Croatian cuisine

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Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as a cuisine of the regions since every region has its own distinct culinary traditions. Its roots date back to ancient times and the differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with neighboring cultures - Hungarian, Austrian and Turkish, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika, and garlic. The coastal region bears the influences of the Greek, Roman and Illyrian, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine - Italian (especially Venetian) and French, using olive oil, and herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, bayleaf, oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, lemon and orange rind. Peasant cooking traditions are based on imaginative variations of several basic ingredients (cereals, dairy products, meat, fish, vegetables) and cooking procedures (stewing, grilling, roasting, baking), while bourgeois cuisine involves more complicated procedures and use of selected herbs and spices. Charcuterie is part of Croatian tradition in all regions. Food and recipes from former Yugoslav countries are also popular in Croatia.

Croatian cuisine can be divided into a few regional cuisines (Istria, Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, Lika, Gorski Kotar, Zagorje, Međimurje, Podravina, Slavonija) which all have their specific cooking traditions, characteristic for the area and not necessarily well known in other parts of Croatia. Most dishes, however, can be found all across the country, with local variants. This is also why the varied cuisine of Croatia is called "cuisine of the regions".

Typical food delicacies

Dalmatian ham with olives

Meat and game

Croatian meat based dishes include:

  • Ražnjići (skewers)
  • Meso s tiblice pork ham from Međimurje county
  • Janjetina - roasted lamb garnished with Mediterranean herbs
  • Odojak - roasted pork
  • Fresh game from Dalmatia
  • Visovačka begavica
  • Veal steaks stuffed with ham and cheese and grilled with breadcrumbs
  • Turkey with mlinci (flat, sour dumplings)
  • Kaninchenbraten
  • Leg of lamb à la Pašticada (rolled pieces of Pršut in white wine sauce)
  • Leg of venison the count's way
  • Wild duck with sauce

Seafood

Lobster from Dalmatia

Croatian seafood dishes include:

  • Squids - Croatian: lignje, Italian: calamari, grilled, fried or stuffed
  • Octopus salad - Croatian: salata od hobotnice
  • Cuttlefish risotto - Croatian: Crni rižot, Italian: Risotto nero
  • Tuna
  • Shrimps - Croatian: škampi, Italian: scampi
  • Common mussels - Croatian: dagnje
  • Salted Cod with potatoes - Croatian bakalar na bijelo (Dubrovnik, Dalmatia and Istria)
  • Fish stew - Croatian brodet or brudet (Dubrovnik and Dalmatia), Italian brodetto
  • Clams
  • Sea spider salad
  • Breaded catfish or carp
  • Grilled sardines or other fish (na gradele)
  • Buzara or Buzzara (shellfish sautéed in garlic, olive oil, parsley & white wine)
  • Date shells or prstaci are part of the traditional cuisine, but in the 20th century their extraction was banned as a measure of ecological protection

Stews

Goulash is very popular in most parts of Croatia
  • Goulash (Croatian: gulaš, see also Hungarian gulyás)
  • Grah - bean stew (often done as 'grah sa zeljem' - with sauerkraut, or 'grah sa kiselom repom' - with pickled turnip strings)
  • Varivo od mahuna - green beans stew
  • Riblji paprikaš - also called fiš-paprikaš (spicy fish stew from Slavonia, see also Hungarian halászlé)
  • Slavonska riblja čorba (fish stew from Slavonia)
  • Brudet (or Brodet) - fish stew
  • Chicken stew
  • Rabbit goulash
  • Ričet
  • Istrian stew (Jota)
  • Game Čobanac (Shepherd's Stew)
  • Feines Venison goulash with prunes
  • Hunter's stew
  • Wine goulash
  • Sauerkraut stew
  • Zelena menestra - traditional cabbage and meat dish - Dubrovnik and surrounding area
  • Pašticada - Dalmatian beef stew with prunes and dried figs
  • Tripe stew (tripice, fileki)

Pasta

Žganci is made from maize, wheat or buckwheat flour, water, cooking oil and salt
  • Žganci - cornmeal dish in Slovenian and Northern Croatian cuisine, also known as Polenta (palenta, pura) in Istria and Dalmatia
  • Gnocchi, often served with Pašticada or goulash.
  • Fuži is a sort of pasta from Istria.
  • Needle macaroni
  • štrukli - baked or cooked filled pastry from Zagorje, Zagreb area.
  • Krpice sa zeljem - pasta with stewed cabbage
  • Šporki makaruli - traditional pasta with cinnamon flavored meat sauce, from Dubrovnik and surrounding area

Soups

Side dishes

Other

White Truffles from Istria
Croatian style Punjena Paprika/stuffed peppers
Cheese škripavac

Sausages and ham

Cheese (sir)

Pogača bread

Savoury pies

Pastry

Savijača or Štrudla with apple
Orehnjača variation of Nut Roll
Crêpes, in Croatia also known as Palačinke
Međimurska gibanica

Sweets and desserts

Cakes (kolači)

Drinks

Wines

Main article: Croatian wine

Croatia has two main wine regions: Continental (Kontinetalna) and Coastal (Primorska), which includes the islands. Each of the main regions is divided into sub-regions which are divided yet further into smaller vinogorje, (literally wine hills) and districts. Altogether, there are more than 300 geographically-defined wine-producing areas in Croatia. In parts of Croatia, wine, either red or white, is sometimes consumed mixed in approximately equal proportions with water.[citation needed]

Dessert wines

Beers (pivo)

Velebitsko pivo, beer from Croatia

Apart from the great abundance of imported international beers (Heineken, Tuborg, Gösser, Stella Artois, etc.), you will find some tasty home-brewn beers in Croatia. (Real fans need to know that the brewery in Split produces Bavarian Kaltenberg beer by licence of the original brewery in Germany.)

Liqueurs and spirits

A bottle of Maraschino liqueur.

Coffee

Croatia is a country of coffee drinkers (on average 5kg per person annually), not only because it was formerly part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, but also because it bordered the former Ottoman Empire. Traditional coffee houses similar to those in Vienna are located throughout Croatia.

Mineral water

Regarding its water resources, Croatia has a leading position in Europe. Concerning water quality, Croatian water is greatly appreciated all over the world. Due to a lack of established industries there have also been no major incidents of water pollution.

Juices and syrups

  • Dona
  • Vindija juices – Vindi sokovi
  • Cedevita - sherbet [3]

See also

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Portal icon Food portal


References

  1. ^ http://www.maraska.hr/engleski/e_uvoden.html
  2. ^ http://www.badel1862.hr/en_default.asp
  3. ^ http://www.cedevita.hr/en/fullscreen.html

Further reading

External links

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