DALMATIAN COOKING: CUISINE OF THE SLAVIC MEDITERRANEAN PDF, EPUB, EBOOK John J Goddard | 274 pages | 17 Oct 2012 | Createspace | 9781468166187 | English | United States About Croatia — Fešta - The Croatian Food & Wine Festival Brudet , brodet or brodeto is a fish stew made in Croatian regions of Dalmatia, Kvarner and Istria, as well as along the coast of Montenegro. It consists of several types of fish stewed with spices and red wine, and the most important aspect of brudet is its simplicity of preparation and the fact that it is typically prepared in a single pot. It is usually served with polenta which soaks up the fish broth, while other recipes serve it with potatoes or bread. Brudets can significantly vary in style, composition and flavor, depending upon the types of ingredients and cooking styles used. Kulen is a type of flavoured sausage made of minced pork that is traditionally produced in Croatia Slavonia and Serbia Vojvodina. In parts of Slavonia, kulen is called kulin in Ikavian accent. The meat is low-fat, rather brittle and dense, and the flavour is spicy with the hot red paprika bringing it aroma and colour, and garlic for additional spice. The original kulen recipe does not contain black pepper; its hot flavour comes from the paprika. The traditional time of producing kulen is during the pig slaughter done every autumn by most households. Kulen matures during the winter; it can be eaten at this time, although not fully dried and cured yet, with very hot taste, but it will develop its full taste by the following summer. To produce a dryer, firmer kulen, it is sometimes kept buried under ashes, which act as a desiccant. Kulen is a shelf-stable meat product, with a shelf life of up to two years when stored properly. The meat is stuffed and pressed into bags made of pork intestine, and formed into links that are usually around ten centimetres in diameter, and up to three times as long, weighing around a kilogram. The pieces of kulen are smoked for several months, using certain types of wood. After the smoking they are air-dried for another several months. This process can last up to a year. Although similar to other air-dried procedures, the meat is fermented in addition to the air-drying. High-grade kulen is sometimes even covered with a thin layer of mould, giving it a distinct aroma. When the kulen meat is stuffed into the small intestine, the thinness makes it require less smoking and drying and thus also takes less time to mature. Kulen is regarded as a premium domestically-made dried meat product, given that on the Zagreb market even a low-grade kulen can cost much more than other types of sausages and is comparable to smoked ham. Although it has also been produced commercially throughout former Yugoslavia since World War II, the industrial process of production is significantly different, resulting in major differences in appearance and aroma, although it is cheap compared to the genuine kulen. The Istrian stew or jota Croatian: Istarska jota ; Slovene: Jota , Italian: Jota is a stew, made of beans, sauerkraut or sour turnip, potatoes, bacon, spare ribs, known in the northern Adriatic region. It is especially popular in Istria and some other parts of northwestern Croatia. Under the name jota , it is also typical of the whole Slovenian Littoral and in the former Austro-Hungarian territories in northeastern Italy, especially in the provinces of Trieste where it is considered to be the prime example of Triestine food and Gorizia, and in some peripheral areas of northeastern Friuli the Torre river valley, and the mountain borderlands of Carnia and Slavia Veneta. The dish shows the influence of both Central European and Mediterranean cuisine. In addition to the natural environment and climatic differences their gastronomy was heavily influenced also by the different religions practiced by the Slavs. Slavs should actually be considered among the luckiest in the world, as their territories offer, cumulatively, almost all of the foodstuffs typical for Europe and beyond. Cereals and subsequent flour-based and other foods remain staples common to all Slavic cuisines to this day. Bread represents more than just sustenance, it is imbued with ritual significance and function. Similar names for certain types of bread and other dishes show that although cooking methods and recipes changed through the migration of the Slavs, their names were nevertheless preserved. The same trends are known at the micro level, in Slovenian culinary heritage for example, where we have several different names for one and the same dish on the one hand, and several different dishes prepared under the same or a similar name on the other. Most of the old names and archaic cooking methods were preserved for ritual dishes prepared for different festivities as they are recognised as a prerequisite to maintaining the structure and process of traditional rituals. One should not overlook the myriad meat, vegetable and mixed