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Zelnik
Zelnik is a traditional pastry eaten in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It is composed of layers of thinly-rolled leavened wheat flour dough, or possibly phyllo pastry, filled with various combinations of sirene (a white cheese), feta cheese, eggs, sorrel, browned meat, leeks and/or rice. In winter, the filling traditionally includes pickled cabbage, from which the dish derives its name ("cabbage" in bg, зелe, in mk, Зелка). Zelnik is often sometimes served with yoghurt and it is best eaten warm. Zelnik is similar to börek, a dish popular in Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Zelnik is often mistakenly referred to as börek. Unlike zelnik, cabbage börek is made for holidays and festivals and is served with kefir. The crust and the layers of börek are thicker and other spices are used. Zelnik is typically made with leek and sirene and consists of very thinly rolled layers of phyllo dough. Zelnik is usually prepared as one long, thin piece of pastry and wound up i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kefir
Kefir ( ; also spelled as kephir or kefier; ; ; ) is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in particular the Elbrus region along the upper mountainous sections of Circassia, Karachay and Balkaria, from where it came to Russia, and from there it spread to Europe and the United States, where it is prepared by inoculating the milk of cows, goats, or sheep with kefir grains. Kefir is a breakfast, lunch, and dinner drink popular across Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine - where it is known as an affordable health drink. It is also known in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, where buttermilk-type fermented dairy drinks are common. Kefir is common particularly among Russian and Estonian minorities. In South Slavic countries, kefir is consumed at any time of the day, especially with zelnik/zelja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish Straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala, , in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The term ''Balkan Peninsula'' was a synonym for Rumelia in the 19th century, the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire. It had a ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feta
Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brine. Its flavor is tangy and salty, ranging from mild to sharp. Feta is used as a table cheese, in salads such as Greek salad, and in pastries, notably the phyllo-based Greek dishes ''spanakopita'' "spinach pie" and ''tyropita'' "cheese pie". It is often served with olive oil or olives, and sprinkled with aromatic herbs such as oregano. It can also be served cooked (often grilled), as part of a sandwich, in omelettes, and many other dishes. Since 2002, feta has been a protected designation of origin in the European Union. EU legislation and similar legislation in 25 other countries limits the name ''feta'' to cheeses produced in the traditional way in mainland Greece and Lesbos Prefecture, which ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulgarian Cuisine
Bulgarian cuisine ( bg, българска кухня , translit=bǎlgarska kuhnja) is part of the cuisine of Southeast Europe, sharing characteristics with other Balkan cuisines. Bulgarian cooking traditions are diverse because of geographical factors such as climatic conditions suitable for a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Aside from the vast variety of local Bulgarian dishes, Bulgarian cuisine shares a number of dishes with Persian, Turkish, and Greek cuisine. Bulgarian cuisine includes a significant contribution from Ottoman cuisine, and therefore shares a number of dishes with Middle Eastern cuisine, including ''moussaka'', ''gyuvetch'', '' kyufte'', ''baklava'', ''ayran'', '' gyuvech'', and ''shish kebab''. Bulgarian food often incorporates salads as appetizers and is also noted for the prominence of dairy products, wines, and other alcoholic drinks such as '' rakia''. The cuisine also features a variety of soups, such as the cold soup tarator, and pastries, such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savoury Pies
Savory or Savoury may refer to: Common usage * Herbs of the genus ''Satureja'', particularly: ** Summer savory (''Satureja hortensis''), an annual herb, used to flavor food ** Winter savory (''Satureja montana''), a perennial herb, also used to flavor food, but less common than summer savory ** Savory of Crete (''Satureja thymbra''), an evergreen herb native to Eurasia, formerly used in seasoning food Food * In Western cuisine, food that is considered suitable for a main course or other non-dessert course is called savory as opposed to sweet * Savoury (dish), a small savoury dish, traditionally served towards the end of a formal meal in some European cuisine * Savory (ice cream), a brand of ice cream from Nestlé * Savoury pattie, a battered and deep fried disc of mashed potato, seasoned with sage * Savoury pie, pies with savoury ingredients, as opposed to sweet pies * ''Umami'', also called savoriness, one of the basic tastes detected by the human tongue. People * Allan Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balkan Cuisine
