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Typical Croatian food is normally extension of peasant food, which is easy to prepare yet delicious. As anywhere else in the world in Croatia too neighboring countries has influenced its cuisine. So while people from the Croatia's Adriatic areas eat food very similar to Italian cuisine, in northern Croatia dishes are similar to those of central Europe or Austro-Hungarian.
Because of the cuisine's heterogeneity it is also known as cuisine of the regions. Its modern roots date back to Proto-Slavic and ancient periods and the differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those on the mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by Proto-Slavic and the more recent contacts with Hungarian, Viennese and Turkish cuisines while the coastal areas have tremendous influence of Greek, Roman and Illyrian as well as Italian and French way of cooking. |
Like in all other parts of the world, every holiday in this country also has a typical dish associated with it. Hot-pepper-flavoured sausages or Kulen are eaten during the harvesting seasons, goose is laid on the table on St. Martin s Day, turkey and other fowl, as well as sarma (meat-stuffed cabbage leaves), are served on Christmas Day. While pork and potato stew is eaten on pilgrimages and at fairs; cod is prepared for Christmas Eve and Good Friday; pork is eaten on New Year's Day and doughnuts are an integral part of carnival festivities. In the southern parts of the country they prepare a similar fried sweet dish known as hrostule. During Easter's, ham and boiled eggs with green vegetables are served while desserts comprise traditional cakes called Pincas.
At weddings, a variety of dishes with dozens of cakes and biscuits are served, including breskvice, shortbread bear paws, gingerbread biscuits and plain fritters are served.
The favourite meals on all occasions include spit-roasted lamb and suckling pig, grilled fish, calamari, barbecue dishes like raznjici, cevapcici and mixed grill - prosciutto and sheep's cheese, or smoked ham and cottage cheese with sour cream, fish stew, and venison.
Croatian people also use a food enhancer called Vegeta (vegetable seasoning) to flavour their dishes. This product is made in Croatia and is available in Polish and German delicatessens in Europe and America.
With such a huge array of food and cuisine, Croatia also has a broad palette of high quality wines, brandies, fruit juices, beers and mineral water. In fact there are up to 700 wines with protected geographic origin. In the south, people drink bevanda with their food. Bevanda is heavy, richly flavoured red wine mixed with plain water) and in northwestern regions it is gemisht ??? dry, flavoured wines mixed with mineral water.
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