This is the reason something like buckwheat is more popular than rice in traditional food. Further, there are lots of pumpkins grown in Slovenia and one of its unique exports is pumpkin seed oil, which Slovenians tend to use like olive oil and put on many dishes. Foods with pumpkin in them are very popular throughout Slovenia. Two other very common Slovenian ingredients that I did not try today but are in a lot of other dishes are honey and truffles, which are a kind of fungus like a mushroom. Slovenia is very proud of its large population of honeybees, and so they include honey in much of their food.
Slovenia's traditional food also reflects where it is situated geographically. Slovenia is bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, and it was once incorporated into each of those countries at some point in its history, so Slovenia's many dishes reflect that. For example, pasta and gnocchi are common, taken from Italy. Goulash and heavy soups are popular, taken from Hungary. Grilled meats are common, taken from Croatia and other Balkan states. Sausages and sauerkraut are popular, taken from Austrian and German cuisine. All of these different cultures blend to form something uniquely Slovenian.
