Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria

Flavoring wine with <i>Artemisia</i> species, together with other aromatic herbs and/or fruits, is a practice that has evolved in different parts of Bulgaria. The aromatized wine-based beverage, called <i>pelin</i>, is named after the Bulgarian common name for the genus <i...

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Main Authors: Vanya Boneva, Teodora Ivanova, Neli Grozeva, Mariya Slavcheva, Dessislava Dimitrova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-06-01
Series:Beverages
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/10/3/50
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author Vanya Boneva
Teodora Ivanova
Neli Grozeva
Mariya Slavcheva
Dessislava Dimitrova
author_facet Vanya Boneva
Teodora Ivanova
Neli Grozeva
Mariya Slavcheva
Dessislava Dimitrova
author_sort Vanya Boneva
collection DOAJ
description Flavoring wine with <i>Artemisia</i> species, together with other aromatic herbs and/or fruits, is a practice that has evolved in different parts of Bulgaria. The aromatized wine-based beverage, called <i>pelin</i>, is named after the Bulgarian common name for the genus <i>Artemisia</i>. In this paper, we present <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>, the history of which dates back to the early 20th century. We employed semi-structured interviews with 15 <i>pelin</i> producers from the Zmeyovo village with an age span from 44 to 83 years. The relative frequency of citation for each stated taxon was recorded. We explored the changes in the plant knowledge of the <i>pelin</i> makers and discussed the drivers for it. From a modern perspective, <i>pelin</i> can be considered a functional beverage since the aromatic plants and fruits adds a variety of biologically active substances to it, thus enhancing its health benefits. We regard the consumers’ inquiry about the benefits of the added plants as a driver for mitigating the plant awareness disparity among the local community.
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series Beverages
spelling doaj-art-bf5576292d2d419d831bb2787de926332025-08-20T01:56:10ZengMDPI AGBeverages2306-57102024-06-011035010.3390/beverages10030050Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from BulgariaVanya Boneva0Teodora Ivanova1Neli Grozeva2Mariya Slavcheva3Dessislava Dimitrova4Department of Biological studies, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students’ Campus, 6000 Stara Zagora, BulgariaDepartment of Plant and Fungal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 23 Acad. G. Bonchev Str., 1113 Sofia, BulgariaDepartment of Biological studies, Faculty of Agriculture, Trakia University, Students’ Campus, 6000 Stara Zagora, BulgariaAnthropology of Verbal Traditions Section, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 6A Moskovska Str., 1000 Sofia, BulgariaDepartment of Plant and Fungal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 23 Acad. G. Bonchev Str., 1113 Sofia, BulgariaFlavoring wine with <i>Artemisia</i> species, together with other aromatic herbs and/or fruits, is a practice that has evolved in different parts of Bulgaria. The aromatized wine-based beverage, called <i>pelin</i>, is named after the Bulgarian common name for the genus <i>Artemisia</i>. In this paper, we present <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>, the history of which dates back to the early 20th century. We employed semi-structured interviews with 15 <i>pelin</i> producers from the Zmeyovo village with an age span from 44 to 83 years. The relative frequency of citation for each stated taxon was recorded. We explored the changes in the plant knowledge of the <i>pelin</i> makers and discussed the drivers for it. From a modern perspective, <i>pelin</i> can be considered a functional beverage since the aromatic plants and fruits adds a variety of biologically active substances to it, thus enhancing its health benefits. We regard the consumers’ inquiry about the benefits of the added plants as a driver for mitigating the plant awareness disparity among the local community.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/10/3/50<i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>functional beveragetraditional plant knowledgeplant awareness disparity
spellingShingle Vanya Boneva
Teodora Ivanova
Neli Grozeva
Mariya Slavcheva
Dessislava Dimitrova
Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
Beverages
<i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>
functional beverage
traditional plant knowledge
plant awareness disparity
title Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
title_full Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
title_fullStr Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
title_full_unstemmed Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
title_short Ethnobotany of <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>: A Traditional <i>Artemisia</i>-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria
title_sort ethnobotany of i zmeyovski pelin i a traditional i artemisia i flavored wine from bulgaria
topic <i>Zmeyovski pelin</i>
functional beverage
traditional plant knowledge
plant awareness disparity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/10/3/50
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