Bulgarian cuisine

Bulgarian cuisine is part of the cuisine of Southeast Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Aside from the vast variety of local Bulgarian dishes, Bulgarian cuisine shares a number of dishes with its neighboring countries, in particular with the Turkish and Greek cuisine.
Bulgarian cuisine includes a significant contribution from Ottoman cuisine, and therefore shares a number of dishes with Middle Eastern cuisine, including moussaka, gyuvetch, kyufte, baklava, ayran, gyuvech, and shish kebab. Bulgarian food often incorporates salads as appetizers and is also noted for the prominence of dairy products, wines, and other alcoholic drinks such as rakia. The cuisine also features a variety of soups, such as the cold soup tarator, and pastries, such as the filo dough-based banitsa, pita, and the various types of börek.
Main courses are very typically water-based stews, either vegetarian or with lamb, goat meat, veal, chicken, or pork. Deep-frying is not common, but grilling—especially of different kinds of sausages—is prominent. Pork is common, often mixed with veal or lamb, although fish and chicken are also widely used. While most cattle are bred for milk production rather than meat, veal is popular for grilling meat appetizers (meze) and in some main courses. As a substantial exporter of lamb, Bulgaria's own consumption is notable, especially in the spring.
Similar to other Balkan cultures, the per-capita consumption of yogurt among Bulgarians is traditionally higher than the rest of Europe. The country is notable as the historical namesake for Lactobacillus bulgaricus, a microorganism chiefly responsible for the local variety of dairy products. , a white brine cheese similar to feta, is also a popular ingredient used in salads and a variety of pastries.
Holidays are often observed in conjunction with certain meals. On Christmas Eve, for instance, tradition requires vegetarian stuffed peppers and cabbage leaves sarmi. New Year's Eve usually involves cabbage dishes, Nikulden (Day of St. Nicholas, December 6) involves fish (usually carp), while Gergyovden (Day of St. George, May 6) is typically celebrated with roast lamb.
Traditional Bulgarian foods
Bulgarian breakfast
Banitsa – baked pastry made of layered stuffing and phyllo. There are many varieties with different names, with arguably the most famous one being with eggs, sirene, and yogurt.
Börek – filled pastry of Turkish origin
Tutmanik – similar to pita, made with yeast dough and milk, but with white cheese.
Milinki (singular: milinka) – bread roll type pastry with eggs and sirene
Princess with minced meat – open-faced baked sandwich with minced meat, and possibly some yellow cheese on top
Princess with yellow cheese – open-faced baked sandwich with yellow cheese on top
Princess with eggs and cheese – open-faced baked sandwich with egg and sirene mixture on top
Mekitsi (singular: mekitsa) – deep-fried dough pastry, typically served with jam, honey, sirene, or icing sugar
French toast (Purjena filia) – bread dipped in eggs and milk (either cow's milk or yogurt) and fried in oil
Kazanlak doughnuts – a specific type of doughnuts, from the town of Kazanlak
Buhti (singular: buhta) – deep-fried dough balls, often served with jam, honey, or sirene
Langidi (singular: langida) – somewhat similar to American-style pancakes, soft and eggy
Palachinki (singular: palachinka) – Bulgarian-style pancakes that are thinner than American pancakes and sometimes rolled around some stuffing
Katmi (singular: katma) – another variant of Bulgarian pancakes, which are bigger and thicker and are rolled around stuffing
Popara – might be made from rusks, bread, or kozunak with tea, milk, or sour milk (Bulgarian yogurt). Quite different from other Bulgarian breakfasts, this one was very popular during the 20th century, and many Bulgarians remember this dish with fondness and childhood nostalgia.
