Croatian cuisine

Part of a series on the
Culture of Croatia
History History of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia Renaissance Illyrian movement
People
Languages Croatian
Traditions Costume Name days in Croatia
Mythology
Cuisine Easter egg Tamburica Wine Licitar
Festivals Sinjska alka
Religion Badnjak Our Lady of Sinj Marija Bistrica Our Lady of Međugorje Saint Joseph St. Mark's Church Old Church Slavonic
Art Architecture
Literature Comics
Music and performing arts Dance Theatre
Media Radio Television Cinema
Sport
Monuments World Heritage Sites
Symbols Flag Coat of arms National anthem Croatian checkerboard Croatian interlace
Organisations Matica hrvatska
Croatia portal
v t e

Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as a cuisine of the regions, since every region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition. Its roots date back to ancient times. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of cooking are most notable between those in mainland and those in coastal regions. Mainland cuisine is more characterized by the earlier Slavic and the more recent contacts with Hungarian and Turkish cuisine, using lard for cooking, and spices such as black pepper, paprika, and garlic.^[1][2] The coastal region bears the influences of Greek and Roman cuisine, as well as of the later Mediterranean cuisine, in particular Italian (especially Venetian). Coastal cuisines use olive oil, herbs and spices such as rosemary, sage, bay leaf, oregano, marjoram, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and lemon and orange rind. Peasant cooking traditions are based on imaginative variations of several basic ingredients (cereals, dairy products, meat, fish, vegetables, nuts) and cooking procedures (stewing, grilling, roasting, baking), while bourgeois cuisine involves more complicated procedures and use of selected herbs and spices. Charcuterie is part of the Croatian culinary tradition in all regions. Food and recipes from other former Yugoslav countries are also popular in Croatia.

Croatian cuisine can be divided into several distinct cuisines (Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, Gorski Kotar, Istria, Lika, Međimurje, Podravina, Slavonija, Zagorje) each of which has specific cooking traditions, characteristic of the area and not necessarily well known in other parts of Croatia. Most dishes, however, can be found all across the country, with local variants.