Serbian cuisine

Serbian cuisine is derived from mixed traditions, mostly influenced by Mediterranean (especially Greek), Hungarian and Turkish.

Most people in Serbia will have three meals daily, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with lunch being the largest. However, traditionally, only lunch and dinner existed, with breakfast being introduced in the second half of 19th century.

A number of meals which are simply bought in the West, are often made at home in Serbia; jam, jelly, various pickled food, notably sauerkraut (kiseli kupus - pickled cabbage), ajvar and even sausages. The reasons for this is mainly cultural. Food preparation is a strong part of the Serbian family tradition.

Here, some typical meals of Serbian cuisine will be presented.

Meals

Breakfast

Breakfast in Serbia is an early but hearty meal. Tea, milk or strong coffee is served, pastries or bread are served with butter, jam, yoghurt, sour cream and cheese, accompanied by bacon, sausages, ham, scrambled eggs and kajmak.

• Burek
• Kačamak (also Cicvara) - a type of polenta
• Popara
• Proja/Kukuruza (cornbread)
• Various sandwiches
• Bread with something:
  • Bread, (often butter) and honey
  • Bread, (often butter) and jam
  • Bread, lard and sugar

Barbecue

Barbecue is very popular in Serbia, and makes the primary offer of main courses in most restaurants. It is often eaten as fast food.

• Pljeskavica (hamburger)
• Ćevapi (small kebabs)
• Vešalica
• Mućkalica (mixed meat)
• Various sausages
• Mixed meat (mešano meso) is used in restaurants to refer to a portion which has a bit of everything.

Soups

Soups are the most frequent first course in Serbian cuisine. The most common are simple pottages made of beef or poultry with added noodles. The one that could be pointed out is fish soup (riblja čorba); though not eaten most often, there are popular competitions in preparation.

Main course

• Punjene paprike (stuffed peppers)
• Pečenje (roasted meat: pork, lamb, goat or rarely ox)
• Gulaš
• Đuveč
• Karadjordje's steak (Karađorđeva šnicla)
• Moussaka (musaka)
• Paprikaš (stew)
  • Bećar paprikaš
• Pihtije
• Podvarak
• Sarma
• Noodles with poppy (rezanci s makom)
• Wedding cabbage (svadbarski kupus)
• Various simple meals (beans, peas, steaks...)
• Various meals of fish

Meat products

• Cracklings (čvarci)
• Bacon (slanina)
• Various hams:
  • Njeguški pršut
• Various sausages:
  • Kulen

Dairy Products

• Kajmak
• Yoghurt
• Pavlaka (Sour Cream)
• Caciocavallo cheese (Kačkavalj)

Bread and Porridges

Bread is the basis of Serbian meals and it is often treated almost ritually. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer the guest with just bread and salt; bread also plays an importrant role in religious rituals. Some people believe that it is sinful to throw away bread regardless of how old it is. Although pasta, rice, potato and similar side dishes did enter the everyday cuisine, many Serbs still eat bread with these meals.

In most bakeries and shops, white wheat bread loafs (typically 600 grams) are sold. In modern times, black bread and various graham bread variations regain popularity as a part of more healthy diets. In many rural households, bread is still baked in ovens, usually in bigger loafs. Also, the following breads and porridges are part of the traditional cuisine:

• Somun (also lepinja)
• Soda bread (pogača)
• Kačamak (also Cicvara) - a type of polenta
• Popara
• Languš

Pies

• Burek
• Proja
• Gibanica
• Savijača
• Bundevara(Pumpkin pie)

Salads

• Ajvar
• Ljutenica
• Urnebes
• Russian salad (ruska salata)
• Serbian salad (srpska salata)
• Shop salad (šopska salata)
• Various simple salads (lettuce, cabbage, sauerkraut, beetroot, tomato, cucumber, carrot, potato...)

Sweets

• Baklava
• Compote (kompot)
• Doughnut (krofne)
• Jam (pekmez)
• Jelly (slatko)
• Kitnikez
• Makovnjača
• Palacinke (crapes)
• Šnenokle (egg pudding)
• Strudel (štrudla)
• Tufahije
• Tulumbe
• Vanilice
• Various cakes

Ritual

• Česnica
• Koljivo
• Slavski kolač, prepared for slavas.

Drinks

Non-alcoholic

High quality and quantity of fruit and abundance of water result in a number of high-quality fruit juices and mineral waters produced in Serbia, and being among its most widely known exports. There are few domestic carbonated soft drinks however. An interesting traditional soft drink, made from corn, now less commonly consumed is boza. Kvas is also being made by some breweries.

Of hot drinks, Turkish coffee is widely used, and traditionally drank in visitations. Tea is far less popular and mostly herbal teas are consumed, drunk on their own or as supplementary medicine.

Of dairies, yoghurt is common, as are kefir and similar varieties.

The famous Serbian Knjaz Milos mineral water is constantly used in meals of all kinds.

Alcoholic

Beer is enjoyed in Serbia, which has 14 breweries (see Beer in Serbia and Montenegro). However, the traditional Serbian drink is wine.

Of distilled beverages, the most popular are various fruit brandies called rakija. One of the rakija types, Shljivovitz (plum brandy)is an original Serbian brandy, later copied by many neighbouring nations. Comparatively many people brew their own rakija, which is highly prized by friends and relatives. Various kinds of rakija are named after fruit they are made of; among the most known ones are:

• Šljivovica (slivovitz, plum brandy), Serbian national drink
• Lozovača (grape brandy)
• Viljamovka / Kruskovaca (peer brandy)
• Jabukovaca (applejack)
• Stomaklija

Also Pelinkovac, (a wormwood liqueur milder than Absinthe) has been populary for many years.

Kitchenware

Sač

Some specific kitchenware for Serbia are:

• Đuveč
• Sač

See also

• Serbian culture