What to eat Bulgaria? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Soups are numerous and delicious. In summer, the favorite soup of Bulgarians is tarator - a cold yogurt and cucumber soup flavored with garlic, dill and nuts. The popular tripe soup(shkembe chorba) - with chilli and garlic - is said to be a remedy for hangovers. There are also soups made with white beans and finely spiced tomatoes(bob chorba), nettles(koprivena) or mushrooms(gubena supa).

The appetizers are called mezeta (from the Arabic mezze) and are served both hot and cold. Cheeses such as sirene, similar to feta, made from sheep's or cow's milk, and kachkaval, a cooked cheese similar to cheddar, are eaten. As for the cold cuts, you can enjoy lukanka, a slightly flat sausage flavored with cumin and pepper, orelenski but, a variety of raw ham produced in the north of the country. Pastarma (dried beef) and soudjouk (spicy beef sausage) complete the list.

Among the most popular salads are chopska (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, grated siren), snejanka (drained yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill), ovcharska (similar to chopska with hard-boiled eggs and ham) or vine leaves(lozovi sarmi), not to mention salted vegetables in vinegar(turšija). There are many vegetable dips: lyutenitsa (tomato, red bell pepper and carrot puree) or its spicy version(ljutika), mish-mash (tomato-onion-pepper confit with siren), and kyopulu (eggplant and bell pepper caviar).

Among the various hot appetizers, the most emblematic are chushki burek (peppers stuffed with breaded sirene), drob s luk (liver sautéed with onions), katino meze (fried pork cubes with mushrooms and leeks) and finally pane kachkaval/pane sirene (breaded sticks of kachkaval or sirene) Finally, many savory pastries are often served hot, such as banitsa made of filo pastry and fresh cheese or zelnik, a kind of puff pastry filled with spinach, sirene or leeks.

A wide range of grills are available, starting with kebapche (elongated croquettes of delicately spiced minced meat), kyufte (meatballs with chopped onions and parsley), shishcheta (marinated meat and vegetable skewers), karnache (rolled sausage) or parjola (pork, veal or chicken ribs).

Traditional Bulgarian dishes are simmered or baked for a long time in terracotta dishes. These include gyuvech (a kind of ratatouille with or without meat), yahniya (a stew made from potatoes and meat), kavarma (a chicken or pork stew in tomato sauce with vegetables). The kyufteta po chirpanski are one of the meatballs in sauce with potatoes.

Stuffed vegetables are most often made with minced meat and rice. They can for example be prepared with cabbage(zelevi sarmi) or peppers(pulneni chushki). As Bulgarian cuisine is mainly seasonal, winter dishes are heavier, such as pork with cabbage(svinsko sas zele) or white beans(svinsko s bob).

On the pastry side, there are many desserts of oriental origin, all soaked in syrup, such as baklava (nut puffs), kadaif (angel hair and dried fruit puffs) or tulumbi (churro-shaped fritters). There are more classic cakes such as garash, a sponge cake with nuts and chocolate, or tikvenik, a puff pastry with pumpkin puree. In winter, Bulgarians eat kompot (fruit in syrup), usually homemade. Mekitsa - small pancakes with cottage cheese - is also served with fruit puree. During the holiday season, nozunak, a brioche with raisins, rum and citrus peel, is popular.

Of course, how can we not mention the Bulgarian yogurt, known all over the world for its unique taste thanks to its lactic ferment, Lactobacillius bulgarius , which transforms milk into yogurt? The taste is far from a French yogurt and it is closer to a rich faisselle. Yogurt is also used in the production ofaryan, a cool drink that is very popular in summer. Boza is a fermented and sweetened drink made from barley or millet, quite consistent, which is appreciated in winter. Finally, tea has an important place in Bulgaria, although the term is vague and also includes herbal teas (chamomile, sage, lime, verbena, etc.).

In the Balkan Peninsula, the first traces of viticulture date back to the ^4th-3rd centuries BC. If the Bulgarian weather and soil seem favorable to the wine culture, history does not hear it so. The Ottoman domination will put a brake on the wine exploitation on a local scale, and it will be necessary to wait until 1918 for the domains to develop significantly, then the collectivization of the communist regime will not encourage a quality production. The 1970s finally saw the emergence of wineries with well-made wines.

We can mention five wine regions: the Danube hillsides, the Black Sea region, the Valley of the Roses, the Valley of the Thracians and finally the Valley of the Strouma. Both red and white wines are produced. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Aligoté and Riesling, there are many local grape varieties: Misket, Gamza, Pamid, Dimiat, Ugni Blanc, Mavroud, Rkaciteli and Shiroka Melnishka

In addition to wine, Bulgaria produces other alcoholic beverages, the most popular of which is rakija, a fruit brandy that is unmatched in the Balkans. The plum-based one(slivova) has a richer and more delicate aroma than the one obtained from grapes(grozdova), which is drier and more full-bodied. It is not a digestive or an aperitif in itself, it is drunk throughout the meal, especially with shopska salad. At Christmas, we drink greyana, a warm rakija flavored with honey. Otherwise you can also try rose or cherry liqueurs. Bulgarians are serious beer lovers and among the best known brands are Zagorka, Kamenitza and Shumensko.