The large number of fish farms worldwide have made carp an inexpensive if undervalued fish. Sadly, it is often bred in poor quality water and fed a poor quality diet.
In complete contrast are the carp bred in Vransko jezero (the Vrana lake) near Biograd, regarded as among the best in Europe. Although locally it is grilled, some methods used in Slavonia seem much better suited. Gutted and salted it is affixed to a forked branch which is then stuck into the ground close to live coals, thus allowing the fish to slowly “melt”. Larger specimens, cut into slightly thicker slices, are fried in pork fat.
Carp from a fish farm can also be top of the range fish if both water and food are of good quality-as is the case at the fish farm in Crna Mlaka.

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Fresh cottage cheese and smetana are so popular among Croats that have even appeared on jumbo posters used in political election campaigns! He who cherishes sir i vrhnje the most, can usually be assured of a great empathy among voters.
The cheese in question is freshly curdled, gently strained cow milk cheese, formed into round cakes of ½ kg or so, the quality of which greatly depends on the quality of grazing, which in this particular case is excellent.
Although the Zagreb cluster is the centre of the sir i vrhnje tradition, this type of cheese is produced in many locations of this cluster, as well as in certain parts of Slavonia. It is sold exclusively in the markets. Cottage cheese and smetana are eaten primarily completely fresh, and serving is simplicity itself: smetana is poured over cheese – one measure (a measure being an old one, amounting to a 1.5 dcl) of cheese to one or two measures of smetana, with a little salt and red paprika sprinkled over it.
It is also traditional that the bread which is served with this simple dish is made from maize, with unleavened dough, and baked to produce a thick, crunchy crust. The bread is baked in large, round forms, sometimes weighing as much as 10 kilos. The most usual side dishes for cottage cheese and smetana are radishes and spring onions.
The mixture is also used to make a variety of spreads, the taste depending on the ingredients: chopped spring onion and ground red paprika, sometimes garlic – especially when young, chives – particularly the wild-growing variety, dill, crab grass, thyme or marjoram. Well mixed fresh cheese and smetana make a delicious topping for broad, homemade noodles, often accompanied by a sprinkling of small pieces of fried bacon, and, according to taste, with garlic.
In some parts of continental Croatia, in particular the Slavonian region, pasta prepared in this way is placed in a very hot oven in order to obtain a nice golden, crisp crust.download wizard of oz the dvdrip

The traditional cheese of Podravina, which has recently been rescued from oblivion and is now frequently found in town markets, is called prga or prgica. Several variations of its production are known, the most common method being as follows: strained fresh cottage cheese is mixed with cream; salt and ground red paprika are added, and sometimes garlic. The mixture is shaped into small cones which are left to air dry, but it can also be smoked.

Croatian language dialects spoken in these areas sometimes differ one from another to such an extent that a foreigner is often led to believe that they are in fact different languages. The same applies to the recipes which include all the wealth of middle class, popular and rural cuisines.
In the livestock breeding areas to the south of the cluster, cuisine is based on simple dishes such as polenta (localy known as pura) cooked slowly for hours and, when done, soured milk, fresh cottage cheese or butter is poured over it. Until recently regarded as pauper’s fare, these dishes are today highly regarded as rustic examples of the culinary arts.
Moving northwards, this pastoral atmosphere at the south of this cluster undergoes a complete change, as for instance in Varaždin. This Baroque town still preserves and maintains its tradition of following the recipes of upper middle class cuisine of the age of Baroque, clearly evidenced in the way that game is prepared and served with meticulously prepared sauces. Castles and shepherd’s huts are the dividing line, both the opposites and the unity of cultural heritage, but also places where today, picturesque restaurants have opened their doors.

Quite apart from their taste of traditional popular cakes, poderane ga?e owe their survival in no small measure to their highly memorable name. Rectangular-shaped cakes, the main ingredients of which are flour, sugar and eggs, with a touch of rum for a fulsome aroma, are nicked in two or three places before being fried in hot oil, the finished article resembling a ripped piece of cloth.

Today, cakes made with pork fat seem like some distant example of gastro-archaeology, but in the times when today´s old were young, salenjaci were one of the most common desserts in many parts of the Slavonian and Zagreb clusters. Flaky pastry was made with minced fat, and stuffed with apricot or plum jam, or with walnut filling, prior to baking.

