Serbian traditional cuisine contains a myriad of tastes and smells, much owing to the mixture of influences of various peoples who were just passing through or were living in this region. As is the case with the culture in general, this fusion of different influences resulted in originality, so that today a rich Serbian table offers unforgettable tastes that can only be enjoyed in Serbia.
Serbian cuisine is characterized by highly diverse, solid and spicy food, which can be roughly described as a mixture of Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish and Hungarian cuisine. The use of meat, dough, vegetables and dairy products is predominant in it.
Food preparation is a special part of the Serbian tradition and culture. In Serbian villages the kitchen was called “kuća” (house), while the center part of it was the hearth, which presented an important, cult place, next to which everyday-life took place and where the whole family gathered.
Serbian specialties you have to taste are: burek, gibanica, grilled meat, roast, Karađorđeva steak, cabbage rolls, goulash, đuveč (a type of a stew), moussaka, mućkalica (a mixture of different types of meat and vegetables in a form of a stew), čvarci (similar to pork rinds), kajmak (milk cream), pršuta (dry-cured ham, similar to Prosciutto), and sour milk.
Drinking coffee is a centuries-old tradition in Serbia, so you mustn’t miss home-made coffee accompanied by baklava, vanilice or Turkish delight, while the kind hosts will first offer you slatko and water in their homes.
A plum, considered a national fruit in Serbia, out of which a well-known rakia – Slivovitz is brewed, has, in a way, become one of the symbols of Serbia. You mustn’t leave Serbia without having at least one glass of it.
For many of the Serbian national cuisine specialties there isn’t a right word in the foreign language dictionaries, nor is there a taste they can be compared to. Therefore it is best that you come and taste them yourself. But, before that, you can find stories about Serbian dishes you want to taste on this page, as well as, the recipes for them, because, who knows, you might wish to prepare them yourselves somewhere, miles away from Serbia!