on the island of Brač, starogrojski paprenjok from Stari Grad on Hvar and viška pogača from Vis.
Lumblija and how it’s made was presented by Sanja Protić, an owner of a family farm from Blato, who makes lumblija according to the traditional recipe. The tradition (or the legend) of the cake goes back for over 200 years, when the French army lead by Napoleon was ruling over Korčula. As it often does, a love happened between a young French soldier and a girl from Blato, but one that didn’t have a happy ending, as he had to leave the island. As he was departing, he gifted his beloved a piece of cake, telling her “n’oublie pas”, which of course means “don’t forget me”. She didn’t hear him correctly, so the name of the cake got corrupted into “lumblija”. The cake is made using various ingredients, and in order to make it on the island, you need to start collecting the ingredients during summer: almonds, walnuts, raisins, carob, orange and lemon zest, various spices (nutmeg, cinnamon). The secret, not-easy-to-find ingredient is varenik, a sweet syrup obtained by boiling grape must for a long time, until it becomes thick and sweet.
One of the guests at the presentation was Bertrand Le Tallec, from the French embassy in Zagreb, who said that Croatia and France have a lot in common, wines, olives, gastronomy etc. The legend of lumblija is another connection between the two countries and traditions.
Sanja Protić said that she plans to open a workshop on gastronomy of Blato and Korčula, so everyone would get a chance to try and make some of the traditional delicacies (or just taste and buy them, if they’re not really in a baking mood). Until then, if you get the chance to visit Blato later in October, we’re sure that you will hear the call of lumblija and have a taste of its richness.
