The Mystery Of The Ancient Bulgarian Cuisine

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Since I am from Svishtov and Tarnovo is nearby, I recently found out that Associate Professor Ivan Lazarov from the University of Veliko Tarnovo "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" has been researching ancient Bulgarian cuisine for 30 years. Also, this associate professor is an exquisite chef and cooks only according to ancient Bulgarian recipes. Our medieval history is full of information about wars and rulers.

But what best describes us is the lives of ordinary people, and most of all, what they ate in their daily lives. Proto-Bulgarians consumed mainly meat, milk and dairy products. The associate professor shares that the proto-Bulgarians lived thanks to their herds. They did not like to eat plant-based foods because they thought that plowing the fields was opening the way to the world of the dead.

When they converted to Christianity, their way of thinking changed. The new religion forced people to fast from two hundred to two hundred and fifty days a year. This led the people from pastoralists to become farmers, and so seasonal dishes gradually appeared.

The proto-Bulgarians learned from the Byzantines how to steam, stew and fry. The bread on the table of the Bulgarian appeared only in the eleventh century. However, at that time our lands were considered the most fertile in Europe, because we have never died of starvation.

Everyone who passed through our lands admired the cheap and delicious food, as well as the good and expensive Bulgarian wine. Everyone who passed through our lands said that we wore the clothes of princes and princesses. The Byzantines were fascinated by our delicious bread. Associate Professor Lazarov also says that gradually from Byzantium came aromatic spices, which were brought from China and India.

The associate professor has cooked over 25 ancient recipes, which he discovered during his research of our kitchen. Note that most of the information about the life and everyday life of the ancient Bulgarians was found in their garbage. The historian says: "I restored one of the dishes: A cut beef head is boiled, and then, to the deboned meat are added various vegetables - onions, cabbage, chickpeas, beans. At that time they grew cucumbers, turnips, lentils, carrots. instead of potatoes they used parsnips ".

The Bulgarians, who were wealthier at that time, preferred to have fatter meats in their diet. They prepared roast lamb stuffed with various delicacies. Stuffed loaves of onion and zelnik were also common. Among the most popular dishes at the time was burani, which was made from bulgur and sauerkraut.

Our ancestors preserved the beans by putting them in jars sealed with mud. So canned, it could last all winter. Interestingly, in the Middle Ages there were more cheeses than there are now. The most famous was the "branza" cheese. The soups at that time were called "lentils". The cooks called them "sokachi." Cooking was the highest paid craft in Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire.

According to ancient data, the cook took twice as much money as the hodja. Another dish that was tasted by Associate Professor Lazarov is called: "The Joy of the Soldier". This dish is made from meat and is also called beef brine - it is prepared in a cauldron, at the bottom of which are arranged chopped bones. A grill of vine sticks is made on them and crumbs are placed on it, which are salted and covered with various types of vegetables.

Vine sticks are placed on top again and all this is pressed with stones from the river. One hundred grams of brandy and some water were added. The dish is seasoned with horseradish and baked for 4-5 hours on low heat. The boyars also ate chomlek.

Bulgur porridge was also very famous at that time. The desserts were yogurt with honey and bulgur with fresh milk. They also made guzleme bread, which is baked on a baking sheet. They mixed it with yoghurt, divided the dough into balls and rolled it. The crusts were smeared with plenty of oil and stuffed.

Then they rolled them up and won them. This is how the Calzone pizza appeared, with which the Italians praise so much, and it turns out that it is our business. I hope you found the article interesting.