{"id":12046,"date":"2026-09-17T10:02:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/?page_id=12046"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:00:12","slug":"traditional-preparation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/smrekova-smola\/tradicionalna-priprava\/","title":{"rendered":"How was spruce resin ointment prepared? Traditional spruce resin recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"tradicionalni-recepti-za-smrekovo-mazilo-na-kratko\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Traditional spruce resin ointment recipes in brief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <ul>\n    <li>\n      <strong>There is no single traditional recipe for spruce resin ointment.<\/strong>\n      Historical and ethnographic sources describe different raw materials,\n      proportions and preparation methods, so it would be misleading to speak\n      of one original recipe.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      In Slovenia, several independent ethnographic and field records document\n      <strong>resin combined with fats or oils and wax<\/strong>. The composition\n      varied from place to place, while some records explicitly identify spruce\n      resin. What recurs most clearly is therefore a method of preparation rather\n      than one fixed formula.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      In northern Europe, combinations of spruce resin with butter or other\n      animal fats are well documented. One research reconstruction of a\n      Finnish preparation used 1 part resin to 3 parts unsalted butter and\n      heated the mixture at approximately 100 \u00b0C, but this should not be\n      generalised to all traditional recipes.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      \u201cPreparing resin\u201d could refer to very different forms: resin used\n      directly, a soft ointment, a cooked resin preparation, a resin plaster\n      or another processed material. Slovenian records also describe steps\n      such as heating, straining, allowing mixtures to settle and applying\n      preparations to cloth or another support.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      This page compares documented historical preparation methods.\n      For information on how the raw material is collected today, see\n      <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-resin\/collection\/\">spruce resin collection<\/a>,\n      while a broader overview is available on the\n      <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-resin\/\">spruce resin<\/a> page.\n    <\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block toc\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#tradicionalni-recepti-za-smrekovo-mazilo-na-kratko\">Traditional spruce resin ointment recipes in brief<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#ali-obstaja-en-pravi-recept-za-smrekovo-mazilo\">Is there one authentic recipe for spruce resin ointment?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kaj-so-tradicionalnim-smolnim-mazilom-dodajali\">What was traditionally added to resin ointments?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kako-so-smolo-segrevali-in-kaj-pomeni-kuhana-smola\">How was the resin heated, and what does \u201ccooked resin\u201d mean?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#slovenski-recepti-in-zavbe-s-smrekovo-smolo\">Slovenian recipes and salves with spruce resin<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#crna-smola-crna-zavba-in-kuhana-smola-ali-gre-za-isto-stvar\">Black resin, black salve and cooked resin \u2013 are they the same thing?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#smolnak-in-smovnak-ko-priprava-smole-ni-bila-vec-navadno-mazilo\">Smolnak and smovnak \u2013 when resin preparation was no longer just an ordinary ointment<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kdo-je-bila-prezla-iz-lesc\">Pre\u017ela from Lesce and the beginnings of Smrekovit<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kako-so-smolo-pripravljali-drugod-po-svetu\">How was resin prepared in other parts of the world?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#kaj-nam-tradicionalni-recepti-povedo-o-smrekovem-mazilu\">What do traditional recipes tell us about spruce resin ointment?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#od-tradicionalnih-smolnih-pripravkov-do-smrekovita\">From traditional resin preparations to Smrekovit<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#pogosta-vprasanja-o-tradicionalnih-receptih-iz-smrekove-smole\">Frequently asked questions about traditional spruce resin recipes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"ali-obstaja-en-pravi-recept-za-smrekovo-mazilo\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is there one authentic recipe for spruce resin ointment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    No. Historical and ethnographic sources do not reveal a single\n    standardised recipe that could be described as the <strong>original or\n    only authentic recipe for spruce resin ointment<\/strong>. Different\n    regions and periods used different types of resin, fatty carriers, wax\n    and other ingredients, while heating methods and the final form of the\n    preparation also varied.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This is further confirmed by field records from the Slovene Ethnographic\n    Museum, where resin ointments, plasters and other mixtures with different\n    compositions appear in several regions. Some records describe resin with\n    butter and wax, others with oil and wax, while elsewhere marrow, tallow\n    or additional plant ingredients were used.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Terminology adds another difficulty. Historical terms for ointments,\n    plasters and resins did not necessarily refer to the same material or the\n    same preparation. Even when two sources both mention spruce resin, this\n    does not mean that they describe an identical recipe.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    We therefore treat individual recipes on this page as\n    <strong>documented examples from a particular place, period or source<\/strong>,\n    rather than as instructions for reconstructing one universal traditional\n    ointment. We also distinguish historical descriptions from modern research\n    reconstructions, in which quantities, temperatures and procedures may\n    already be more precisely standardised.