Serbian food
Sunday, February 3, 2008 5:49:28 PM
Few people from my friends list wanted me to make this post for some time now, but I couldn`t find the time and patience to make it earlier; the reason is that I was so busy and tired.
But, now here it is. Enjoy
Serbian cuisine is specific for this part of Europe and during ages adopted some influences from other surrounding countries. In the north it is easy to recognize some Hungarian meals and in the south a lot of Turkish. Serbian food is strong, based on meat mostly and the produces of milk – cheese, kaymak and other varieties of sour cream. Fish too. I will try, in short, to represent some of the most common meals that we eat here.
Cheese may vary in taste and shape from north to south of Serbia. It can be found various types, from soft creamy sremski cheese to hard ones like sjenica cheese. They are salt, fat and piquant mostly.
Some sources say that kaymak is made only in Mongolia and Serbia, but I know it can be found in Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey too. According to Wikipedia, kaymak could be described as "a creamy dairy product, similar to clotted cream" and this is the best explanation for someone who has never tasted it. Here it is enogh just to say kaymak and everyone will know what are you talking about. The best way to consume it is with dried meat or with chevapchichi (I always laugh when I see this word written this way). When you take a look at the photo, kajmak is that yellow thing
Almost every lunch we start with some kind of soup – chicken, beef, fish, lamb, with vegetables. There is one I prefer – veal cream soup
Grilled meat is one of favourite way of preparing it.
It is made of pork and beef meat, chopped to tiny pieces, mixed with spices, but this can vary from place to place. Very tasteful, usually served with lot of onion and bread. If you find yourself somewhere in Balkan (south of Serbia or Bosnia) it is my recommendation.
The most famous are chevapchichi (
) and pljeskavica, but if you need a lot of meat, you can just order plate with mixed grilled meat, like in picture below.
Serbian cuisine could not be imagined without sarma and prebranac. Sarma is made from chopped beef and pork meat, rolled into the pickled cabbage leaf, then cooked. The size of one sarma is usually from 5 to 15cm, depending on what you prefer. It is fat and strong food, usual for a winter.
Prebranac is cooked white beans, the most common recipe says it is white beans, a lot of onion, salt, pepper, dry grinded paprika and oil. It is usual to put some sausages too. It can be served warm or cold.
Usual way to prepare beans is to cook it, add some bacon or dried ribs, onion, garlic, carrots and tomato sauce.
In Serbia, salads are served as an addition to the main meal, and there are various kinds – plain ones as pickled or fresh cabbage, pickled cucumbers, cooked red beet, tomato, to mixed ones such as serbian salad (tomato, cucumber and onion with oil and salt and hot paprika)
or shopska salad (the same as previous but with white brine cheese).
Cakes we usually eat are very sweet, with lots of nuts, cream or fruits. There are a lot of kinds, too much to mention all, some of them are traditional Serbian, others are of Turkish or central Europe origin. I will just put few photos of them
It is usual to have a strong alcoholic drink at the beginning of a meal, usually with appetizer. Typically it will be some kind of rakija, colourless alcoholic beverage primarily made of distilled fermented fruits: plums, apples, pears, quinces or grape.
After the lunch there are red or white wine or beer.
There is something I almost forgot: burek and gibanica. Burek are dough layers stuffed with meat or cheese but could be also made with apples.
Gibanica is a Serbian phyllo pastry dish, made with Serbian white cheese, less common with other cheeses. There were times when I couldn`t imagine my breakfast without one of these. Best served with yoghurt
***************************************************************
At first, I tried to make this post bigger but got myself stuck in a too much details.Then, I decided to rearrange it, although I am sure that I have probably forgot some dishes. I hope that you enjoyed. If you are interested more in Serbian cuisine visit this article in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_food
But, now here it is. Enjoy

Serbian cuisine is specific for this part of Europe and during ages adopted some influences from other surrounding countries. In the north it is easy to recognize some Hungarian meals and in the south a lot of Turkish. Serbian food is strong, based on meat mostly and the produces of milk – cheese, kaymak and other varieties of sour cream. Fish too. I will try, in short, to represent some of the most common meals that we eat here.
Cheese may vary in taste and shape from north to south of Serbia. It can be found various types, from soft creamy sremski cheese to hard ones like sjenica cheese. They are salt, fat and piquant mostly.
Some sources say that kaymak is made only in Mongolia and Serbia, but I know it can be found in Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey too. According to Wikipedia, kaymak could be described as "a creamy dairy product, similar to clotted cream" and this is the best explanation for someone who has never tasted it. Here it is enogh just to say kaymak and everyone will know what are you talking about. The best way to consume it is with dried meat or with chevapchichi (I always laugh when I see this word written this way). When you take a look at the photo, kajmak is that yellow thing