Cold cuts
Banski starets (also banski staretz) – spicy sausage, native to the Bansko region
Elenski but – air-cured ham sausage, seasoned with herbs
Lukanka – spicy salami of minced beef and pork
Pastarma – spicy beef sausage; a variant of Anatolian dried meat called pastırma in Turkish, pastourmas in Greek, bastirma in Azerbaijani, and basterma in Arabic
Sujuk (also soudjouk, sukuk, sukuk, or sucuk) – flat cured, dark red sausage, common in the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa
Soups and stews
Tarator – cold soup of cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, and dill
Vegetable soup – with various fresh vegetables and potatoes
Nettle soup – with rice and sirene
Spinach soup – with sirene and eggs
Bob chorba – hot bean soup
Lentil soup – brown lentils soup
Mushroom soup – with forest mushrooms
Chicken soup – made with vermicelli, potatoes, and vegetables
Teleshko vareno – boiled veal, potatoes, and vegetables in consommé
Ribena chorba – a traditional spicy fish soup, made with thyme and fresh lovage
Topcheta soup – a Bulgarian meatball soup thickened with egg yolks and yogurt
Lamb soup – made from lamb organ meats
Kurban chorba – lamb meat and lamb organ meats, eggs, and vegetables
Shkembe chorba – spicy soup made of tripe, reputed in Bulgaria to be a "hangover cure"
Pacha – a sour pork's-trotter soup, with sour ingredients such as pickles, bitter fruit, or vinegar in the broth
Ghivetch – spicy vegetable stew with vegetables and sometimes different meats, often cooked in a clay pot
Smilyanski fasul – Smilyan bean stew
Potato stew
Salads
Ovcharska salata (shepherd's salad) – shopska salad, with the addition of grated egg, mushrooms, and sometimes ham
Ruska salata (Russian salad) – salad with potatoes, carrots, gherkins, and mayonnaise
Shopska salad – a common salad of chopped cucumbers, onions, peppers, and tomatoes with white cheese
Snezhanka ("Snow White salad") – chopped cucumbers with yogurt, dill, garlic, and often walnuts
Turshiya (also torsi) – pickled vegetables, such as celery, beets, cauliflower, and cabbage, popular in wintertime; variations are selska turshiya (country pickle) and tsarska turshiya (king's pickles)
Sauces, relishes, and appetizers
Lyutenitsa (also lyutenitza) – purée of tomatoes, red peppers, and carrots, often served on bread and topped with white cheese
Kyopulu (also kyopolou) – roasted eggplant (aubergine) and bell peppers, mashed with parsley, garlic, and other ingredients<ref>Kay, p. 57, Sachsenroeder, p. 143; DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Bulgaria (DK: rev. ed. 2011), p. 233</ref>
Lyutika – spicy sauce
Podluchen sauce or yogurt sauce – yogurt with garlic, oil, paprika, salt, and sometimes dill
Katino meze – hot starter with chopped pork meat, onion, and mushrooms with fresh butter and spices
Drob po selski – chopped liver with onion and peppers
Ezik v maslo – sliced tongue in butter
Sirene pane – breaded Bulgarian brine white cheese bites
Kashkaval pane – breaded kashkaval bites
Mussels in butter – with onion and fresh herbs; traditionally from Sozopol
Skara (grill)
Kyufte – meatballs of minced pork meat, seasoned with traditional spices and shaped in a flattened ball
Kebapche – similar to meatballs, but seasoned with cumin and shaped in a stick
Parjola – pork steak, chop, or flank
Shishcheta – marinated pieces of chicken or pork and vegetables
Karnache – a type of sausage with special spices
Nadenitsa – a type of sausage with special spices
Tatarsko kyufte – stuffed meatballs
Nevrozno kyufte – very piquant meatballs
Chicken in caul
Cheverme – used in celebrations such as weddings, graduations, and birthdays; a whole animal, traditionally a pig, but also chicken or a lamb, is slowly cooked in an open fire, rotated manually on a wooden skewer from 4 to 7 hours
Meshana skara (mixed grill plate) – consists of kebapche, kyufte, shishche, and karnache or nadenitsa Grilled vegetables – usually a garnish or a side dish
Grilled fish (saltwater or freshwater)
Main dishes
Ghivetch Yahniya
Plakiya Sarma
Drob Sarma Wine, Tepsi, or Tas kebab
Kavarma Kapama Mish-mash – popular summer dish made with tomatoes, peppers, onion, white brine cheese, eggs, and fresh spices
Pilaf – rice with chopped meat, vegetables, or mussels
Moussaka Chomlek Mlin Stuffed courgettes
Pulneni chushki – Bulgarian stuffed bell peppers
Peppers börek Roasted beans
Beans with sausage
Pork with rice
Roasted chicken with potatoes
Pork with cabbage
Chicken with cabbage
Roasted potatoes
Drusan kebab
Rice with chicken
Tatarian meatball
Meatball(s) with white sauce stew
Kjufteta po Chirpanski – meatballs with potatoes; a recipe from Chirpan
Meatloaf 'Rulo "Stephanie"'
Potato balls with sauce
Panagyurishte-style eggs
Fried courgettes with yogurt sauce
Chicken in katmi – popular in a "Thracian" variety
Fish Zelnik – with sauerkraut and rice
Fish in pastry – usually in celebration of St. Nicholas
Stuffed carp or Nikuldenski carp – prepared for the feast of St. Nicholas
Breads and pastries
Pita
Sweet pita
Pita with meat – variably with mushrooms or with tomatoes and onion
Pogača (usual ritual bread)
Kravai (usual ritual bread)
Kolach (usual ritual bread)
Banitsa – the most popular pastry in Bulgaria with a number of varieties
Tikvenik – banitsa with pumpkins
Zelnik – banitsa with white brine cheese and cabbage, spinach, leek, scallion, parsley, or sorrel
Baklava Saraliya Parlenki Patatnik Kačamak Byal Mazh Tutmanik Milinka Gevrek Kozunak Mekitsi – deep fried kneaded dough made with yogurt and eggs
Marudnitsi Katmi – a variety of pancakes
Palachinki – a variety of crêpes
Langidi Tiganitsi (similar to Mekitsi)
Dudnik Popara Sulovar Parjeni filii – "fried toasts"
Kiflichki with jam or white cheese
Solenki Yufka Trienitsa or skrob TrahanaDairy products
Bulgaria has a strong tradition of using milk and dairy products. Bulgaria even has a namesake strain of bacteria, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, used to make many of its cheeses and fermented foods which gives it a distinct in its flavor.
