Europe
Meat Lovers
Serbia
Serbian Cuisine
Serbian Culture
Serbian Hospitality
Vegetarians in Serbia
Serbia - The Land of Great Hospitality
May 06, 2014
(A 'krempita' from restaurant 'Terasa' in Novi Sad, Serbia)
If you have ever been to a Serbian home, you know that you will be treated like royalty. The food that they prepare is some of the tastiest food you will ever have, and you will definitely not be leaving on an empty stomach, even if you were just invited over for a coffee. Restaurants are no exception.
My post today is inspired by the slava, Djurdjevdan, a day where Serbians who celebrate St.George come together to feast and welcome guests to their homes. This post is about honouring the great Serbian hospitality you will find in any part of the country you visit (and even any Serbian home, restaurant or community you visit outside of Serbia). Don't get me wrong. Any home you enter from the former Yugoslav countries will be welcoming. I am simply focusing on Serbia today.
The Serbian Home
(Photo credit to my dad. Food credit to my mom)
If a Serbian invites you to their home for dinner, don't bring food with you (unless they request it, but 99.9% of the time this won't happen). The family that is inviting you takes great pride in welcoming you to their home, so there will be plenty of food to be had. And don't worry about not having anything to eat...there will be plenty of different dishes for you to try and enjoy (and don't be shy, they will not let you live this one down). The only things you should bring are a bottle of hard liquor or wine for the host, some sort of flowers for the hostess, and a chocolate bar for each one of the kids.
Serbian Cuisine
Serbians eat meat. A lot of meat!
(Yup, we even roast are own meat, and my friend Boban makes some of the best!)
(Picture taken at a restaurant in Zlatibor, Serbia)
Food for purchase, for Western standards, is relatively cheap. And so are the restaurants. A lot of the restaurants take great pride in making their establishments look like top of the class, but don't be afraid to enter them as the meals are often reasonably priced.
(Photo taken at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia. A great place for dessert!)
The Desserts
As much as Serbians love their meat, they also love their desserts, or kolači in Serbian.
(Pictured above are 'kiflice', pastries filled with jam)
My Top 3 Recommendations
- If you love meat, you will love trying Karađorđeva šnicla which is schnitzel filled with 'kajmak', a type of cheese.
- Which leads me to 'kajmak' (pronounced kaymak) for the vegetarians. It is absolutely delicious and this is what I usually live off of while in Serbia.
- For the dessert lovers, if you make me choose just one dessert, I recommend a 'krempita' (pictured first at the top of this blog). But any dessert you try, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed with.
Video
And now a short 4 minute video to summarize this all for me from the National Tourism Organization of Serbia.
I hope you have enjoyed this entry and I hope I did not make you too hungry. If you love to eat, enjoy food, and want great hospitality, Serbia should be your next go to destination! If you can't make it to Serbia, check Google to see if there any Serbian food festivals coming to your area in the next few months, as there are often plenty over the summer months in Southwestern Ontario.
Happy Travels Everyone!
Andrea
5 comments
All this food is making hungry! love it
ReplyDeleteI knew it would Eleni :)
Deleteit really is a land of meat! lol. great post! looking forward to reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you Andrew! I will be visiting there this summer and I think by the end of it I will become a vegetarian haha
ReplyDeleteYou haven't mentioned Nis, if you are coming to Serbia visit Nis and some food like burek, ajvar and gurmanska pljeskavica :) God bless
ReplyDelete