1. Cheese
White Cheese - a particular variety of the increasingly-popular Greek Feta cheese now popular in many places. It originated on the Balkan Peninsula in a region called Trakia, which is the current day Southern Bulgaria. This Bulgarian sirene has much the same texture as the Greek feta. It is a brined cheese, produced from sheep or cows milk, and is both used on the table and as an essential part of other foods from Shopska Salad to Banitza. Feta Cheese is produced in many different countries, but it is widely known that Bulgarian-made Feta is the best!
In addition to this white cheese, another common Bulgarian cheese is Yellow Cheese or "Kashkaval". This hard yellow table cheese, made of sheep's milk, may otherwise be called “The Cheddar Cheese of the Balkans”. It is frequently served as "fried cheese" .The Kashkaval (Kashkaval Pane) is especially good when freshly breaded (dipped in egg then rolled in bread crumbs) and deep-fried. You'll find it's not gooey and much more flavorful than mozzarella.
2. Yoghurt
Yoghurt - again, a particular variety produced by the Lactobacterium Bulgaricum bacteria. It grows no place else in the world. Yoghurt ("kiselo mlyako" - literally meaning sour milk) has found an important part in many Bulgarian foods. Bulgarians are also fond of "Arjan" a beverage of water mixed with yoghurt. Yoghurt can be purchased in many different grades and qualities, each characteristic of the quality of the milk to which the bacteria culture has been added. Yogurt junkies, this is your promised land - the quality, taste and choices for yogurt you'll find in Bulgaria are unsurpassed!
The most common commercial brand is "Danone" (Bulgarian humor reminds us that "da" = "yes", "no" = "but", "ne" = "no"). Be sure you try the wonderfully-rich, buttery-tasting "Bivolsko mylako" produced from the milk of water buffalo. It is by now found everywhere in Bulgaria, but most commonly in the mountain areas around Shipka village and the town of Gabrovo. The ancient people that inhabited the territory of contemporary Bulgaria - the Thraceans - would consume a lot of "thick milk" that in their language sounded like "yog urt." Bulgarians eat yogurt in some form practically every day throughout their life. It is a matter of fact that the ecologically clean dairy products made in the Rhodope mountain region has anti-cancer effect, according to a resent survey over the biodiversity in the region of the Middle Rhodopes. The results of the survey were reported by Professor Dr Venelin Kafedjiev in the outset of a UN-sponsored eco project under the title "The Rhodopes for protecting biodiversity".
The team of Prof Kafedjiev found that during the process of dairy production in the Rhodopes region of southern Bulgaria, a specific acid is being synthesized which came into the focus of scientists with its supposedly anti-cancer effect. Researches said that it might be because of that specific acid that local people are famous for their longevity.
Some 200,000 tons of Bulgarian yoghurt are sold in Japan each year, Shigetaro Asano, President of MEIJI Dairies Japanese Corporation, announced during his visit in Bulgaria. The considerable increase in the sale of Bulgarian yoghurt in Japan come as the trend for healthier lifestyle has been gathering momentum in Japan for the last five-ten years. In 1973 MEIJI launched production of Bulgarian yoghurt using Bulgarian technology and LB Bulgaricum license. For more than 30 years now the company has been Japan's biggest producer of yoghurt and sponsor of various events related to Bulgaria.
Millions of people around the world, who do not have the slightest idea where Bulgaria is, happily swallow the content of packs labeled Bulgarian Yogurt every day. They believe this food will make them strong and healthy and with a good reason since the benevolent bacterium which is used to produce yogurt - Bulgaricum - has been proven to have wonderful effect on human organisms. At the dawn of the 20th century, the French scholar (of Bulgarian origin) Iliya Mlechnikov was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research after he noted Bulgarian villagers living mainly on yogurt often reached more than 100 years in age.
3. Spices
Chubritsa - this plant, which botanists claim to be a species of the herb Satureia hortensis appears to grow particularly well upon Bulgarian soil. It also shares certain characteristics with Oregano (Origanum vulgare). The dried leaves are crushed and sprinked on top of soups in the last few minutes of cooking or ground into a fine powder and used on bread like butter.
Parsley - This is probably the most widely used spice in Bulgaria since ancient times. Its leaves are applied fresh or dried to flavour and add vitamins to soups, broth and main courses, as an ingredient of vegetable preserves, or to decorate salads, roasted meat or fish in all seasons. In Bulgarian, Parsley is called "Magdanoz"
Thyme - It is also called “granny’s soul” or “shepherd’s basil”. Fresh or dried, it is used for seasoning meat and vegetable dishes or soups, and bean, pea or bread-bean stews, and sauces; Thyme is also added to salads and pickles.
