Croatian cuisine is a special part of the countrys culture, which, no doubt, is appreciated by true gourmets and amateurs. Almost all the dishes are dazzling in its variety, uniqueness, great taste and original artwork.

Separately, there are two directions of Croatian cuisine - Cuisine of the central regions, which isgreatly influenced by the Viennese, Slavic, Hungarian and Turkish cuisine, and the coastal culinary tradition, which is particularly strong shows the influence of Italian, French and Greek cuisine. Traditionally, the Croatian olive oil is added to all the dishes.

Center of Croatia and its mountains are famous for a rather simple but, nevertheless, very tasty food. Its stewed vegetables "manistra", turkey with pancakes, sausages of different sorts, turkey breast stuffed with pickled vegetables "purecha prsa", "buchenitsa", "mezhdemurska gibanica", "Zagorsk zlevka", a traditional layer cake "burek" with cheese or with meat, soup with beans and corn, " manistra od dobicha" fish paprikash from Slavonia, "lamb from the oven," cheese rolls "shtrukli" as well as cooked cheesecake from Zagreb. For dessert, is necessary to try the famous walnut pie, donuts or samoborski pastries. Also typical of the desserts are fruit (fresh and candied), raisins, figs, almonds and honey. And the most popular drink is espresso.

Home made young wine is always worth a try. Extremely tasty plum brandy, which is here called the "plum", such herbal varieties of brandy as "Bisk", "travarka" and "komovitsa", and the local form of brandy - "Vinyak." They make own brandy, infused with herbs "travaritsa." Here they make also excellent liqueurs, herbal "pelinkovach" and Cherry "Maraschino". The following wines are considered to be the best: "Poship", "Malvasia", "Pino", "Kuyundzhusha", "Grashevina", "Traminats", "Kralevina", "Burgundats," "The White Muscat" and "GSC." The best red wines are "Teran", "Cabernet", "Merlot", "Plavac", "Dingach", "Postup", "Opole" and pink wine called "Hrvatika." As far as local beer is concerned, you can taste "Ozuysko beer" and "Karlovachko."

Cuisine of the central regions of Croatia.

Samobor, a small town near Zagreb, is the perfect place for a gastronomic tour. Local restaurants offer spectacular taste samoborski steak, salami, sliced samoborsky donut covered with whipped cream sugar, stewed in a sweet wine flavored potatoes, and cooked on an old recipe mustard.
As for the cuisine of Varazdin and Zagreb concerned, they are mostly urban large cities cuisine, but it absorbed the flavors and tastes of the age-old culinary traditions of Croatia.

Cuisine of mountains

This cuisine reflects the conditions in which people live in these places. Forest highlands and an abundance of pasture, short summers and long winter greatly reduces the variety of products that are used by local residents. The traditional mountain cuisine is characterized by a fairly simple meals over an open fire (grill). But even here dishes include corn meal, beans, potatoes, pickled cabbage, sheep and cows milk, mutton, pork and venison. One should visit some mountain village to taste roasted lamb or grilled pork, washed down with excellent Croatian beer.

Other mountain regions are rich with wild herbs and mushrooms. Make sure to taste the local strong brandy, which is made on honey, herbs and forest fruits. You can eat mountain cuisine in the mountains above the bay Kvaner and the peninsula of Istria (Gorski Kotar region), as well as in Lika where the Plitvice Lakes are situated, which is certainly worth a visit for a tour.

Cuisine of Kvaner and Istria

This cuisine is a special Croatian style of cooking, which is a fusion of the traditions of central and coastal regions. These areas are rich in fish and seafood that are caught in the waters of the Northern Adriatic Sea - a squid, shkampi (shrimp) and shellfish from the Lim channel. After tasting a great ham of sliced smoked dried meat, tasted the cheese and olives, you can still dine in the traditional wine cellars, where fish stew is offered, fish soup, boiled shrimp and black and white rice dish - rizhotto. You could also try these typical Istrian dishes like pea soup, a traditional wine soup, spaghetti and rizhotto with the addition of well-known Istrian truffles dug from the ground by specially trained pigs and dogs.

A Must Drink is young domestic wine (toceno), which is sold in any restaurant and locals.

Cuisine of Dalmatia.

Dalmatian cuisine is famous for its natural, environmental friendliness and the absence of nitrate. The food is cooked quickly, mostly through cooking or frying, and replete with variety of fish, olive oil, vegetables and wild herbs gathered near the coast. A mixture of wild and cultivated lightly cooked vegetables, seasoned with wine vinegar and olive oil, served as a salad or as a side dish to meat. Typical Dalmatian desserts are made up of the Mediterranean fruit, dried figs and raisins, almonds and honey.

But despite the similarities, each region of Dalmatia has its own way of cooking certain dishes. Since cuisine of islands of Korcula, Hvar and Brac has a special way of cooking "vitalets" - lamb tripe, stuffed in a sheeps intestine, and roasted on a spit and dishes, "Vis" - roasted on a spit of bread with sardines (similar to modern pizza.)

Special attention should be paid to fresh marine fish, grilled, boiled or marinated, a variety of shellfish, lobsters, shrimp, and boiled or steamed clams. You will find here unique ham (smoked and dried by the wind from Drnis), served with dry goat cheese from the island of Pag, or Dubrovnik, with salty olives and black olives, capers and onions.