Almost every lunch we start with some kind of soup – chicken, beef, fish, lamb, with vegetables. There is one I prefer – veal cream soup

Grilled meat is one of favourite way of preparing it.
It is made of pork and beef meat, chopped to tiny pieces, mixed with spices, but this can vary from place to place. Very tasteful, usually served with lot of onion and bread. If you find yourself somewhere in Balkan (south of Serbia or Bosnia) it is my recommendation.
The most famous are chevapchichi (
) and pljeskavica, but if you need a lot of meat, you can just order plate with mixed grilled meat, like in picture below.
Serbian cuisine could not be imagined without sarma and prebranac. Sarma is made from chopped beef and pork meat, rolled into the pickled cabbage leaf, then cooked. The size of one sarma is usually from 5 to 15cm, depending on what you prefer. It is fat and strong food, usual for a winter.
Prebranac is cooked white beans, the most common recipe says it is white beans, a lot of onion, salt, pepper, dry grinded paprika and oil. It is usual to put some sausages too. It can be served warm or cold.
Usual way to prepare beans is to cook it, add some bacon or dried ribs, onion, garlic, carrots and tomato sauce.
In Serbia, salads are served as an addition to the main meal, and there are various kinds – plain ones as pickled or fresh cabbage, pickled cucumbers, cooked red beet, tomato, to mixed ones such as serbian salad (tomato, cucumber and onion with oil and salt and hot paprika)
or shopska salad (the same as previous but with white brine cheese).
Cakes we usually eat are very sweet, with lots of nuts, cream or fruits. There are a lot of kinds, too much to mention all, some of them are traditional Serbian, others are of Turkish or central Europe origin. I will just put few photos of them

It is usual to have a strong alcoholic drink at the beginning of a meal, usually with appetizer. Typically it will be some kind of rakija, colourless alcoholic beverage primarily made of distilled fermented fruits: plums, apples, pears, quinces or grape.
After the lunch there are red or white wine or beer.
There is something I almost forgot: burek and gibanica. Burek are dough layers stuffed with meat or cheese but could be also made with apples.
Gibanica is a Serbian phyllo pastry dish, made with Serbian white cheese, less common with other cheeses. There were times when I couldn`t imagine my breakfast without one of these. Best served with yoghurt

***************************************************************
At first, I tried to make this post bigger but got myself stuck in a too much details.Then, I decided to rearrange it, although I am sure that I have probably forgot some dishes. I hope that you enjoyed. If you are interested more in Serbian cuisine visit this article in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_food