Onion - While some dieticians consider it to be a spice, others do not. In either case, it is worth mentioning that onions are grown everywhere in Bulgaria and are widely applied in Bulgarian cookery. The onion stimulates our appetite and secretion of gastric juices. The onion is used in the preparation of salads, sauces, stews, vegetable and meat dishes, preserves. Fresh onion is a basic ingredient of many salads.
The abundance of mineral waters may be seen as one other important factor in the healthy nature of the Bulgarian people. Most notable are the spring-fed water sources quite close to Plovdiv in the towns of Hisarja (Hissar) and Brasigovo. In Hissar, the total outflow of the springs exceeds 4500 liter per minute. The water is very low in dissolved solids, about 230 mg per liter, with a temperature ranging from 37° to 51°C. People travel to Hisarja from a wide area to take a supply of water from a specially erected fountain near the Momina salza pavilion. This water is also useful for treatment of predominantly gastrointestinal disorders. There are many other similar springs throughout Bulgaria and a large portion of their waters is bottled commercially and consumed in homes and restaurants in preference to the chemically-treated municipal water.
For your fresh salad, you will always find oil and vinegar on the table. The westernized palate may feel a bit short-changed as few restaurants will have Bleu Cheese, Roquefort, Ranch or Thousand Island. These manufactured dressings are not usually a part of Bulgarian cuisine.
Native spirits are highly potent and not expensive. The most popular local product is rakiya, or brandy. Slivova rakiya is made from plums, Kaisieva rakiya from apricots, and grozdova from grapes - Pomorska rakiya is the best example of the latter. Rakiya is usually accompanied by a soft drink and a salad or appetizer. Imported whisky is cheaper than in the West, but much of it is counterfeit. Buy it from the bigger outlets, and avoid the stuff sold at the smaller kiosks and by street traders.
And then there is the popular "boza". This is a thick fermented beverage with a sweet-sour taste. Boza is made using roasted flour which gives it a brownish or rosy color. It almost has the appearance of chocolate YooHoo . As the beverage is fermented, it has a slight (4% or less) alcohol content. Millet-flour boza is preferred, but it may be made from wheat, barley, oat or corn flour.
[Boza, the translation of which is sometimes given as "millet ale," and which is accented on the second syllable, looks just like Amizake Almond Rice shake. The taste? Ever since this place was called Thrace, which was quite a while ago, foreigners have been trying to describe Boza to the folks back home. It tastes kind of like mushed-up Quaker Puffed Wheat, mixed with that liquid that's on the top when you first open a can of kidney beans. Plus the faintest hints of kerosene and mothballs. There is, of course, a generational divide over Boza, many younger people gravitating toward lighter, smoother Western-style drinks such as Windex and Pine Sol.]
Honey is another traditional Bulgarian product; it has been produced here for more than 3,000 years. You may be surprised to learn that Honey bees did not exist in England's American Colonies, so the new settlers had no "sweets" in their diet. Unfortunately, some Americans put the existence of sugar in the same category as air and water, but the facts are that sugar was an imported expensive luxury from the South Pacific in 17th century Europe and was not even introduced into the U. S. until 1751 in Louisiana, just 25 years before Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. There are many small independent beekeepers found in the rural Bulgarian communities, and often more honey is produced than is demanded by local consumers. Because pure natural honey is the only food that will never spoil, the excess honey is stored, sometimes for years, in whatever containers the beekeeper has available until a broker shows up to buy it. Also, bee pollen (collected when the honey bee walks through a pollen trap that is placed underneath the main beehive) is sold in the local markets.
Bulgaria exports an average of 5.5 metric tons of honey per year, mostly to Germany, Greece and Russia. Our agricultural diversity results in many varieties of honey, including product from the blossoms of sunflower, conifer (pine), acacia, linden, oak and various herbs and other flowers. One variety of the honey produced in Bulgaria has the effect of Viagra. In a sensational article published in "The Times of India" newspaper, it is reported that Bulgarian bee-keepers produce honey from thistle. The product is a natural and cheaper alternative of any medicine for impotence, the article reads. "Honey really works; thousands of Bulgarians consume it and nobody said it wouldn't work," Georgy Iliev, head of the Bulgarian Bee-Keepers' Association said in an interview published by the newspaper.
The day of St. Haralampi, the Orthodox patron saint of bee-keepers, is marked on February 10th. It is believed that this saint was the first one who discovered the healing powers of honey and bee products. See also this photo of an open market stand selling honey and fresh spices.