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This is also a different purpose from the page about\n    <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-ointment\/\">spruce resin ointment<\/a>, which focuses on\n    the modern product and its use. Here the main question is\n    <strong>what historical recipes and preparation methods actually document<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"kaj-so-tradicionalnim-smolnim-mazilom-dodajali\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What was traditionally added to resin ointments?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Slovenian ethnographic sources show that resin preparations did not\n    follow one fixed recipe. In different places resin was combined with\n    <strong>fats, oils, wax and other ingredients<\/strong>, while individual\n    formulations varied considerably. The field records of the Slovene\n    Ethnographic Museum show particularly clearly that this was not limited\n    to one regional example but was a recurring method of preparation.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"smrekovit-table-scroll\">\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr>\n          <th>Place or source<\/th>\n          <th>Documented composition<\/th>\n          <th>Important note<\/th>\n        <\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>\u0160kofja Loka region \u2013 Meta Sterle<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Resin, beeswax, linseed oil and a small amount of animal fat.\n            The same regional material also records melted honey combined\n            with spruce resin.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The individual records do not describe the same preparation and\n            do not provide one standard ratio of ingredients.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>Gorice near Postojna, 1979 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Resin, butter and wax.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The tree species is not specified in the record.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>Hrenovice, 1979\u20131981 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            One record describes oil, resin and beeswax; another resin\n            plaster explicitly mentions \u201cpilpuh or spruce resin\u201d together\n            with virh and other ingredients.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The Hrenovice record is particularly valuable because it directly\n            associates pilpuh with spruce resin in this specific local context.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>Dob pri \u0160pajih, 1950 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Wax, bone marrow and resin.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The preparation is described as a traditional ointment for wounds\n            and boils.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>Stav\u010da vas, 1957 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Resin, wax and marrow.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The mixture was prepared as a resin plaster.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>Trenta, 1952 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Resin, tallow, wax, oil and spirit together with plant ingredients.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            The ingredients were cooked together; the resin species is not\n            specified.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n        <tr>\n          <td><strong>So\u010da, 1952 \u2013 SEM<\/strong><\/td>\n          <td>\n            Juniper resin, beeswax, oil, pork fat, bone marrow and alum.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            This example does not contain spruce resin, but it illustrates the\n            wider Slovenian tradition of preparing resin mixtures.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <p>\n    Despite the differences, a clear pattern emerges:\n    <strong>resinous material was often combined with a fatty or oily base\n    and wax<\/strong>. This produced softer ointments, denser preparations or\n    resin plasters, while individual formulas could also include camphor,\n    spirit, honey, bone marrow, plants or other ingredients.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Northern European sources show a comparable principle. In a research\n    reconstruction of a traditional Finnish spruce resin ointment, spruce\n    resin was prepared with unsalted butter at a ratio of\n    <strong>1 : 3<\/strong>. This is a specific Finnish model, not a universal\n    traditional recipe.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical preparations are therefore better understood in terms of\n    <strong>recurring preparation principles<\/strong> rather than one fixed\n    formula. Even two preparations containing resin, fat and wax could differ\n    in resin species, proportions, additional ingredients, heating and final\n    consistency.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"kako-so-smolo-segrevali-in-kaj-pomeni-kuhana-smola\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How was the resin heated, and what does \u201ccooked resin\u201d mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Heating was primarily a practical step in many resin preparations.\n    Hard or highly viscous resin softens or becomes more fluid when heated,\n    making it easier to combine with fat, oil or wax and, where necessary,\n    to remove larger mechanical impurities.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical terminology needs to be understood in context. The expression\n    <strong>\u201ccooked resin\u201d does not necessarily mean that the resin literally\n    boiled at a specific temperature<\/strong>. In older descriptions,\n    \u201ccooking\u201d may refer to heating resin or a resin mixture until it became\n    sufficiently fluid for mixing or until the preparation reached the desired\n    consistency.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Finnish example: resin and butter at approximately 100 \u00b0C<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    One of the more precisely described procedures comes from a modern\n    research reconstruction of a traditional Finnish resin ointment. Spruce\n    resin was mixed with unsalted butter at a mass ratio of\n    <strong>1 : 3<\/strong> and heated with stirring at approximately\n    <strong>100 \u00b0C<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This example is valuable because it provides a specific ratio and\n    temperature. However, it represents a research-standardised reconstruction\n    and does not show that all historical Finnish or other European recipes\n    followed the same procedure.