stews that evolved later as a result of contact with Asia. Soups are thought to be historically younger, and established themselves relatively late as a part of European daily nutrition. A special variation on soup is kiselica, fermented flour, oatmeal or barley flakes. One such variety of this soup is kvas, still a very popular beverage with Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians. Pasta especially various stuffed doughy pockets remains highly popular, especially in the wider cereal-growing region of the Danube, from where it spread to other Slavic countries. This testifies to the Slavic origins of pasta rather than to the influence of Mediterranean or Italian cuisines, and the same can be said for dumplings with various sweet and savoury fillings. Typical and authentic Slavic dishes feature a number of vegetable dishes and dishes made from root vegetables and legumes. Centre stage in this context goes to the cabbage and the turnip. Wild and cultivated fruits are also important in Slavic cooking. Butter, olive oil and other oils are used as dressings and for other purposes. Bacon and a variety of herbs serve as tasty seasonings. The wide variety of herbs and seasonings is largely attributed to historic contacts with merchants who brought oriental herbs and spices from faraway lands. Lamb and pork are the most characteristic meats, especially because of the wide range of treats many peoples still make on the occasion of the slaughter of a pig pork lard, zaseka or minced lard, bacon, stuffed and conserved stomach or bladder and other meat products. In the past pig slaughter played a vital technological as well as social role, bringing together people from different local environments into a ritual and culinary union. The processing of pork and other meats and combinations with other foodstuffs still showcases a treasure trove of knowledge and skills par excellence and continues to draw huge attention from the gastronomic community, both in terms of sustainable natural development and closed technological and biological cycles. The processing of milk into dairy products in Slavic lands was developed by shepherds tending flocks in high mountain areas. The Slavs adopted many skills from the indigenous people of the Eastern Alps, as well as the Tatra and Carpathian Mountains during the time of Wallachian colonisation. Slavic lands are in contact with the sea, both in the north and the south. Fish and seafood therefore serve as a healthy alternative to the more meat-oriented eating habits practiced by much of the world today. Close contact with the Mediterranean world, with its diverse and hugely influential culinary heritage, and widely known as the Mediterranean diet, is an added value. Another economic activity that marks most of the Slavic countries and characterises some of their dishes is beekeeping and honey production. Honey was one of the first sweeteners and many dishes evolved into sweets thanks to this special ingredient. Honey has always had and continues to play an important role in some ritual dishes. It is gaining importance also as we increasingly turn to healthier ways of preparing often traditional sweets and deserts. The Slavs, however, have more to show than just a colourful palette of dishes. Their beverages have a story all their own. Natural mineral water, fruit juices and wild fruit drinks answer the quest for a healthy diet. Fruit, cereals and grapevines provide all that is necessary to make alcoholic beverages. An exciting variety of fruit brandies and liqueurs from honey and forest fruit, together with wine and vodka production, largely complete the colourful picture of Slavic gastronomic culture. The initiative for this book on the wealth and diversity of flavours handed on to us by the Slavic cultures came from the Forum of Slavic Cultures. The Forum is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation established in at the initiative of the Slavic cultural community. All these countries shape the flavour and content of this book, which does not, however, present Sorbs and Kashubians as separate entities. Kashubians are a Western Slavic ethnic group as well and live mainly in Poland, in Pomerania. The book therefore offers an overview and insight into the food culture of million Slavs. As it is the first of its kind in the world to present, one by one, Slavic cuisines in a single book, we decided to choose for each country three of the most popular dishes that serve to represent its most characteristic features. We consulted the embassies of all represented countries in the Republic of Slovenia. Their staff confirmed our selections and offered many useful comments and guidelines once they had considered all of the sumptuous flavours of the dishes collected in this book. The Forum of Slavic Cultures aspires to build dialogue, between all Slavs, and to promote the various and variously different aspects of Slavic culture and creativity everywhere.