Balkan cuisine is a type of regional cuisine that combines characteristics of European cuisine with some of those from Western Asia. It is found in the Balkan Peninsula of Southeast Europe, a region without clear boundaries but which is generally considered to at least include the modern countries of Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece and the former Yugoslavia, with the possible exception of Slovenia and northern inland regions of Croatia. Balkan cuisine can also be found in Vienna as a result of post-WWII migration to that city. Germany has restaurants serving Balkan cuisine, which were often called Yugoslavian restaurants until the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars. A restaurant selling Romani cuisine opened in Slovenia 2014. Romani cuisine, the traditional food of the Romani people, includes dishes from traditional Balkan cuisine. History The Balkans have a history of foreign rule and internal power struggles, and this has resulted in a diverse cuisine in which influences have m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former Soviet Union, Soviet republics of the Soviet Union, republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which are colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as the countries all have names ending with the Persian language, Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of". The current geographical location of Central Asia was formerly part of the historic region of Turkestan, Turkistan, also known as Turan. In the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras ( and earlier) Central Asia was inhabited predominantly by Iranian peoples, populated by Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian-speaking Bactrians, Sogdians, Khwarezmian language, Chorasmians and the semi-nomadic Scythians and Dahae. After expansion by Turkic peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, which spans roughly 40% of the continent's landmass while accounting for approximately 15% of its total population."The Balkans" , ''Global Perspectives: A Remote Sensing and World Issues Site''. Wheeling Jesuit University/Center for Educational Technologies, 1999–2002. It represents a significant part of Culture of Europe, European culture; the main socio-cultural characteristics of Eastern Europe have historically been defined by the traditions of Slavs and Greeks, as well as by the influence of Eastern Christianity as it developed through t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a East Thrace, small portion on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is located off the south coast. Turkish people, Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its list of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city and financial centre. One of the world's earliest permanently Settler, settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Börek
Börek or burek are a family of pastries or pies found in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. Boreks are mainly associated with Anatolia, the Middle East, Armenia, and also with the former Ottoman Empire, including the Balkans and the South Caucasus, Eastern European and Central European countries, Northern Africa and Central Asia. A borek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. They are usually baked but some varieties can be fried. Borek is sometimes sprinkled with sesame or nigella seeds, and it can be served hot or cold. It is a custom of Sephardic Jews to have ''bourekas'' for their Shabbat breakfast meal on Saturday mornings. In Bosnia and Herzegovina it has become commonplace to have borek as a breakfast food with coffee. It is commonly served with afternoon tea in Bosnia and Herzegovina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B. oleracea'' var. ''oleracea''), and belongs to the "cole crops" or brassicas, meaning it is closely related to broccoli and cauliflower (var. ''botrytis''); Brussels sprouts (var. ''gemmifera''); and Savoy cabbage (var. ''sabauda''). A cabbage generally weighs between . Smooth-leafed, firm-headed green cabbages are the most common, with smooth-leafed purple cabbages and crinkle-leafed savoy cabbages of both colours being rarer. Under conditions of long sunny days, such as those found at high northern latitudes in summer, cabbages can grow quite large. , the heaviest cabbage was . Cabbage heads are generally picked during the first year of the plant's life cycle, but plants intended for seed are allowed to grow a second year and must be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllo
Filo or phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is then baked. Name and etymology The name ''filo'' (phonetic) or ''phyllo'' (transliteration) comes from Greek 'leaf'.Alan Davidson (2014). ''The Oxford Companion to Food'. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . p. 307. In Turkish, it is called ' 'thin', a word which is also used for a kind of thin unleavened bread. In Arabic, it is called ''reqaqot''; in Morocco, warqa ( ar, ورقة). The Albanian flia also may be named for ''fije''/''fli'' 'sheet, leaf'. History The origin of the practice of stretching raw dough into paper-thin sheets is unclear, with many cultures claiming credit.Mayer, Caroline E.Phyllo Facts. Washington Post. 1989Archived Some claim it may be derived from the Greeks; Homer's ''Odyssey'', written around 800 BC, menti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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