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Slovenian records describe more than simply \u201ccooking\u201d<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Slovenian ethnographic sources usually do not provide an exact temperature\n    or heating time, but they document <strong>individual preparation steps<\/strong>\n    quite well. Different field records mention cooking resin with fat and wax,\n    heating resinous material, straining, allowing sediment to settle and\n    applying preparations to cloth or paper.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    A record from Trenta in 1952, for example, describes a preparation made\n    from <strong>resin, tallow, wax, oil and spirit<\/strong> together with\n    plant ingredients, cooked as a mixture. Another preparation from So\u010da was\n    <strong>strained through cloth<\/strong> after cooking, while in Zapodnem\n    the <strong>sediment was allowed to settle<\/strong> after heating.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Ko\u010dar&#8217;s black ointment from Dolen\u010dice is documented as containing\n    <strong>cooked spruce resin with camphor and spirit<\/strong>, but this\n    record likewise does not specify a temperature or a complete heating\n    procedure.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical records can therefore often provide a fairly good picture of\n    the <strong>sequence of operations<\/strong> without supplying a\n    technologically precise modern protocol. Terms such as <em>cooked resin<\/em>,\n    <em>ointment<\/em> or <em>resin plaster<\/em> should therefore not be\n    converted into invented temperatures, times or proportions.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image case-image-overlay\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-1024x768.webp\" alt=\"Ethnographic field record from Trenta from 1952 on the preparation of a resin-based remedy\" class=\"wp-image-12057\" style=\"width:700px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-16x12.webp 16w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952-600x450.webp 600w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/etnografski-zapis-trenta-1952.webp 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Field record from Trenta from 1952 on the preparation of a resin-based remedy from resin, tallow, wax, oil and spirit; the type of resin is not specified in the record. Source: Slovene Ethnographic Museum.<\/strong><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"slovenski-recepti-in-zavbe-s-smrekovo-smolo\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Slovenian recipes and salves with spruce resin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Slovenian ethnographic sources reveal considerably more diversity than\n    the modern term \u201cspruce resin ointment\u201d might suggest. In some places\n    spruce resin was used directly, while elsewhere it was one ingredient in\n    <strong>ointments, plasters and other resin mixtures<\/strong>. The field\n    records of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum also show that such preparations\n    were not confined to a single part of Slovenia.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Spruce resin and ointments in the \u0160kofja Loka region<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Meta Sterle documents several different resin preparations from the\n    \u0160kofja Loka region. One record describes a mixture of\n    <strong>melted wax, resin, linseed oil and a small amount of animal\n    fat<\/strong>; another mentions melted honey with spruce resin, while the\n    direct use of spruce resin itself is also documented.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    A particularly interesting example is <strong>\u0160timc&#8217;s ointment<\/strong>\n    from \u017delezniki, prepared by Janez Petra\u010d \u2013 \u0160timovc. Informants recalled\n    that it definitely contained <strong>spruce resin, camphor and\n    marrow<\/strong>, while another plant ingredient was also mentioned but\n    cannot be reliably identified from the source. The complete recipe has\n    therefore not survived.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>A similar pattern in other parts of Slovenia<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Field records from the Slovene Ethnographic Museum extend this picture far\n    beyond the \u0160kofja Loka region. Gorice near Postojna records a mixture of\n    <strong>resin, butter and wax<\/strong>; Hrenovice records resin with oil\n    and beeswax; Dob records wax, bone marrow and resin; and Stav\u010da vas records\n    a plaster made from resin, wax and marrow.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    More complex preparations are recorded in Trenta and So\u010da, where cooked\n    resin mixtures included tallow or fat, wax, oil, bone marrow, spirit or\n    plant ingredients. The individual formulations differ, but the same basic\n    principle recurs in several places:\n    <strong>resinous material was heated and combined with a fatty or oily\n    base, often together with wax<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Ointment, plaster and pilpuh did not refer to one fixed formula<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    A particularly informative field record comes from Hrenovice in 1981.\n    The informant recalled that his mother made plasters by\n    <strong>\u201ccooking pilpuh or spruce resin, virh and two other\n    ingredients\u201d<\/strong>, placing the mixture on a linen cloth and applying\n    it to the painful area.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The record is also important for terminology: in Hrenovice,\n    <strong>pilpuh is directly associated with spruce resin<\/strong>. This\n    cannot be generalised to Slovenia as a whole. M\u00f6derndorfer uses related\n    terms such as <em>pilpoh<\/em>, <em>pilpah<\/em> and <em>pilpali<\/em>\n    elsewhere for fir and larch resins as well.