Sirene – soft and salty white brine cheese that appears in many Bulgarian dishes
Kashkaval – hard yellow cheese, often used in appetizers; kashkaval Vitosha is made from cow's milk, while kashkaval Balkan is made from ewe's milk
Kiselo mlyako – Bulgarian yogurt, produced using Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus; used in many Bulgarian dishes
Smetana – sour cream
Izvara – cottage cheese, quark
Katak – a traditional fermented curd/yogurt-like product
Sweets
The name halva is used for several related varieties of the Middle Eastern dessert. Tahan / tahini halva is the most popular version, available in two different types with sunflower and with sesame seed. Traditionally, the regions of Yablanitsa and Haskovo are famous manufacturers of halva.
Pumpkin dessert
Baklava Kadaif
Revane
Buhti with yogurt
Tolumbi – fried choux pastry cakes soaked in syrup which is usually made with honey
Cookies "Peach" or Praskovki
Fruit bread
Biscuit cake
Torta Garash (Garash cake)
Katmi with jam or honey or cheese (today usually with added chocolate)
Skalichki Kazanlak Donuts
Kazanlak Korabii – a scone like pastry that is egg washed and sprinkled with sugar
Keks – similar to marble cake
Kompot Kozunak Kurabiiki Lokum
Maslenki Milk with rice
Oshav Tart with cherries or sour cherries – traditionally from Bobov dol
Tart with different fruits
Tatlii TikvenikSpices and herbs
Summer savory (Chubritsa)
Spearmint (Djodjen)Sharena solOther staples
Honey
Traditional Bulgarian drinks
Wine
Mavrud
Pamid
Gamza
Melnik wine
Dimyat
Misket
Muskat
Nohan or Lipa
Divachka
Shivka
Rubin
Tamyanka
Beer
Ariana
Astika
Boliarka
Burgasko
Britos
Kamenitza
Ledenika
Lomsko
MM
Pirinsko
Plevensko
Shumensko
Stolichno
Zagorka
Distilled liqueurs
Rakia Slivovitsa Gyulova rakia (rose rakia)
Muskat rakia Mastika Menta Pelin wine
Fermented beverages
Boza – the most popular recipes are from Radomir and Lyubimets
Ayran (or ayryan) – cold, yogurt-based beverage
Matenitsa – Bulgarian buttermilk
Hot beverages
Tea – usually prepared with one or several herbs, rose, or fruits
Greyana rakia (boiled rakia) – winter alcoholic beverage
Greyano vino (mulled wine) – winter alcoholic beverage
See also
European cuisine
List of cuisines
Cuisine of the Mediterranean
Eastern European cuisine
Macedonian cuisine
Notes
ReferencesDK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Bulgaria (DK: rev. ed. 2011).
Jonathan Bousfield & Matthew Willis, DK Eyewitness Travel: Bulgaria (DK: 2008).
James I. Deutsch, "Bulgaria" in Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia (ed. Lucy M. Long: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015).
Annie Kay, Bulgaria (Bradt Travel Guides: 2nd ed. 2015), p. 57.
Fiona Ross, "Bulgaria" in Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia (ed. Ken Albala: ABC-CLIO, 2011).
Agnes Sachsenroeder, CultureShock! Bulgaria: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette'' (Marshall Cavendish: 2nd ed. 2011).
Balkan cuisine