Tasty Tales of Kastav, and the recipe for ginger beer

Tasty Tales of Kastav, and the recipe for ginger beer

We spent the largest part of the summer of 2014 in Kastav, Kombinat’s summer residence, first in the preparation and then in the execution of the program of Tasty Tales. We were lucky to have good weather throughout the exhibition program of the 23rd Kastav Cultural Summer, from the 30th of June to the 4th of July – so the most complex Kombinat project to date remains in memory of the high sun and the breeze softening the heat in the evenings. Some kind of mad balance.

In the process, aside from setting the works up, drinking enormous amounts of coffee, additionally designing and printing maps, sticking the stickers, cutting the anchovies and mini Maliks and big illustrations, talking and working with locals, stitching the suits that young kastavian good spirits usually tore at the feet, bringing pallets and pillows, organising tours for larger groups, having conversations about photography and co-working in Rijeka – we also managed to thoroughly enjoy Kastav itself. We would especially like to emphasize the (mid)night hanging out and collective tasting of the stories with ginger beer. Beside ginger, the evening was additionally enriched by Gospodin Brodski’s VJ-ing onto the cones that resembled Malik’s hat, and we also made chocolate bomb and sangria. Kastavians, as proper hosts, made their own version of sangria, and the final decision on which one is better has not been made – we believe that objectively speaking every homemade sangria is good sangria.

In order to be reminded of that evening and prepare our organisms for fall/winter and the temperature changes that can have apchiha! consequences, we share a hypersimple recipe for pumping the organism – alcohol-free ginger beer.

For one litre of ginger beer, aside from the effort put into grating, you need:

– 4 spoons of grated ginger
– the juice made out of two lemons
– the skin of one lemon
– one litre of mineral water

Grate the ginger and the lemon skin and mix them with sugar. Pour the lemon juice and mineral water over the ginger and the lemon skin. Leave for 10 minutes, then drain.

*Rustical version: drain into big beer mugs and load with ice.
*Fine version: serve with mint leaves.

The measures are approximate. We recommend that you make the best combination for yourself while you wait for spring. Buying and keeping: the ginger’s lenght is the best sign of its maturity; such a ginger will be stronger and will contain more fibre. Also, buy hard and smooth ginger – that one is fresh for sure. Wrapped in a paper napkin and put into a plastic bag, ginger with skin can be kept in the fridge for up to three weeks.