Producing Bulgarian yoghurt : manufacturing and exporting authenticity Citation for published version (APA): Stoilova, E. R. (2014). Producing Bulgarian yoghurt : manufacturing and exporting authenticity. Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.6100/IR770715 DOI: 10.6100/IR770715 Document status and date: Published: 01/01/2014 Document Version: Publisher’s PDF, also known as Version of Record (includes final page, issue and volume numbers) Please check the document version of this publication: • A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. 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Design and typesetting: Ellen Bouma, Alkmaar, the Netherlands Cover image: Kondratenko, Maria. Bulgarian Yoghurt. Health and Beauty. Sofia: Svyat, 1990, 6. Amsterdam University Press, Herengracht 221, NL-1016 BG Amsterdam www.aup.nl TEHS10.indd 2 11/28/2013 5:54:22 PM Acknowledgments 3 Producing Bulgarian Yoghurt Manufacturing and Exporting Authenticity PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, prof.dr.ir. C.J. van Duijn, voor een commissie aangewezen door het College voor Promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 23 januari 2014 om 14.00 uur door Elitsa Stoilova geboren te Plovdiv, Bulgarije TEHS10.indd 3 11/28/2013 5:54:22 PM 4 Producing Bulgarian Yoghurt Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotor: Prof.dr. R. Oldenziel Copromotor: Dr.habil. D. Parusheva TEHS10.indd 4 11/28/2013 5:54:22 PM Acknowledgments 5 Acknowledgments Looking back to that adventure of chasing the authenticity of Bulgarian yoghurt I should say that writing a thesis is longue and not easy journey. That journey seems lonely and the way is not easy, but actually there are many extremely important actors that might remain hidden. I will like to offer my special thanks to those important people, without whom that dissertation would remain an unfinished project. This thesis would not have been possible without the support of my two super- visors, Ruth Oldenziel and Dobrinka Parusheva. They were the guiding light in that unpaved way. I am deeply grateful for their endless efforts of making me a bet- ter scientist and all precious advices of how a good academic research and thesis should be done. Teaching me of the state of the art was accompanied with their patience and support for which I will like to express my very great appreciation. I have learned to appreciate their criticism and to be less emotional about my work, but more self critical. Deepest gratitude to the Foundation for the History of Technology that sponsored by Eindhoven University of Technology started the program for PhD Students from Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. By accepting my proj- ect, the Foundation for the History of Technology provided me the opportunity to collaborate within the Tensions of Europe Network by participating in the sum- mer schools and conferences. That broadened my perspective and showed me the beauty of the history of technology. My sincere thanks go to Alexander Badenoch for helping my colleagues Emilya Karaboeva, Ivaylo Hristov, Jíra Janáč, and me to understand the key theories of history of technology and Eurointegration studies. He was a great mentor but also good friend, magnificent cook and singer. Another inspiriting environment was offered by the two summer schools that I have participated organized by the University of Tours and the European Institute for the History and Cultures of Food in Tours. I have learned much from the cooperation whit professors and other students dedicated their work to food studies. I cherish the many good com- ments I received that gave me a direction in a moment of desperation. The posi- tivism of that forum helped me to build confidence in my project and to find my scientific community among those people sharing the passion of studding food. TEHS10.indd 5 11/28/2013 5:54:23 PM 6 Producing Bulgarian Yoghurt Frank Schipper who joined me in that Parisian journey generously offered his company. I enjoyed our talks and diners but what I appreciate most was his encour- agement and support when my research in Bibliothèque nationale de France was not as successful as I expected. I am deeply indebted to my editors Val Kidd and Vitana Kostadinova. I highly appreciated their work as their editing improved the use of English in the manu- script and significantly improved the flow and comprehensibility of the text. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to interview Maria Kondratenko a key actor in my yoghurt story. It was honor to have the chance to learn about yoghurt production and export from such an expert. The taste of her home-made yoghurt, which she was so kind to offer me during one of the interviews, was something that made me think that, however, yoghurt is something that Bulgarians should be proud of. Julia Grigorova from the Dr. Stamen Grigoroff Foundation helped me by pro- viding the contact details of the key actors involved in yoghurt production and export. Thanks to these respondents, I have gained a deeper understanding in the process of Bulgarian type yoghurt’s production, export, and consumption. I would like to express my gratitude to Euromonitor International and Ivan Uzunov in particular, who provided precious statistic information regarding the yoghurt consumption in Europe and arranged a permission for me to use their market analyses on the Bulgarian yoghurt market. Two other generous people which I encountered during my research have pro- vided me with precious primary sources. The first is TheoS omsen, Duch anti- quarian book seller who gifted me with open heart a copy of Maya Bulgare ‒ a rare French book on Bulgarian yoghurt. The other is the German stamps collector Wolfgang Kunze who shared with me four of his stamps ‒ a form of an early twen- tieth century yoghurt advertisements. I want to thank Goran Stefanov, a master student at that time. During his research in Dubavo and Popovo villages he offered his help. I am grateful that he did not save time and energy and conducted several interviews with people. Those interviews became a valuable source of information for my yoghurt story. The support of my family and friends was a life-belt in many difficult moments, but they also admonished keeping reminding me that there is life besides the academic desk. Those people not related to the academia, were helping me in moments of failures giving me energy to keep researching and writing. Plovdiv, July 23, 2013 TEHS10.indd 6 11/28/2013 5:54:23 PM Introduction 7 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 5 Introduction 9 Food, Identity, and Authenticity 12 Users and Consumption 17 Dairy Industry Scholarship 20 Sources, Methodology, and Structure 25 Chapter 1 Bacillus of Long Life around 1900 33 Metchnikoff’s Recipe for Longevity 33 Metchnikoff, Stamen Grigoroff, and the Bulgarian Bacillus 38 Dangerous Tradition versus Safe Science 45 Banishing the Natural from the Laboratory 49 Conclusion 54 Chapter 2 Marketing Authenticity in Western Europe, 1910s-1920s 57 Taste of Exoticism 57 Emigrants, Western Entrepreneurs, and “Natural” Yoghurt 65 Advertising Bulgarian Yoghurt as Authentic 73 Conclusion 81 Chapter 3 Shifting to Mass Production, 1930s-1940s 83 Modernizing Bulgarian Dairy 83 Introducing Science for Yoghurt Manufacturing 92 Female Skill versus Male Science 95 Conclusion 106 Chapter 4 Developing the Industrial Know-How after World War II 107 Creating Socialist-style Agricultural and Dairy Systems 107 Yoghurt Processing