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The same applies to traditional terms for ointments and plasters: they\n    describe a form or local name of a preparation rather than one fixed\n    chemical composition. Slovenian tradition therefore shows not one recipe\n    for spruce resin ointment, but <strong>multiple local formulations with\n    strikingly similar preparation principles<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image case-image-overlay\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-1024x739.webp\" alt=\"Field record from Hrenovice from 1981 about a plaster made with pilpuh or spruce resin\" class=\"wp-image-12147\" style=\"width:700px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-1024x739.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-300x216.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-768x554.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-1536x1108.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-599x432.webp 599w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1-17x12.webp 17w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SMOLA_257_SEM_00021011_1981_Hrenovice_Pilpuh_smrekova_smola_virh_revma_1.webp 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Field record from Hrenovice from 1981. The informant describes how his mother prepared \u201cpilpuh or spruce resin\u201d for plasters, together with virh and other ingredients, and applied the mixture to a linen cloth. Source: Slovene Ethnographic Museum, record by M. Makarovi\u010d, 1981.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"crna-smola-crna-zavba-in-kuhana-smola-ali-gre-za-isto-stvar\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Black resin, black salve and cooked resin \u2013 are they the same thing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    The terms <strong>black resin<\/strong>, <strong>black ointment<\/strong>\n    and <strong>cooked resin<\/strong> may appear alongside one another in\n    historical sources, but they do not necessarily describe the same\n    material. Colour and traditional naming alone do not reveal which resin\n    was used or how a preparation was produced.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Two black ointments \u2013 two different compositions<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    This is clearly illustrated by Meta Sterle&#8217;s material from the \u0160kofja\n    Loka region. Janez Poto\u010dnik \u2013 Krivar is associated with a\n    <strong>black ointment<\/strong> described as hard, shiny and very\n    strong-smelling. An informant remembered turnip water, \u201cvo\u0161enk\u201d, a\n    resinous substance obtained from a pharmacy, and probably animal fat.\n    The preparation was cooked for a long time, but the source\n    <strong>does not state that spruce resin formed its base<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    A different record concerns Ko\u010dar&#8217;s black ointment from Dolen\u010dice.\n    Here Sterle explicitly mentions <strong>cooked spruce resin, camphor\n    and spirit<\/strong>. Two preparations bearing similar names therefore\n    already have different documented compositions within the same regional\n    source.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>\u201cCooked resin\u201d is not automatically tar<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    The word <em>cooked<\/em> also needs to be interpreted carefully. Resin\n    could be heated simply to soften or liquefy it so that it could be mixed\n    with other ingredients. Such heating is not the same process as the\n    thermal decomposition of wood that produces tar-like materials.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical terms such as <em>Pech<\/em>, <em>pitch<\/em>,\n    <em>cooked resin<\/em> or <em>black resin<\/em> therefore cannot\n    automatically be translated as \u201ctar\u201d. To understand a particular record,\n    it is necessary to establish <strong>which raw material was used and\n    what process the source actually describes<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Dark colour is not a reliable indication of composition either. Resinous\n    material may darken through ageing, prolonged heating, additives or\n    impurities, while entirely different processes can also produce dark\n    materials from wood.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image case-image-overlay\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-1024x626.webp\" alt=\"Excerpt from Meta Sterle\u2019s article describing Krivar\u2019s black salve on page 90\" class=\"wp-image-12060\" style=\"width:700px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-1024x626.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-767x469.webp 767w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-300x183.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-18x11.webp 18w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90-599x366.webp 599w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sterle-crna-zavba-krivar-str-90.webp 1093w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption translation-block\"><strong>Description of Krivar\u2019s black salve from the folk tradition of the \u0160kofja Loka area. The record mentions a preparation cooked for a long time with turnip water, \u201cvo\u0161enek\u201d and probably animal fat; spruce resin is not explicitly mentioned. Source: Meta Sterle, <em>Ljudsko zdravilstvo na Lo\u0161kem<\/em>, <em>Lo\u0161ki razgledi<\/em> 37 (1990), p. 90.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"smolnak-in-smovnak-ko-priprava-smole-ni-bila-vec-navadno-mazilo\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Smolnak and smovnak \u2013 when resin preparation was no longer just an ordinary ointment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Alongside ointments, resin preparations and plasters, Slovenian tradition\n    also records materials known as <strong>smolnak<\/strong> and\n    <strong>smovnak<\/strong>. The names are similar, but they should not\n    automatically be treated as the same preparation. The sources primarily\n    indicate that these could be <strong>more extensively processed resinous\n    materials<\/strong>, produced by methods going beyond simply melting resin\n    with fat or wax.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Tonc&#8217;s smolnak from Sorica<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    The most detailed account concerns <strong>Tonc&#8217;s smolnak from\n    Sorica<\/strong>. Mira Omerzel-Terlep describes its preparation in a\n    special apparatus consisting of a military cooking pot, an earthenware\n    vessel and a tube through which liquid emerged during heating. One of the\n    known raw materials was <strong>spruce resin<\/strong>, while the complete\n    formulation cannot be established from the source.