Serbian cuisine () is a Balkan cuisine that consists of the culinary methods and traditions of Serbia. Its roots lie in Serbian history, including centuries of cultural contact and influence with the Greeks and the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Serbia's Balkan neighbours, especially during the existence of Yugoslavia. With Serbia being located on the crossroads between East and West, its cuisine has gathered elements from different cooking styles across the Middle East and Europe to develop its own gastronomy with a balance of meats, vegetables, breads, cheese, pastries, and desserts. It has much in common with the cuisines of neighboring Balkan countries; its flavors are mild, fresh, and natural. Seasonings are usually salt, black pepper, and paprika, while ingredients are known for being fresh and high-quality. Seasonal food is an important element of Serbian cuisine, thus many dishes are strongly associated with a specific time of the year. Historically, Serbian food develops from pastoral customs that involved the keeping of sheep in mountain highlands, in a climate and regional context that favoured animal husbandry over vegetable farming; Serbian food is therefore traditionally richer in animal products and basic grains—corn, wheat and oats—than fresh vegetable dishes. Following the abandonment of widely practiced pastoral lifestyles, Serbian food emerged through the Middle Ages heavily dependent not on lamb or mutton, but on the keeping of pigs for the annual cull and the production of various cured meats, such as sausages, bacon and ham products.
National dishes of Serbia include sarma (a mix of ground pork or beef with rice rolled in leaves of cabbage), gibanica (an egg and cheese pie made with filo dough), pljeskavica (a ground beef or pork patty), ćevapi (grilled meat), paprikaš (a soup made of paprika), gulaš (soup of meat and vegetables usually seasoned with paprika and other spices) and Karađorđeva šnicla (a schnitzel). The national drink is rakia (various traditional fruit brandies).
The Serbian government has passed laws banning the production and import of genetically modified foods, a legislative decision which has been applauded by environmentalists but caused a long-running dispute with the World Trade Organization, preventing Serbia from being able to join the WTO.
Overview
Serbian cuisine developed under the influence of the moderate continental climate and historical mingling of cultures, with Byzantine, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian influences being crucial in its formation. Serbia is at the crossroads of the East and West, and this is shown in the contrasting variety in the cuisine. Serbian food is characteristically Balkan, and heavy on meat, dairy, and grains, owing to history and geography. Pastoralism has been important as significant territory is mountainous, and in the Ottoman period, Serbs became more dependent on dairy products, and also significantly incorporated pork, which the Muslim Ottomans did not enforce taxes on. William of Tyre who travelled to Constantinople in 1179, described the Serbs as "rich in herds and flocks and unusually well-supplied with milk, cheese, butter, meat, honey, and wax".William of Tyre, Historia Transmarina 20.4. Cheese, pies and breads are included in almost every meal, and meat in at least one meal. Seasoning such as bay leaves were introduced from the Mediterranean trade, and peppers were introduced in the 1600s and became a staple; Paprika, which is especially used, is a major export product.
The Taste Atlas for 2023/2024 listed Serbia at the 20th place of national cuisines, and included the most popular dishes as Pljeskavica (patty), Pasulj (bean stew), Ajvar (relish), Gibanica (cheese-and-egg pie), Burek (pastry), Sarma (stuffed sour cabbage), Karađorđe schnitzel, Prebranac (bean stew), Donuts, Urnebes (relish), etc. Serbian food is of high quality owing to five million hectares of agricultural land of which farms use no genetic modifications. Healthy food is found in markets sold directly from farmers. There are three meals per day. Generally, breakfast is strong, consisting of savory pastry, while lunch is the most important, eaten in early afternoon, and dinner is light. Ordinary home meals include cooked dishes, such as boiled peas, beans or other vegetables, stews and casseroles, moussaka, soups, baked, fried or grilled meat, and salads. For tourists, portions are large, and local dishes are found in cozy kafanas which offer coffee, drinks, snacks and small meals. The kafanas were adapted from Ottoman coffeshops, and feature ethnic Serbian food, drinks and music. Cuisine is heavily integrated with hospitality and holidays.
Serbian ethnologist Dragomir Antonić (1948–2020) studied Serbian cuisine. There are regional variations and specialties, with Austro-Hungarian influences dominant in the northern province of Vojvodina, where noodles, macaroni, buns, dumpling and patties are popular, although there are variations between sub-regions, where Srem uses much more spices than in Banat for instance. East of the Great Morava, hard cheese are popular specialties, while to the west of it, between Drina and Morava, kajmak is the best, especially in the Čačak area. The best pork rotisserie is found in the area between Gornji Milanovac and Mrčajevci (in Šumadija), while the best lamb is in the Raška region and eastern Serbia. Paprika is characteristic of southern Serbia.
The Orthodox monk Jerotej of Krušedol wrote the oldest modern Serbian cookbook in 1855. The first published cookbook in Serbia is The Big Serbian Cookbook (), written by Katarina Popović-Midzina in 1877.Poglaviti majstori svakog krkanluka The best known Serbian cookbook is Pata's Cookbook (), written by Spasenija Pata Marković in 1907; the book remains in publication even today.Istorija pisanja kuvara u Srbiji
The Serbian government has passed laws banning the production and import of genetically modified foods, a legislative decision which has been applauded by environmentalists but caused a long-running dispute with the World Trade Organization, preventing Serbia from being able to join the WTO.
