Keepers of the Licitar Heritage

UNESCO's Commission for Immaterial Cultural Heritage included the licitar crafts to the Representative List of the World's Cultural Heritage. Thus our licitar products were confirmed as the original handicraft in the north-western Croatian. This was decided on the assembly in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on November 15, 2010.

Licitar hearts are edible, but not very tasty. They have never been intended for food, but for expressing love.

Each licitar heart is handcrafted at least ten times during manufacture. The hearts are baked, glued, dried, painted, dried and then decorated. The procedure has not changed for more than a hundred years. The only innovation for the 21st century is an electric dough mixer.

Dough is simple flour, water and some sugar. The products are painted by jelly and decorated by potato flour and syrup. Years of practice and learning are required to reach the licitar master status. There is no school, the learning process consists of work and practice.

The news that the licitar hearts are on the UNESCO's list has spread fast. There are already many people and tourists interested in those sweet expressions of affection.

Source: www.hrt.hr