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The emerging liquid darkened on exposure to air and thickened after\n    cooling. This process is considerably different from simply mixing resin\n    with fat, oil or wax and shows that more complex forms of thermal\n    processing of resinous material were also known.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Smolnak and smovnak were not necessarily the same material<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Other Slovenian sources also use the term <strong>smovnak<\/strong>.\n    Their descriptions point to thermally or distillation-like processed\n    resinous materials, but there is not enough evidence to identify smovnak\n    with Tonc&#8217;s smolnak from Sorica. Similarity of names alone does not\n    establish an identical raw material, process or final product.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Smolnak cannot simply be equated with turpentine or tar<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Tonc&#8217;s method may resemble distillation, but the historical source does\n    not provide a temperature, the complete composition of the raw materials\n    or a chemical analysis of the resulting liquid. Smolnak therefore cannot\n    be identified without further evidence as <strong>turpentine, wood tar or\n    another modern chemically defined resin fraction<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Smolnak is important above all because it demonstrates the wide range of\n    traditional resin processing: from direct use and simple ointments to\n    resin preparations and plasters, as well as processes in which heating\n    also resulted in the <strong>separation of a liquid fraction<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image case-image-overlay\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1008\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133.webp\" alt=\"Description of how Tonc\u2019s smolnak from Sorica was prepared in a book by Mira Omerzel-Terlep\" class=\"wp-image-12063\" style=\"width:700px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133.webp 1008w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133-767x487.webp 767w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133-300x190.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133-18x11.webp 18w, https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/omerzel-toncov-smolnak-sorica-str-133-598x380.webp 598w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1008px) 100vw, 1008px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption translation-block\">Description of how Tonc\u2019s smolnak from Sorica was prepared. The source mentions a military mess tin, an earthenware pot and a tube through which liquid drained during cooking; spruce resin was among the known ingredients. Source: Mira Omerzel-Terlep, <em>Konji na\u0161e pravljice<\/em>, 1996, p. 133.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"kdo-je-bila-prezla-iz-lesc\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pre\u017ela from Lesce and the beginnings of Smrekovit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    The story of older resin preparations also includes\n    <strong>Pre\u017elja from Lesce<\/strong>. The name is not known only from the\n    Smrekovit family tradition. In her overview of folk medicine, ethnologist\n    Marija Makarovi\u010d refers to an earlier account by Fin\u017egar mentioning a\n    healer named Pre\u017elja who set a broken bone.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This older account is important because it shows that the name Pre\u017elja\n    had already been associated with local healing practice.\n    <strong>It does not, however, mention resin, black resin or a\n    recipe<\/strong>, so it cannot tell us what preparations this earlier\n    Pre\u017elja may have used.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Separate from this written trace is Ivo Konc&#8217;s own recollection from\n    Lesce. In an archival interview for Gorenjska TV from 2001, he says that\n    while dealing with his back problems he also used\n    <strong>resin at \u201cold Pre\u017ela&#8217;s\u201d<\/strong>. In the family recollection,\n    this preparation was remembered as a dark or black, sticky resinous\n    preparation.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Whether the Pre\u017elja known to Ivo was a direct descendant of the earlier\n    healer, or whether the name referred to a household, family or local\n    healing tradition, <strong>is not yet documented with sufficient\n    certainty<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ivo Konc o za\u010detkih Smrekovita (2001)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TlH9r5MKU14?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    <small>\n      <strong>Ivo Konc in an interview for Gorenjska TV, 2001.<\/strong>\n      In the interview, he speaks about resin at old Pre\u017ela&#8217;s in Lesce and\n      about the beginnings of the development of his own ointment.\n      <a href=\"\/en\/ivo-konc-gtv\/\">Read the full interview transcript.<\/a>\n    <\/small>\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>From Pre\u017elja to an independent development<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    In the same interview, Ivo says that he later made\n    <em>\u201csomething similar to Pre\u017ela\u201d<\/em>, but in a form that was no longer\n    black and sticky and was more practical to use.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This statement is important to the history of Smrekovit because it shows\n    directly that experience with an older resin preparation was one of the\n    starting points for his thinking. <strong>It does not mean that Ivo knew\n    or adopted Pre\u017elja&#8217;s exact recipe.<\/strong>\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The older written account of a healer named Pre\u017elja and Ivo&#8217;s\n    twentieth-century recollection should therefore be treated as two\n    interesting historical traces. A connection between them is a reasonable\n    research hypothesis, but without additional archival or genealogical\n    evidence it should not be presented as established fact.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"kako-so-smolo-pripravljali-drugod-po-svetu\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How was resin prepared in other parts of the world?