A simple ceramic cup, polished, with a handle. It’s white with red dots and a thin gold rim on the top edge.
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Sweet
A simple ceramic cup, polished, with a handle. It’s white with red dots and a thin gold rim on the top edge.
She stood by the stove, vigorously stirring a pot of tea with a large spoon as steam rose from it. After taking a sip, she scrunched her face in displeasure. Tasteless! She added another heaping spoonful of crystal white sugar to the pot.
She opened the cupboard. On the bottom shelf, everyday coffee cups were neatly aligned in a row. Next to them, letters from her daughters and sister leaned against the cupboard wall, delivered by the postman that week so she could read them quietly and attentively. Alongside them was the current church bulletin with the mass schedules for the surrounding parishes. Tucked away in the back corner of a low, unassuming metal box, where one might expect to find coffee, was a hidden stash of money. It was her emergency fund for trips to the grocery store or the butcher, or in case a van selling fresh fish stopped in front of the tavern, announcing its presence with a desperate tune blaring from its crackling speakers.
On the middle shelf, a row of white cups with red polka dots stood prominently. She spotted them at the local shop and immediately decided to buy them. No flowers, no gilding, nothing frilly—just simple white cups with elegant red dots. At home, she placed them on the middle shelf. Not on the bottom, where the everyday dishes were kept, and not on the top shelf, which was out of her reach without a stool. Right in the center. That’s where you put things that catch the eye the most.
She reached for two of the white cups with red polka dots. Filling one to the brim with hot tea, she placed it in front of me. I knew it would be too hot and overly sweet, likely leaving me feeling warm and a bit queasy afterward. She filled her cup only halfway, then topped it off with some sour homemade wine. Mmmm, she said, satisfied. "Drink it to warm up." The bright red rosehip tea turned my already flushed cheeks an even more vibrant shade.
Tastes appear in color systems as bipolar concepts, divided into opposites such as bitter-sweet, sour-salty and umami-kokumi. We associate sweet taste with the color orange, cyan blue with salty taste, green with sour, and magenta red with bitter. Shades of green are usually associated with growth, while yellow, orange and bright red indicate activity. On the other hand, dark red, magenta and purple symbolize slowing down, while passivity is expressed by various shades of blue.
dr. hc Vojko Pogačar, academic painter
First, we chose musical instruments that illustrate different tastes: for the "salty" guitar (Astrid Kukovič), for the "bitter" piano (Sašo Vollmaier), for the "sour" harmonica (Dominik Cvitanič), for the "hot" violin (Andreja Klinc) and for the "sweet" flute (Asja Grauf).
Melodies were created spontaneously. The improvisations of the "bitter" melodies were low and legato, the "salty" were determined and articulate, the "sour" were high and dissonant, and the "sweet" were unison, slow and soft.
Asja Grauf, professor of flute
I experience salty as a mixture of all tastes. It awakens a pleasant, relaxed, unusual feeling in me. I associate this taste with long, emphasized and controlled body movements. Bitter is a taste that awakens confusion in me, because with each bite my body decides whether to approve of this taste or not. I associate with it fluid movement with various emphasized and accelerated movements. I can enjoy sweet for several hours a day. My body relaxes when I enjoy sweets for a long time, which cause a pleasant feeling of joy. I associate with sweet slow and easy movements. Sour usually ends quickly. Each bite causes a short shock in my body, and then disappears completely. I associate with sour taste abrupt, fast and uncontrolled movements. Hot is a taste that usually lasts a very long time. It awakens an unpleasant feeling in me that is hard to shake. These are long, strong movements and individual shorter, more intense ones that show evasion and discomfort.
Pina Batič, dancer
An important task of modern museums is to connect the past with the present, to introduce innovative approaches for the education of new generations and to contribute to cultural and social development.
Read the personal stories of the individuals who contributed their items to the Museum of Taste.
At the same time, we invite you to join this project yourself and participate with your contributions.
© Maribor Regional Museum