Meal culture Breakfast Breakfast in Serbia is an early but hearty meal, rich in calories and carbohydrates. Bread is frequently served with butter, jam, yogurt, sour cream, or cheese, accompanied by bacon, sausage, salami, eggs, or kajmak. Serbians often stop by a bakery in the morning for fresh pastries such as pogačice, paštete, kifle (which in Serbian usage may or may not be crescent-shaped, and may be sweet, but may also be sprinkled with salt crystals), kiflice, pretzels, , plaited bread (pletenice), breadstick (štapići), kaiser roll (zemičke), sesame seed bread (đevrek), fried dough (mekike, uštipci, etc.). Other common breakfast dishes include various phyllo pastries (burek, gibanica, etc.), kačamak (maize porridge), and cicvara (types of polenta), proja (cornbread), and čalabrca and popara (stale crumbs). A popular dish is the komplet lepinja ("the complete flatbread"), with kajmak, egg, and roasted meat drippings.,
Before breakfast most people usually have a cup of traditional coffee (domaća kafa) or espresso, and with the breakfast itself either tea, milk, milk coffee, or chocolate milk.
Appetizers Meze is an assortment of small dishes and appetizers, though, unlike the Middle Eastern meze, it does not usually include cooked dishes, and is therefore more similar to Italian antipasto. A Serbian meze typically includes slices of cured meats and sausages, cheeses, olives, fresh vegetables, and zimnica. In most traditional restaurants (kafana), meze is often ordered in combination with the alcoholic drink rakija as a starter before a soup or main dishes.
Dishes The main course is most commonly a meat dish. Besides roštilj (barbecue) which is very popular, braising, stewing, and roasting in an oven are the most common cooking methods. Soups Soups are eaten as an entrée at almost every lunch. They are considered to be very important for good health. There are two types of soups in Serbian cuisine: thin soups called supa, and thicker soups with roux or eggs called čorba. The most common ones are simple pottages made of beef, offal or poultry with added noodles. Lamb, veal, and fish soups are considered delicacies.
Type Image Notes Consommé A simple chicken or beef soup with noodles or dumplings. The most common entrée in home cooking. Veal soup Soup with veal (calve) meat. Lamb soup Soup with lamb meat. Fisherman's soup A paprika-spiced fish soup, common in the Pannonian region. Green soup Soup with green salad, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, bay leaves, vegetable or chicken broth, parsley. Tomato soup Soup with tomato, oil, salt, pasta, parsley, in its ordinary form, and also with red onion, carrots, garlic and bay leaves if extended. Eaten as light lunch, appetizer or fast dinner. Cauliflower soup Soup with cauliflower. Egg drop soup
Roštilj (barbecue) Grilling is very popular in Serbia. Grilled meats are the primary main course dishes offered in restaurants. They are commonly served as mixed grill on large oval plates. They are often also eaten as fast food. The city of Leskovac is especially famous for their barbecue.
Ćevapi are mentioned in former Yugoslavia from 1850s onward. The fast food industry developed in the Ottoman Empire from Istanbul to the northwestern frontier (Rumelia), with food industry centers such as Edirne, Thessaloniki, Skopje, Bitola, Sofia, Niš and Leskovac. The quick-prepared meat dishes spread from southern Serbia to Belgrade and further., Leskovac has a long history of grill shops. Belgrade saw an influx of migrants from southern Serbia, including Leskovac, who brought the Leskovac grill dishes, including Ćevapi, Pljeskavica, Mućkalica, and others, which became the best-selling mass-produced food. In the Interwar period, helped through Serbian officials stationed west of Serbia, Serbian cuisine spread.
Type Image Notes Rotisserie A whole pig or lamb roasted and rotated on a rod horizontally over fire. Pljeskavica Meat patty, usually a mixture of pork, beef and lamb, spiced, grilled and served with onion, on plate or in bread (somun or lepinje). There are variants, such as Leskovačka (spicy, with cheese and onion); gurmanska (mixed with peppers, bacon, cheese such as kačkavalj, onion); punjena (very filled with cheese); Hajdučka (beef with smoked bacon). One of the most popular meat dishes and a national dish. Also called "Serbian hamburger". Ćevapi, Ćevapčići Ground pork or beef meat sticks. One of the most popular meat dishes and a national dish. Vešalica Grilled tenderized, lean pork loin strips. Variants are Bela Vešalica (plain, seasoned white pork loin); Dimljena Vešalica (smoked pork loin); Punjena Vešalica (stuffed with cheese, ham, or bacon); Rolovana (rolled in bacon); and Punjena Bela, etc. Ražnjići (Shashlik)( Chunks of meat (pileći–chicken, svinjski–pork, etc.) or vegetables grilled on skewers. Variants include rolovani (chicken meat rolled with bacon). Mešano meso (mixed meat) Traditional mix of meats. Ćulbastija Pork Leskovački uštipci A specialty of Leskovac. Kobasice (sausages) Various sausages, usually with spices (see sausages list)
Pan-fried meat Type Image Notes Bifteki Užički medaljoni Wiener schnitzel Breaded cutlet of veal or pork fried in pan. Karadjordje's steak A breaded rolled steak stuffed with kajmak, sliced ham and cheese.
Cooked meat Type Image Notes Meatballs in tomato sauce Meatballs in tomato sauce, also with pasta.
Stews and casseroles