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Resin preparations were not unique to Slovenia. Documented examples from\n    northern Europe, the Alpine region and North America show that different\n    peoples <strong>heated resin, mixed it with fats, selected it according\n    to age and consistency, and used it in many different forms<\/strong>.\n    This does not mean that the same recipe existed everywhere or that these\n    traditions necessarily developed from a common source.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <div class=\"smrekovit-table-scroll\">\n    <table>\n      <thead>\n        <tr>\n          <th>Region or tradition<\/th>\n          <th>Documented examples<\/th>\n          <th>Why it matters<\/th>\n        <\/tr>\n      <\/thead>\n      <tbody>\n        <tr>\n          <td>Northern Finland and Sweden<\/td>\n          <td>\n            Descriptions of homemade ointments record spruce resin being\n            cooked with butter or another animal fat.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            This is one of the best-documented European parallels to a spruce\n            resin ointment.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td>Alpine region<\/td>\n          <td>\n            Sources distinguish several different resinous materials. An\n            Austrian spruce resin preparation is also documented in which\n            resin was heated in hot water and the softened material filtered\n            through cloth.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            Terms such as Harz, Pech and Faulpech do not necessarily describe\n            the same material or process.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td>Ojibwe and other Great Lakes peoples<\/td>\n          <td>\n            Early ethnobotanical sources describe liquid balsams, cooked\n            pitch, the addition of tallow and resinous materials used as\n            bases for different preparations.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            Some of this material is medicinal, while other uses are entirely\n            technical, for example sealing and making objects.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n        <tr>\n          <td>Gwich\u2019in<\/td>\n          <td>\n            A modern community source clearly distinguishes old, hard spruce\n            resin used for chewing from fresh, sticky resin used for other\n            purposes.\n          <\/td>\n          <td>\n            Even within a single tradition, different states of resin were\n            not treated as the same material.\n          <\/td>\n        <\/tr>\n      <\/tbody>\n    <\/table>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <h3>Similar methods do not mean the same recipe<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Some practical patterns recur in widely separated regions: heating resin,\n    adding fat, removing mechanical impurities and selecting material\n    according to hardness or age. These similarities are interesting, but\n    they <strong>do not by themselves demonstrate a direct transfer of\n    knowledge between cultures<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Nor does every historical reference to \u201cresin\u201d mean spruce resin.\n    Different sources refer to spruce, pine, fir, larch and other conifers,\n    as well as natural resin, cooked pitch and other processed materials.\n    Historical recipes therefore need to be read with attention to the\n    <strong>tree species, state of the resin and method of preparation<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    A broader overview of the raw material and the differences between\n    resinous substances is available on the\n    <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-resin\/\">spruce resin<\/a> page.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"kaj-nam-tradicionalni-recepti-povedo-o-smrekovem-mazilu\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do traditional recipes tell us about spruce resin ointment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    When Slovenian, Nordic, Alpine and North American sources are viewed\n    together, one point becomes particularly clear:\n    <strong>traditional spruce resin ointment was not a single product with\n    one fixed recipe<\/strong>. Resin was used directly, heated, combined with\n    fats, oils or wax, and prepared as ointments, plasters and other resinous\n    preparations.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>A recurring method, not one fixed formula<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    This is particularly clear in Slovenian field records. Across different\n    places, <strong>resin, a fatty or oily base and wax<\/strong> recur in\n    different combinations. Some preparations also contained marrow,\n    camphor, spirit, honey or plant ingredients; mixtures could be cooked,\n    strained, allowed to settle or applied to cloth or paper.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    The common feature is therefore not one precise formula but\n    <strong>the adaptation of resinous material into a form suitable for\n    use<\/strong>. Consistency was modified, ingredients were combined in\n    different ways and different carriers were used according to local\n    practice and the intended form of the preparation.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>Historical did not mean uniform<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Even when a historical source explicitly mentions spruce resin, this does\n    not mean that the preparation was identical to another resin ointment\n    from a different place or period. The state and age of the resin,\n    heating method, added ingredients, proportions and final form could all\n    vary.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical sources therefore reveal not one \u201cauthentic recipe\u201d but\n    <strong>several traditions of preparation in which remarkably similar\n    technological principles recur<\/strong>. Today&#8217;s\n    <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-ointment\/\">spruce resin ointment<\/a> should be understood\n    as a modern preparation with its own development rather than as a direct\n    copy of any one historical formula.