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Čvarci (singular čvarak, sr-Cyrl, чварци / чварак, , , sl, ocvirki, ro, jumări, pl, skwarki, cz, škvarky, sk, škvarky, oškvarky, german: Grammeln, uk, шкварки, shkvarky, hu, töpörtyű, mk, Џимиринки) is a specialty popular in
Посек у Шаранима 05.jpg, Cooking
Посек у Шаранима 06.jpg, Squeezing
Посек у Шаранима 11.JPG, After squeezing
Посек у Шаранима 08.jpg, Final product
A special variety of čvarci known as duvan čvarci are mostly produced in the Western Serbia region and especially around the town of
As with most traditional pork products, they are considered to be winter food. Traditional time for pork processing in the Balkans is late autumn, and čvarci are consumed throughout the winter. They can be eaten on their own as a snack, served with heated fruit brandy common to the same region, called Čvarkuše
/ref>
Čvarci (singular čvarak, sr-Cyrl, чварци / чварак, , , sl, ocvirki, ro, jumări, pl, skwarki, cz, škvarky, sk, škvarky, oškvarky, german: Grammeln, uk, шкварки, shkvarky, hu, töpörtyű, mk, Џимиринки) is a specialty popular in Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
, a variant of pork rinds
Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways.
It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small piece ...
. They are a kind of pork cracklings Cracklings (USA), crackling (British English), also known as scratchings, are the solid material which remains after rendering animal fat and skin to produce lard, tallow, or schmaltz, or as the result of roasting meat. It is often eaten as a snack ...
, with fat thermally extracted from the lard.
Čvarci are mostly a rustic countryside specialty, common to the cuisines of Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
, continental Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, and Macedonia. They can also be found in other countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the 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, whic ...
: in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, Czechia
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...
, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, and Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. They are usually homemade, with industrial production not as pronounced. In larger cities they can be obtained on farmer markets or in supermarkets.
Preparation
Preparation of čvarci involves melting the lard. Lard is cut in blocks of about one inch (2.54 cm) in size and slowly fried in their own fat. Milk may be added at this point in order to obtain caramel colour. Process lasts until all fat melts away and only a kind of tough crispy pork rind remains. Onion or garlic may be added as a spice and salt is always used as a condiment. Pieces of skin may or may not be attached. In most common varieties of čvarci, some percentage of pork fat remains.Duvan čvarci
A special variety of čvarci known as duvan čvarci are mostly produced in the Western Serbia region and especially around the town of Valjevo
Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...
. In case of duvan čvarci, the process of slow fat frying/cooking is prolonged until all the fat has been extracted. The remainder is a mass of delicate fibers which resembles finely chopped tobacco, thus giving the name to the variety: ''duvan'' is a Serbian word for tobacco. Indications for ''duvan čvarci'' had been registered and protected in the Serbian intellectual property office by Slavoljub Batoćanin.
A similar process is used to the same effect in Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for "backland" or "behind the hills") is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica Moun ...
, where čvarci are pressed in a potato press to achieve faster fat extraction.
Consumption
As with most traditional pork products, they are considered to be winter food. Traditional time for pork processing in the Balkans is late autumn, and čvarci are consumed throughout the winter. They can be eaten on their own as a snack, served with heated fruit brandy common to the same region, called rakija
Rakia, Rakija, Rachiu or Raki (), is the collective term for fruit spirits (or fruit brandy) popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50%).
Etymology
Fruit sp ...
, or they can be used as an ingredient in other food recipes (such as proja
Proja (Cyrillic: ''Проја'', ) is a Serbian dish made of corn flour, baking powder, sunflower oil, sparkling water and salt. Proya is an alternative name used in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It has been popular in times of widespread poverty, most ...
baked with čvarci). In Croatia, they are most often eaten with bread and onions. If consumed as a snack, they are very often combined with beer.
Recipes with čvarci include various sorts of pastry./ref>
See also
*Chicharrón
(, , plural ; pt, torresmo ; fil, chicharon; ch, chachalon) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton or beef.
Name
, as a dish with sauce, or as finger-food snacks, ar ...
* Gribenes
In Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, gribenes or grieven ( yi, גריבענעס, , "cracklings"; he, גלדי שומן) are crisp chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions. As with other cracklings, gribenes are a byproduct of rendering animal f ...
* Pig slaughter
Pig slaughter is the work of slaughtering domestic pigs which is both a common economic activity as well as a traditional feast in some European and Asian countries.
Agriculture
Pig slaughter is an activity performed to obtain pig meat (pork). ...
* Pork rind
Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways.
It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small piece ...
* Rousong
''Rousong'' or ''yuk sung or bak hu'' ( ; ), also known as meat floss, is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China. ''Rousong'' is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, to ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cvarci Austrian cuisine Croatian cuisine Czech cuisine Hungarian cuisine Polish cuisine Romanian cuisine Serbian cuisine Slovak cuisine Slovenian cuisine Ukrainian cuisine Slavic cuisine Bacon dishes Serbian products with protected designation of origin cs:Škvarky hr:Čvarci it:Ciccioli sl:Ocvirki sr:Чварци