What to Eat in Bulgaria Pt. 1

If you are new to Bulgaria, you probably want to try some typical dishes. That is why I will give you a guide on how to eat like a Bulgarian and enjoy it ;)))

1. Step one: Bulgarian meals often start with a salad. Yes, we Bulgarians love salads and these vary according to the time of the year it is. The most typical and famous salads you will find are: Shopska, Ovcharska, and Jutvarska. Shopska salad has cucumbers, tomatoes, typical Bulgarian white cheese, peppers, onion, parsley, and some olives (not obligatory). The Ovcharska salad is the same, but also has ham, eggs, and yellow instead of white cheese. And then the Jutvarska salad is almost the same but the peppers are baked and it sometimes has corn. There are other salads you might order at a restaurant or try at home but the first two are the most spread and favorite ones, while the third (Jutvarska) is moderately popular. In springtime, around Easter, Bulgarians enjoy green salad, often with boiled eggs. This salad usually has lettuce, cucumbers, and radish, plus the mentioned boiled eggs. It is quite delicious and perfect for the warm spring days. In summertime salads are popular but Bulgarians would often decide to eattaratorinstead of a salad.Taratoris a cold soup which consists of the famous Bulgarian yougurt, cucumbers, fennel, garlic, and sometimes walnuts. Oh, and do not forget to put some oil in it, but just a sip. I know that last dish might seem a bit weird but it is great for hot summer days and if you decide to try it, you will definitely like it. The combination of yogurt and cucumbers is really great. In wintertime you might still opt for a salad, many Bulgarians do, but you might choose a hot chicken soup as a first course.
2. Step two: Learn to drink the proper drinks. Well, the “proper drink” is just one and it is calledrakiya.Rakyiais a very strong alcoholic beverage, usually made of grapes or plums, but there are other varieties (e.g. melonrakiya). It is very strong, so be very careful. If you ever see raspberryrakyiaon the menu, try it. It is very aromatic and tasty, but still quite strong. This drink does not exist in Bulgaria only. You can drinkrakyiain Serbia, Bosnia, etc. In Bulgaria it is men’s favorite drink… and some women’s too. If you are not into very strong alcoholic beverages, you might drink a glass of wine. Bulgarian wines are very nice. Just choose carefully, because like everywhere, you might get a cheap and sour wine. Again, raspberry wine is very aromatic and tasty. We have good beer as well (in my modest opinion). The most popular Bulgarian beer brands are: Kameniza, Ariana, Pirinsko, Shumensko, and Zagorka. It is up to you which one you will try.
3. Step three: Now we have arrived at the main course. Have in mind that Bulgarian cuisine is not like the gourmet style cuisines where you get small portions of four or five dishes. In Bulgaria, we often eat a big salad and then we have a main course, and then if we still can, we eat desert. So, in most places, salads are big (about the main course it really depends). There are many typical Bulgarian dishes worth trying. Have in mind that if you go to just any restaurant, at just any time, you might not find what you are looking for. Many restaurants offer non-Bulgarian means, such as pasta, pizza, etc. If you want to try cheap traditional dish, try some small restaurant which has a daily menu. Many smaller restaurants offer cheap daily menus, which working people could afford. If you see a black board on the street in front of a restaurant, it would probably be the lunch (or daily) menu. The most important thing about the daily menu is that several portions are being prepared just before lunchtime and if you decide to eat later (I mean you, Spanish people ;))), the dishes would be over. Of course, every restaurant has its own menu form which you could order any time but the lunch courses are apart. You could also choose a traditional Bulgarian restaurant, a.k.a.mehana. Mehanasare decorated as old Bulgarian houses (stone floor and walls, wood, specific carpets, etc.). The waiters would often wear clothes which would resemble traditional Bulgarian costumes (callednosii)and there would often be a signer or a gypsy orchestra playing live. The menus inmehanasinclude many traditional dishes, including some that are typical for certain regions. Which are the traditional Bulgarian meals, you ask? There are many… You could eat lamb, pork, or chicken. These would usually be grilled and combined with potatoes, rice, or a bit of a salad. Here is the important part. When choosing a dish like that you can choose garnish with it. It means that you  order something that would go along with your main course. Some meals already have a sort of a garnish (e.g. chicken with rice) but others come alone (e.g. pork chop). If your meal consists of just meat, then the waiter would probably ask you what you would like with it. The most typical garnishes are: cabbage and carrots, French fries, baked potatoes,lutenitza(I will explain this later), mixed (tomatoes, cucumber, and onions). If you are a vegetarian you might have a bit of a hard time. Some restaurants would offer spinach “meatbolls” or fried zucchini with yogurt and garlic sauce. I say meatballs because in Bulgarian this word is used for both meatballs made of meat and for other dishes which look like meatballs but are made of vegetable ingredients. The Bulgarian word for all these iskiufteor the diminutivekiuftentse.If you insist on a vegetarian dish, you could also ask for an omelet (there are different types), orYaitsa po Panagiurski.That last one is an egg dish. Eggs are broken and placed into boiling water. They look like boiled eggs but in reality they are not (exactly) because of being placed in the hot water without their shelves. Then, they are placed into Bulgarian yogurt with some garlic and red pepper. You could choosekashkavalorsirene pane.Both of these are traditional Bulgarian cheese dishes that have been fried. They are tasty but very greasy.
4. Step four: The desert is the final step. If you are not completely full of your salad,rakiya, and main course, you might ask for a desert. Typical Bulgarian deserts are pancakes, rice with milk and cinnamon, homemade biscuit cake, etc. I do not believe we really have our own, very traditional and typical deserts, but the ones I mentioned are nice to try and I am sure you will like them. Oh, there is one sort of traditional desert but it cannot be found in just any restaurant. Many restaurants do not offer it. It consists of Bulgarian yogurt and some jelly. It could be with strawberry jelly, fig jelly, or even honey. The same applies to pancakes: they are served with jelly, honey, chocolate, or cheese.