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"od-tradicionalnih-smolnih-pripravkov-do-smrekovita\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">From traditional resin preparations to Smrekovit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    Historical and ethnographic sources show that knowledge of resin in\n    Slovenia extended far beyond one recipe or one local tradition. Spruce\n    and other conifer resins were used directly and prepared as ointments,\n    plasters and other resin-based preparations using different ingredients\n    and methods.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    <strong>Smrekovit did not originate as a copy of one of these preserved\n    traditional recipes.<\/strong> Drawing on his knowledge of spruce resin,\n    experience with older resin preparations and his own development work,\n    Ivo Konc gradually created his own preparation, from which the family\n    story of Smrekovit later developed.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Traditional sources are therefore important primarily as a broader\n    historical context: they show that the use and preparation of resinous\n    materials in Slovenia was not an isolated phenomenon, while today&#8217;s\n    Smrekovit is the result of <strong>independent development<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    More about Ivo Konc, the beginnings in 1989 and the subsequent development\n    of the company through two generations can be found on the\n    <a href=\"\/en\/about-us\/\">About us \u2013 the Smrekovit story<\/a> page.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <h3>From resin in the forest to the finished product<\/h3>\n\n  <p>\n    Historical records show how varied older forms of resin preparation were.\n    The documentary film <strong>From Resin to Product<\/strong> shows how\n    spruce resin makes its journey at Smrekovit today.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"From resin to product\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7FDRx5WY5PQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n\n  <p>\n    <small>\n      <strong>From Resin to Product.<\/strong>\n      A Smrekovit documentary following the journey of spruce resin from the\n      forest to the finished product.\n    <\/small>\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    Today&#8217;s Smrekovit is therefore not presented as a preserved\n    \u201cancient recipe\u201d, but as <strong>a modern product with its own development,\n    rooted in long-standing knowledge and use of spruce resin<\/strong>.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    If you would like to learn about today&#8217;s spruce resin ointment, its\n    ingredients, different forms and use, continue to the\n    <a href=\"\/en\/spruce-ointment\/\">spruce resin ointment<\/a> page.\n  <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"pogosta-vprasanja-o-tradicionalnih-receptih-iz-smrekove-smole\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions about traditional spruce resin recipes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block\">\n  <div class=\"smrekovit-faq\">\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Is there one authentic traditional recipe for spruce resin ointment?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        No. Historical and ethnographic sources describe several different\n        resin preparations. They vary in the type and state of the resin,\n        added ingredients, proportions, heating method and final form.\n        Slovenian field records likewise document several local formulations,\n        so a single \u201coriginal\u201d recipe for spruce resin ointment cannot be\n        identified.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>What ingredients were traditionally added to resin?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        Slovenian ethnographic records mention various animal fats or tallow,\n        butter, wax and oils, as well as bone marrow, camphor, spirit, honey\n        and plant ingredients. In several regions, resin repeatedly appears\n        together with a fatty or oily base and wax, but the formulations were\n        not uniform.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>What did pilpoh or pilpuh mean?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        The term did not have the same meaning everywhere. In the \u0160kofja Loka\n        region, pilpoh is associated with spruce resin, while a 1981 field\n        record from Hrenovice even states \u201cpilpuh or spruce resin\u201d. In other\n        Slovenian sources, related terms also refer to fir and larch resins.\n        Their meaning therefore has to be established from the specific local\n        context.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>What does \u201ccooked resin\u201d mean in historical sources?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        The expression alone does not define a precise process. It may refer\n        to heating resin to soften it and combine it with other ingredients,\n        or to more prolonged thermal processing of a resin preparation.\n        Slovenian records also describe straining, allowing mixtures to settle\n        and applying preparations to cloth or paper. \u201cCooked resin\u201d therefore\n        cannot automatically be identified with tar.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Are black resin and black ointment the same thing?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        Not necessarily. Meta Sterle alone describes different black ointments\n        with different compositions. One does not explicitly identify spruce\n        resin, while Ko\u010dar&#8217;s black ointment is documented as containing cooked\n        spruce resin, camphor and spirit. Dark colour alone therefore does not\n        identify the resin species or method of preparation.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Were smolnak and smovnak the same preparation?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        The sources do not allow this to be established reliably. Tonc&#8217;s\n        smolnak from Sorica is described in detail as a preparation involving\n        spruce resin and an apparatus from which liquid emerged during\n        heating. The term smovnak also appears elsewhere, but similarity of\n        names does not establish the same raw material, process or final\n        product.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Who was Pre\u017elja from Lesce?