Carp and trout are the most common freshwater fish available on Croatian markets, since they are bred in a number of fish farms. However, there are those who know that the range of fish on offer is far more varied: catfish and horned pout (liked for practical reasons because it has no small bones, just the spine) can often be found in continental fishmongers. Somewhat rarer is the very tasty pike perch and pike. Rarely, one can chance upon tench, a rather fatty but exquisitely flavoursome fish.
Lately, in Zagreb’s Dolac market it has been possible to obtain, at more than reasonable prices, smoked common bream, an extremely tasty fish but best appreciated by the more patient connoisseur, as it is full of tiny bones. Eels cannot be bred in captivity, but they do appear in fishmongers’ shops. Among other types of fish found in clear and cold rivers, which are of interest to gastronomes, is the grayling, but one has to go out and catch it as it almost never appears on the markets.
There is a fish dish known as paprikash, logically named fish paprikash, regarded as one of the most outstanding Slavonian specialties, but which can also be found in Zagreb, particularly on Fridays.
A good fish paprikas demands as many types of fish as possible. It is prepared in a small (or sometimes not so small) cauldron and cooked over an open fire. Its main spice is paprika, hot and sweet. Hungarians in Croatia are renowned producers of top quality paprika, both ground and crushed. In the vicinity of Vukovar, especially in the village of ?akovci (not to be confused with the town of ?akovac), hot and sweet paprika of the highest world quality is grown, dried, crushed and ground.

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In recent years the famous wine producers of Slavonia have won world acclaim, which has resulted in an increased number of visits by gastronomes. Organized groups arriving for wine tasting are also offered a corresponding culinary array. This growing interest has prompted the wine makers of Slavonia to launch their
own catering establishments.

Kulen, or kulin, is the most prestigious, most appreciated and yes, the most expensive sausagetype product, not only in Slavonia but across Croatia.
The recipe by which it is made seems very simple: the best parts of pork cleaned of all fatty and connective tissue, ground paprika, garlic and salt are the ingredients used to fill a meticulously cleaned intestine.
But as they say, it is not what, but how something is made; every nuance is important in the making of kulen and can be a crucial factor at the Kuleniada – a national competition of the grand masters of the makers of kulen. The pig must not be too young, but rather large, weighing over 180 kg. The breeds most sought after are Mangulica and the black Slavonian pig. Its diet is the key to the quality of meat, the best being from pigs allowed to freely roam the forests and copses of Slavonia and feeding on, among other things, acorn of the famous Slavonian oak.
Not only is it believed, but it is the common practice that the best results are achieved if meat is chopped by hand rather than minced, but there is also a school of compromise: the best parts of meat are chopped by hand for taste, while the rest is minced in order to achieve the consistency that kulen should possess.
Garlic is usually strained into the mixture. Of particular importance is the right choice of top quality ground paprika, and the ratio of sweet and hot paprika used, since it is this spice which ultimately gives the roduct a sharpness that is mild, noble and in no way aggressive. The quantity of salt requires a precision that allows for not the minutest mistake. The prepared mixture is stuffed into different natural casings, but the best for kulen is a meticulously cleaned and treated blind gut of a pig. The secondary choices are the bladder and the small intestine of a pig, or a large bovine’s intestine.
When the kulen mixture is stuffed into smaller intestines it is known as kulenova seka (kulen’s sister). Kulen being a thick sausage, and kulenova seka being a thin one, special care is required when filling the casing; this has to proceed slowly and carefully, since a single small air bubble can prove disastrous during the curing period. Once the filling is completed the casing is additionally salted in brine for up to five days; then, the casing is rinsed well and tied in order to retain the traditional shape even after a curing period of several moths.
If the winter is cold and dry kulen is smoked every third day, if it is warm and damp, smoking is carried out every day. The smoking period takes a month, or longer, until it acquires a dark brown colour. The optimum curing period in cold, airy premises, primarily attics, is about half a year, but it is a longstanding tradition in Slavonia that kulen is eaten at Easter. When the curing is completed, the kulen is stored, and the best place for storing it is in cereal grain or in bran.
Discussions and squabbles extend from the optimal methods of preparation, making, curing, storage to serving; they are vigorous and never ending. While most connoisseurs claim that kulen should be cut into finger-thick slices, there are those who believe this to be sacrilege and that this, the best of Croatian sausages, can be fully savoured only if cut thinly and served on a wooden platter. tailor of panama the free download

A combination of Austro-Hungarian, Oriental and indigenous Croatian gastronomic ideas, amid strongly based agriculture has resulted in a readily recognizable Slavonian cuisine based on top quality ingredients. In addition to all the previously mentioned influences which can be accurately determined from the historical aspect, significant traces were also left by the manner in which food was prepared back in nomadic times and during the great migrations.
Cooking in the open is still the most popular form of Slavonian gastronomy, and it produces a great deal of passion, emotion and nostalgia. Sitting around a fire over which a cauldron gently bubbles away, around barbecues and spits, with horses and carriages not far away, on the banks of the Rivers Drava and Danube, in the wetlands of Baranja, to the strains of violins and tambouritzas: now that spells an atmosphere of some considerable power! All of the brightest amongst the stars of Slavonian gastronomy are the masters of dishes prepared in a cauldron, a variety of fish and meat paprikash, but they are just as good at preparing dishes cooked on the spit, from the small, forked spit used to cook a carp over hot coals, to the more majestic, where oxen are slowly turned and roasted throughout the night.
Slavonia is indeed a cornucopia, which is equally generous in its hospitality and where dishes are rarely cooked for less than ten or more diners. The Slavonians are a jolly lot; they enjoy company and their gastronomy is simply tailored to that end.