What to Eat Around the World | Page 7 of 70
Kroasan so Kaškaval: Croissant with Cheese from Balkan Bakeries
Kroasan so kaškaval is a croissant with yellow kaškaval cheese, the way bakeries sell it across North Macedonia and the rest of the Balkans - filled inside or piled with grated cheese on top. It arrived in Macedonian bakeries as a modern breakfast alongside traditional burek, and in it Viennese-French pastry meets Balkan cheese.
Lisnato: Puff Pastry Baked Goods
In Macedonian bakeries, lisnato is the catch-all name for anything made of puff pastry - the word simply means "leafed" and every baker picks the filling, from cheese and ham to sour cherries. Bakeries all across the Balkans and further into Europe bake the same dough.
Padobranci: Walnut Sweets With Cream Known Across the Former Yugoslavia
Padobranci are a sweet a Parisian pastry chef would fault for its cracked surface - here, that's exactly the point. Two crisp meringue-like halves made of egg whites, sugar, and ground walnuts dry slowly in a gentle oven, then get glued together with a thick layer of cream. It's not a Macedonian invention: the same treat, under the same name, is baked in Serbia and Croatia too - a homemade sweet of the whole former Yugoslavia.
Oreovki: Balkan Walnut Sweets
Oreovki, also known as orasnici, are a sweet made of nothing but walnuts, eggs, and sugar - don't go looking for flour or butter in them. Little horseshoes of ground walnut mixture are coated in crushed walnuts and slowly dried, giving them a crisp coating and a soft center. The whole former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria know them too - it's not a Macedonian invention.
Lepinja: A Balkan Yeast Bread for Kebapi
Lepinja is a round flatbread made from yeasted dough, served warm in North Macedonia alongside kebapi and other grilled meats. The name is Macedonian and Serbian, but the bread itself belongs to the whole Balkans: in Bosnia it's called somun, and in Turkey its closest relative is the festive ramazan pidesi. In kebapčilnicas it sits in stacks on the counter, and nobody orders it - it just shows up.
What to Bring Back from North Macedonia?
From North Macedonia I mainly bring back cheese: sheep's kaškaval from Trnica below Mount Korab, the hard and salty bieno sirenje, the mixed mešano sirenje, and goat cheese from around Bitola. Add to that a fiery ajvar - though that one only travels in checked luggage - and chocolate from Skopje's Evropa, whose minty Minti bars were the biggest surprise of the whole shopping trip.
Bieno Sirenje: The Macedonian Beaten Cheese from Mariovo
Bieno sirenje is the "beaten cheese" of North Macedonia: the curd is kneaded and beaten by hand, the rounds dry in the sun and then ripen in a strong brine. It comes from Mariovo, the mountain region near Prilep, and legend says it was invented as a cheese the tax collectors wouldn't want. These days it's made from cow's milk too. It's sold vacuum-packed, so you can bring some home.
Tetovski Grav: Large White Beans from Polog
Tetovski grav are large white beans from the Polog region below the Šar Mountains, the variety the Macedonian national dish tavče gravče is built on. They hold their shape once cooked and the skins stay on, but the growers are disappearing and cheap imports sell under the Tetovo name at the markets. Why Macedonians talk about them so much, and how to buy them as a souvenir without carrying Egyptian beans home.
Zelen Pazar: Skopje's Market for an Ordinary Day
Zelen pazar is where Skopje shops for an ordinary day: the market on Kočo Racin Boulevard feeds the neighborhoods around the center and only sees the occasional tourist. Under the roofs they sell vegetables, fruit, kajmak, beans and sweets by weight, and on the sidewalk around them sit the herb sellers with mountain tea and elderflower laid out on cardboard. The name simply means green market. You find the same kind of market all over the Balkans.
Macedonian Beer: Skopsko and Zlaten Dab in a Land of Wine and Rakija
In practice, Macedonian beer means two brands: Skopsko from the capital and Zlaten Dab from Prilep, pale lagers at around 4.5% ABV. Skopsko holds two thirds of the market; the company that brews it was founded by Czechs in 1922 and now belongs to Heineken and Coca-Cola. Statistics say beer is actually the number one alcoholic drink in this land of wine and rakija.