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        An older written source cited by ethnologist Marija Makarovi\u010d mentions\n        a healer named Pre\u017elja in connection with setting a broken bone, but\n        does not mention resin. Separately, Ivo Konc later recalled a resin\n        preparation used by \u201cold Pre\u017ela\u201d in Lesce. Whether these references\n        represent the same family, person or local healing tradition is not\n        yet documented with sufficient certainty.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Were resin ointments used only in Slovenia?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        No. Related traditions of resin ointments and other resin preparations\n        are documented in northern Europe, the Alpine region and North\n        America. Tree species, the state of the resin, additional ingredients\n        and preparation methods varied, so these traditions should not be\n        treated as one common recipe.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Is today&#8217;s Smrekovit made according to an old recipe?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        Not as a direct copy of one preserved historical formula. Ivo Konc was\n        familiar with older uses of spruce resin and gradually developed his\n        own preparation through his own experience. Today&#8217;s Smrekovit therefore\n        has its own development history.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n    <details>\n      <summary>Are these historical recipes instructions for making an ointment at home?<\/summary>\n      <p>\n        No. Historical records often lack exact proportions, temperatures,\n        heating times or complete identification of all ingredients. They are\n        presented here as documentation of traditional preparation methods,\n        not as a modern standardised manufacturing procedure.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/details>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"translation-block article-footer-meta\">\n\n  <p>\n    <strong>Author:<\/strong> Matic Konc<br>\n    <strong>Updated:<\/strong> 23 September 2026\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p>\n    This article is based on historical, ethnographic and scientific sources.\n    Traditional accounts are presented as documentation of past practices,\n    preserving the original terminology, local differences and the limits of\n    what each source actually records.\n  <\/p>\n\n  <p><strong>Main sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n  <ul>\n    <li>\n      Slovene Ethnographic Museum (SEM), field records on folk medicine,\n      1949\u20131983. For this article, 1,252 transcribed field records were\n      systematically reviewed; 29 were selected as directly or supportively\n      relevant to resin and resin preparations. Original handwritten records\n      were also checked for selected material.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Meta Sterle, <em>Ljudsko zdravilstvo na Lo\u0161kem<\/em>,\n      <em>Lo\u0161ki razgledi<\/em> 37 (1990), no. 1.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Vinko M\u00f6derndorfer,\n      <em>Ljudska medicina pri Slovencih: etnografsko-historijski pregled<\/em>,\n      1964.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Mira Omerzel-Terlep, <em>Konji na\u0161e pravljice<\/em>, 1996,\n      chapter \u201c\u010cude\u017eni smolnak\u201d, pp. 131\u2013136.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Mojca Ram\u0161ak, \u201cUporaba smole in drugih delov iglavcev v ljudski\n      medicini in gospodarstvu na Slovenskem\u201d, in:\n      Meta Remec (ed.), <em>Gozd in ljudje \u2013 razmerja in zgodovina<\/em>,\n      Ljubljana, 2023, pp. 159\u2013189.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Marija Makarovi\u010d,\n      <em>Zdravstvena kultura agrarnega prebivalstva v 19. stoletju<\/em>,\n      especially pp. 481\u2013488 and 501\u2013503.\n      The reference to Pre\u017elja in this source is based on an earlier account\n      by Fin\u017egar.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Goels, T., Eichenauer, E., Langeder, J. et al. (2020).\n      \u201cNorway Spruce Balm: Phytochemical Composition and Ability to Enhance\n      Re-epithelialization In Vitro.\u201d <em>Planta Medica<\/em>.\n      DOI: 10.1055\/a-1141-0921.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Rautio, M. et al. (2007).\n      \u201cAntibacterial effects of home-made resin salve from Norway spruce\n      (Picea abies).\u201d <em>APMIS<\/em> 115: 335\u2013340.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Sipponen, A. (2013).\n      <em>Coniferous resin salve, ancient and effective treatment for chronic wounds?<\/em>\n      Doctoral dissertation, University of Helsinki.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Jokinen, J. J. &amp; Sipponen, A. (2016).\n      \u201cRefined Spruce Resin to Treat Chronic Wounds: Rebirth of an Old\n      Folkloristic Therapy.\u201d <em>Advances in Wound Care<\/em> 5: 198\u2013207.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Smith, H. H.,\n      <em>Ethnobotany of the Menomini Indians<\/em> (1923),\n      <em>Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians<\/em> (1932), and\n      <em>Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians<\/em> (1933).\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Gwich\u2019in Social &amp; Cultural Institute,\n      \u201cSpruce\u201d, community material documenting traditional Gwich\u2019in\n      knowledge and uses of spruce.\n    <\/li>\n\n    <li>\n      Ivo Konc, interview for Gorenjska TV, 2001.\n      <a href=\"\/en\/ivo-konc-gtv\/\">Full interview transcript<\/a>.\n    <\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is no single traditional recipe for spruce resin ointment. Historical and ethnographic sources describe different ways of preparing spruce resin in ointments. On this page, we compare documented recipes, their ingredients and preparation methods, and distinguish historically attested practices from later simplified recipes.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12048,"parent":1147,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12046","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12046"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12162,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12046\/revisions\/12162"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smrekovit.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}