Traveling is not only giving you the chance to see the world, but to discover new cultures, and enjoy the best of traditional food. Everyone has weird food rituals, habits and customs. Romanians have their share of less usual eating combos and pretty weird food fusions. You can just have a few bites and blend in or just smile and wave!
If you have been visiting a few European countries by now, especially the Slavic ones, you won’t feel too much surprised when people will show up wearing their prettiest national costumes and inviting you to take a bite of home-baked bread and dip it in salt. It’s just their way of welcoming guests and expressing hospitality and kindness.
If we are to talk about super traditional mixes that trigger our taste buds, then the classic homemade bread/ smoked lard (called slana)/ onion is the absolute favourite. Don’t forget to accompany it with a good shot of palinca (Romanian brandy)!
Another classic combo that you need to try on your trip to Romania has to be mititei (aka mici) with bread and well dipped in mustard (the local Tecuci mustard is a must-try). Just keep in mind to grab a cold beer to have with that. Any local brand will do!
The Easter feast gives plenty opportunities to have the most unusual food treats. We like to eat the lamb haggis (drob) with cucumber or with spring onions dipped in salt. We simply cannot have the spring onions without dipping it in salt. You might trick us when mixed in salad or other dishes, but otherwise we need some salt with it…
As we mentioned the holiday feasts, we like our Romanian Sweetbread (cozonac) accompanied by hard boiled Easter eggs and some warm milk or yogurt during Christmas. Some might even dipped it in mulled wine. Yep, we pretty much dip everything. At least this is how it looks like…
Romanians are definitely cheese lovers. Cow cheese, sheep cheese, goat cheese – we simply love it. We pretty much have cheese with everything. Like with watermelon or eggplant salad. So, forget about prosciutto e melone, and try some watermelon with cheese or with a few slices of bread. You don’t know what you’re missing out!
If you are already drooling and plan to have a bite and why not, sample some of these unusual combos, we will be happy to have you on our Home Cooked Bucharest Tour. We may not greet you with bread and salt, but will amaze you with our cooking skills!
