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Kačarevo Bacon Festival (22. Svetska Slaninijada u Kačarevu)

WARNING! This post contains photos that some people might find disturbing! Continue at your own risk. Also, a looong post ahead ;)

Slaninijada is a traditional World Bacon Festival that takes place in a village of Kačarevo in Serbia. It all begun in a local kafana in 1988 when a group of people started a quarrel about pig slaughter, drying and preparing a good bacon. Everyone claimed that he was the one that makes the best, the juiciest, the fattest bacon. Who knows where this would lead if somebody didn’t suggest organizing a competition with tasting. In only two weeks, the first Slaninijada took palce. Ever since, it is organized every next to last weekend in February.

Candy Seller Stand

A typical artisan candy seller’s stand. These are present on any village fair in Serbia. All the candies are handmade.

Candy

Candied apples and a lollipop the size of my head :)

Candy

Left to right: white halva (although yellow), regular chocolate halva, some strange looking bonbons and the slippers, made out of the bread dough. These slippers are primarily made for decoration, and often contain plaster. It is still possible to find the edible ones throughout Serbia, just be sure you ask the seller if they’re edible :)

Candy

Left to right: Licitar hearts, they are made out of exact dough as the slippers above. They originate from the East Alps, then the artisans brought them to Croatia, and from there, they came to Serbia. They often have a little mirror stuck in the middle of them. I remember my grandmother telling me that boys used to buy those hearts for their girls as a sign of their affection. Next, tiny umbrella lollipops, when I was little they could be bought in almost every store, I just loved them! The last photo is of chocolate cream stuffed ice cream cones sealed with more chocolate. My father remembers those when he was a child in the post WW2 Belgrade. They were called Winter ice cream and were sold in every pastry shop.

Transilvanian Cookie

These were an absolute hit of the day to me :) The seller placed a sign saying “An old Transylvanian Cookie”. He was very kind and showed me the whole process of making them. I did some research on them and found they are called Kürtőskalács, a Chimney cake. M says he ate it at Budapest, and that is a common Hungarian street food. Oh, and they are delicious!

Bacon & Sausages

Bacon and some sausages.

Bacon

Bacon

Kavurma

Left to right: A strange sausage – instead of casing it is wrapped with smoked meat; Švargla

Krvavica

Švargla – a kind of sausage made out of pork insides. There is another similar product: kavurma – made out of fried pork or sheep insides, then they are preserved with melted pork fat. It does look non-yummy, but trust me on this, if you ever get a chance on trying it – do it, you won’t regret it! There is a good recipe on Gaga’s blog, give it a try!

Švargla

Bottom left: Krvavica – a genuine horror food, but, I love it very much. When they cut pig’s throat, they collect the blood in a pot, than it is cooked with some insides (not sure exactly what, I had never had a chance to witness it) and then it is all packed inside the stomach or intestines, which is why you need to know if the people who prepare it washed it thoroughly ;) It is well seasoned with aleva paprika and lots of garlic, and if the making process doesn’t bother you, extremely tasty. Next to it: something I could not identify, and it was a very busy stand so I didn’t ask; Right: one more kind of Švargla.

Sausages

Sausages

Sausages

Left: Sausages seasoned with mustard seeds; Right: Sudžuk – Bosnian sausage

Mr. Nenad Ratković

I met Mr. Nenad Ratković, owner of Wine cellars Aleks, again here and sampled some of his world famous Bermet. Whoever says that ambrosia was something else, has never tasted it.

Pljeskavica, Serbian Fast Food

Pljeskavica – Serbian fast food. Minced meat with pepper flakes, served in lepinja (on the left).

Serbian Fast Food

Fast food stands – Pljeskavica is always grilled, and lepinja cut in half and grilled a little too. You could try making this at home but somehow I’ve never tasted anything better then on some village fair. The thing in the pots is Prebranac.

Wedding Cabbage (Svadbarski Kupus)

Wedding Cabbage – Svadbarski kupus, this was our lunch :)

Making of Čvarci

Čvarci – we witnessed making of čvarci. They are even better freshly made than the store bought ones.

Ražanj

Left: Rotisserie pigs and lambs. Pigs are roasted with their skin on which is considered delicacy, but the lambs are skinned. This is a must on every Serbian fair, wedding and slava. And it is traditionally made for the Christmas on the countryside. Right: Smoked pork trotters.

Snow White Gelee & Black Bonbons

Some of the candies I bought. Snow White Gelee, a marshmallow-kind of candy, but seasoned very much with something I can not recognize. The red stripe is strawberry and brown Alpine milk chocolate. Right: Black bonbons. No sugar added, with extracts of over a hundred herbs. One freshens breath for a long time.

Potato Sugar

Potato sugar – even though it’s name, it’s not made of potato. It is actually made of corn, and if I understood the seller correctly, it is made in a similar way as a corn syrup.