1 2 3 Next »
Attila attilasoul # Sunday, February 3, 2008 6:53:10 PM
Thank you for this post, it was very interesting. I am amazed at how much meat you eat. That plate with meat is really huge!
MarcusFXM256 # Sunday, February 3, 2008 7:23:14 PM
Christopher DaSilvadannii # Sunday, February 3, 2008 7:57:20 PM
Nice post. Man I'd love to visit the Balkan and all of those places.
I'm hungry now!
Spaggyj # Sunday, February 3, 2008 8:39:18 PM
Darkogdare # Sunday, February 3, 2008 9:37:31 PM
@Marcus - thank you, you can take some of it, there is more than I can eat
@Dannii - I know that down there in Argentina is a good barbecue, right? my cousin was there two years ago
@Kimmie - what do you like the most of what you have seen there? I can tell you what it is
EricCedarFox # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:05:38 PM
Darkogdare # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:08:46 PM
Martin Ouellettemartinouellette # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:15:55 PM
Looks all good, I like to try food from all around the world always.
Nice post with all the pictures, a lot of work!
EricCedarFox # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:16:30 PM
Spaggyj # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:18:09 PM
Christopher DaSilvadannii # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:24:11 PM
I particulary LOVE cow brains, but this year I realised people find it odd
Martin Ouellettemartinouellette # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:27:38 PM
Darkogdare # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:29:14 PM
@Martin - thanks, I have lost few hours in a two days and then had to make it all over again - too many details, unnecessary for this purpose...
Darkogdare # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:31:33 PM
Martin Ouellettemartinouellette # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:40:17 PM
Only thing I eat is the heart of a freshly killed virgin doe...
I take a bite like the natives do after the killing.
-Nah.. kidding.-
But I do eat it (cooked) thin slices in some butter, salt and pepper. A cold beer, some friends. Perfect.
Fresh it's really good.
Darkogdare # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:42:41 PM
Martin Ouellettemartinouellette # Sunday, February 3, 2008 10:56:48 PM
that's it, too much now.
6 pm here.
*going down for dinner*
MichelleCapegirl # Monday, February 4, 2008 7:59:47 AM
Spaggyj # Monday, February 4, 2008 8:31:40 AM
Darkogdare # Monday, February 4, 2008 11:51:55 AM
@Kimmie - ill? how?
Spaggyj # Monday, February 4, 2008 2:18:42 PM
Darkogdare # Monday, February 4, 2008 7:13:21 PM
Martin Ouellettemartinouellette # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 1:12:50 AM
MichelleCapegirl # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 4:02:28 AM
catnip darks, catnip! *he forgot?* *drug blackout*?
me too the bread, darko. wheat intolerant.
Darkogdare # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 5:40:56 AM
MichelleCapegirl # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 9:11:28 AM
i use rice noodles instead of wheat and eat gluten free bread made with a mixture of other flours. it's not easy to mimic what wheat flour brings to bread though. i'm also a bit lactose intolerant, but am ok if i have small amounts and boil the milk first.
Bojanrolling_thunder # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 11:44:39 AM
Attila attilasoul # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 11:59:01 AM
Darkogdare # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 3:42:06 PM
@Bojan - well, I think you know what I was talking about here
@Tilla - dumplings filled with plums; I like them, too
r♡serose-marie # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 9:48:00 PM
Is prebranac something like pasulj (sorry, don't know how to spell it)?
My favourite rakije is pear
VesnaVecana # Tuesday, February 5, 2008 9:53:13 PM
All that dishes, mmmm... and you cooked it all by yourself.
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 5:38:42 AM
@Vesna - yes, probably I cook better than you
VesnaVecana # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:09:05 AM
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:39:50 AM
r♡serose-marie # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 9:02:58 PM
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 9:14:27 PM
r♡serose-marie # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 9:18:22 PM
By the way, we do have something similar to sarma in Sweden too, called kåldolmar. King Karl XII brought it back to Sweden after a couple of years in the Ottoman Empire.
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 9:55:52 PM
Do you remember something we call ajvar? Excellent to eat with almost every dish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajvar
r♡serose-marie # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:03:11 PM
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:10:28 PM
r♡serose-marie # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:15:03 PM
Can you?
Darkogdare # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:22:32 PM
But needs a lot of roasted paprika, then peeling it, grinding, cooking, putting in clean jars..... A lot of job. I suppose it is easier to go to shop and buy it. But it never has a same taste.....
r♡serose-marie # Wednesday, February 6, 2008 10:41:09 PM
Darkogdare # Thursday, February 7, 2008 5:27:13 AM
dɹɐzılpǝkɔıw ɐʞɐ ɹǝɥgɐllɐg lǝbɐsıwickedlizard # Thursday, February 7, 2008 9:54:06 AM
Darkogdare # Thursday, February 7, 2008 10:51:49 AM
Bojanrolling_thunder # Friday, February 8, 2008 3:03:52 PM
Oh, I LOVE burek with cheese. But it has to be greasy and the cheese has to melt. x)
Anyway
In Bosnia, for instance, Burek is only stuffed with meat. Cheese burek is called cheese pie there.
And, in Subotica, there are different kinds of burek. Burek with chocolate cream, for example x)
I've also heard about the banana burek O_o but haven't tasted it x)
Darkogdare # Friday, February 8, 2008 3:11:04 PM
But, you are right, it would be interesting to taste it
Bojanrolling_thunder # Friday, February 8, 2008 3:29:30 PM
Darkogdare # Friday, February 8, 2008 4:04:55 PM