So these are some of the characteristic features which lend their specific taste and flavour to the Bulgarian national dishes. Perhaps because they are memorable, those features have helped to make the cuisine popular far beyond the country's borders. It is the style of the Bulgarian cook to see the concurrent heating of products on a low fire, knowing that the food must simmer gently on all accounts - boil, roast or stew. That is the way to retain the nutritive qualities, while achieving correct flavor and taste. The same effect is also achieved through the variety of products, which agree well with the seasonings and fats. Seasoning is usually subtle and unobtrusive. Food is normally served only warm, not piping hot.
As to methods of preparation - since times immemorial the Bulgarians have favoured stewing, roasting, boiling and the earthenware dish. The roasting of food on charcoal embers is also widespread, leaving the meat deliciously tender and succulent. Often many of the stews and casseroles are delivered to the table in a lidded brown crock called a gyuvech. If many of the dishes you find here seem Turkish, why not? Bulgaria was occupied by the Ottomans for five centuries. When the Turks retreated, they both borrowed from the Bulgarian ways and left some of their own tradition behind.
You will want to sample the rich variety of local meat, vegetables, fruit and breads found in well-prepared and colorful, interesting dishes. Every good restaurant cook will add a sprig or two of parsley for garnish, perhaps also with a slice of tomato, cucumber or a carrot curl. A Bulgarian breakfast might start with some of Bulgaria's yogurt, with a delicious strudel made with spinach or cheese (banitza). For variety, I highly recommend a krenvirshka. This is a basic, hot-dog-like sausage, wrapped and baked in a light bread pastry.
For lunch or dinner, there might be a mixed salad with sheep milk cheese ("shopska salata") followed by a tasty stew of meat or pork with paprikas ("slav gyuvech") or vegetables ("gyuvech zarzavat"), stuffed peppers, vine leaves' sarmi, or aubergines. You might want to enjoy some of the Turkish and Middle Eastern desserts such as baklava (flaky pastry stuffed with crushed pistachio nuts coated in a sweet syrup) and kadayif (shredded wheat stuffed with nuts in syrup). There is also a great variety of cakes filled with buttercream, fruit, or chocolate as well as ice cream.
More than one visitor has reminisced and said "I am convinced the original Garden of Eden was in Bulgaria." Or "I have never had such wonderful fruit in my life as when I was there."
In recent times, a shopper would pay 90 Leva for 1 kg of meat as opposed to 3 Leva for 1 kg of grain from an average income of 800 Leva. Meat prices have by now risen in relation to the price of grain, and the situation in other Eastern European countries is not much different. Think how little food a family will have if they must buy one kg of meat as opposed to how long they will be able to survive on the amount of grain they can buy for the same price; grain from which so many delicious and nutritous dishes can be prepared.
Bulgaria has one of the lowest per capita meat consumption figures in Europe. It is custom that a pig is slaughtered for Christmas eating, and through the year pork, veal, beef and lamb are eaten in moderation. Commonly, meat is cooked with fruit, for example veal with quinces. In Bulgarian traditional meat cookery, sauces are not common. A roast may be marinated but served dry with cooked vegetables.
Kebapche is a local favorite. This is grillled ground meat and spices in sausage form. In patty form, it's called Kyufte, but it's all the same. The meat is either pork or chicken or veal, sometimes a mixture of chicken and the other mixed with very finely minced onion, water, cumin, salt and pepper. It's served with fried potatoes and a beer ("bira") or soft drink. Know that when a Bulgarian says "fried potatoes" they are speaking of potatoes deep-fried in oil. The American-style fried, "hashed" potatoes are not at all common.
There is little difference in the contents of the Bulgarian cook's larder from your own; common meats are pork, beef, lamb, chicken and fish. Staples include rice, corn, beans and lentils. Vegetables include potatoes, cabbage (both green and red), carrots, tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, garlic, zucchini, pumpkin, onions (yellow and green), peas, celery, spinach, cauliflower, green and lima beans, lettuce, radishes, turnips, mushrooms, olives and fruits such as cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, watermelons, melons, grapes, quinces and medlars. All of these basic ingredients are grown in Bulgaria. Cooking oil is almost always sunflower oil. It is light enough that it blends easily with foods while cooking and does not impart a greasy taste. Bread may be lightly brushed with sunflower oil and toasted in a hot pan to a delicious golden color.
There is a section at the top of this page with more information on Bulgarian Cirene with some useful recipes. Other unique recipes are found in the links menu at the top of this page.
Bread is the most important mainstay of the Bulgarian diet and is eaten with every meal. Bulgarians consume more bread than the people in the neighboring countries - more than 10 kg per person monthly. Most commonly seen is the shops is bread like the one pictured below. The crisp, thin outer crust is cracked in places on top and nearly glistens; inside is of a coarse yet soft, white texture. Of course many other styles and types of bread are to be found - including whole-wheat and pre-sliced.
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