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25 Comments

  • Navita February 22, 2009 7:07 pm

    oh I wish I was there with u…love the lepija and those marshmallow looking candies…yum!

  • Rosa’s Yummy Yums February 22, 2009 10:02 pm

    Thanks for sharing! Everything looks fantastic! What a great festival!Cheers,Rosa

  • Laurie Constantino February 22, 2009 10:38 pm

    That’s a festival I would very much like to attend. Your pictures are gorgeous and, for pork lovers like me, very mouth-watering.

  • MeetaK February 23, 2009 12:21 am

    I’m just hungry now!

  • Anonymous February 23, 2009 1:36 am

    Od trenutka kada si mi rekla da ćeš posetiti Slaninijadu, čekala sam članak sa nestrpljenjem, fotografije su odlične, ti prelepa, talentovana, i želim ti mnogo uspeha u budućnosti :)….Vanylica

  • Sophie February 23, 2009 2:01 am

    I have just eaten & you make me hungry again with these beautiful photos!!! What a great festival! Thanks, for sharing!!!

  • Rowena February 23, 2009 2:05 am

    I’m an absolute nut for food festivals (Italy has so many wonderful ones!), and this entry reads like the Mother Lode! I wish I could attend this one day. Fabulous photos and descriptions of everything….bring us more!!!

  • Andrea February 23, 2009 2:05 am

    Super post Marija. Dragi i ja obožavamo obilaziti manifestacije ovog tipa. Fotke su ti divne i sve izgleda jako privlačno, čak i odojci kojih inače nisam ljubitelj. :)

  • Gurma February 23, 2009 3:34 am

    čovječe =D wow kako je ovo lijepo za vidjeti =)

  • Medena (-Melitta-) February 23, 2009 6:06 am

    What a wonderful post!I find the pictures very disturbing—disturbing that I wasn’t there!!!! :)What a great experience it must have been to be there, if I had so much fun just enjoying your post!I wonder why I’m so hungry all of a sudden?!

  • nlo February 23, 2009 6:53 am

    :)) i meni kao i Andrei čak i one stvari koje nevolim izgledaju jako primamljivo. Fotke su prekrasne i mogu samo reći žao mi je što se u mojoj blizini ne održavaju takve manifestacije!

  • pigpigscorner February 23, 2009 1:10 pm

    What a wonderful post! The festival looks awesome!

  • Dawn’s Recipes / The Baby Blog February 23, 2009 5:21 pm

    You photographs are beautiful! What a great festival. I’d love to go to something like that!

  • SweetSensation February 23, 2009 10:00 pm

    kako ja volim ovakve sajmove, manifestacije i buvljake! mora da si se odlično provela, sudeći po fotkama :))

  • dragana February 23, 2009 11:10 pm

    Thank you for these educational posts on Sebian cuisine. I am definately learning beyond “supa, sarma, pecenje” from your site. I especially loved the heart-shaped candy as my mother-in-law told me that she would recieve them from sweethearts when she was a kid at the fair! Love your pics and recipes!

  • Gaga February 24, 2009 2:28 am

    a da povedeš i mene sledeći put :)uf, meni ovde ništa ne škodi, ni očima, ni duši, ni stomaku :)))

  • Anonymous February 24, 2009 4:16 am

    jako lijepa priča… ima toga i kod nas u slavoniji pa me tvoj post podsjetio na sve to… inače volim slaninu,čvarke i kobasice, ali naravno u umjerenim količinama :)volim_kuhati.bloger.hr

  • cuisine by monsoon February 24, 2009 4:29 am

    OMG colours are just amazing!:)I love your new avatar.znas ako ikad dodem u beograd ( a voljela bih jer mi je ostao u divnom sjecanju) moras me odvesti na jedan ovakav vasar.:)

  • Marija February 24, 2009 5:35 am

    Monsoon, dogovoreno! :)

  • chriesi February 24, 2009 9:52 am

    Oh wow what a gorgeous festival!

  • Barb Rolek January 3, 2010 8:25 am

    What a wonderful blog! I was in Eastern Europe ths summer and have Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina on my list. Here's my blog: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com.

  • arzu January 31, 2010 4:42 am

    when see all these stuff , im about to cry…i just love sharquteri and this reminded my last trip to Hungary and Romania..and i didnt know about the festival in serbia. i have to go there :)

  • MaliMerak May 10, 2010 6:57 pm

    Odlicne slike! :) Sve mi se sviđa.Ipak, moram upozoriti da ste pobrkali krvavice i prezgušt. :)

  • Charmaine Sacayanan December 2, 2010 6:54 pm

    Very good stuff.

  • interesting facts April 22, 2011 10:56 am

    I enjoyed reading your blog & I must congratulate you.. this is a work of art!

Comments are closed.