Croatia can be classified as a Pannonian-Adriatic country due to its Central European and Mediterranean position. In terms of International law, the traditional heritage has moved from a Middle Age Princedom (791-924 A.D.) and Kingdom (925-1102) to its current standing as the Republic of Croatia, declared on June 25, 1991. Croatia has 4.8 million citizens and the capital city is Zagreb. The official language is Croatian. The national currency is the kuna.

The surface area of Croatia totals 87,667 square kilometers, which is made up of 56,538 square kilometers of mainland (65%) and the coastline - both internal and territorial seas - of 31,139 square kilometers (35%). The climate is mainly continental but at higher altitudes, there is also a mountainous climate. In the coastal regions, slightly south of the island Rab, the climate is classified as Mediterranean. The northern Adriatic (Istria, Kvarner mainland and the islands) has a moderately continental climate, excluding the interior parts of the region. Vegetation cover is very diverse. Forests make up 36% of the surface area. In the continental regions, the dominant forests are English oak, hornbeam, beech, and fir.

The coastal belt and islands are characterized by alpine pine, downy oak, white and dark hornbeam and dense evergreen underbrush. Rivers belong to the Black Sea (62%) and Adriatic (38%) drainage basins.

Croatian cuisine, due to its diversity, can be called cuisine of regions. The modern roots come form the early Slavic and ancient times, and due to historical and geographical influences, the most evident difference in gastronomy between the coast and the mainland are the choice of provisions and food preparation processes. The mainland has stronger influences from the ancient early Slavic times, though more recent touches have been added from famous Hungarian, Vienna and Turkish cuisines. On the coast, the older influence comes from Greek, Roman and Illyrian styles, and the more modern touch comes from Mediterranean countries such as Italy and France.

Food and traditional festivities

Many Croatian traditional festivities are distinctly linked with food independently of whether they are related to strenuous labour (crop harvesting or threshing, the grape harvest and Christening of wine, the completion of a house), religion (mostly Catholic - Christmas, Easter, pilgrimages, local saints days), or to memorable moments in an individual’s life (baptism, wedding, birthday, name-day, funeral wakes, etc.) Some festivities are typically of a public character, such as the Dionysian St. Martin s Day, celebrated in private farmhouses, wine cellars and restaurants; others are almost exclusively family reunions (weddings, baptism, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter, etc.)

 

Every holiday has its typical dish. Pork and potato stew is eaten on pilgrimages and at fairs; cod is prepared for Christmas Eve and Good Friday; pork is eaten on New Year s Day; doughnuts are an inseparable part of carnival festivities, and in the south they prepare a similar fried sweet dish known as hrostule. Ham and boiled eggs with green vegetables are served at Easter, while desserts comprise traditional cakes (e.g. pinca). Kulen (hot-pepper flavoured sausage) at harvest time, goose for St. Martin s Day, turkey and other fowl, as well as sarma (meat-stuffed cabbage leaves), are served on Christmas Day. At weddings, a variety of dishes with dozens of cakes and biscuits are served, including breskvice, shortbread bear paws, gingerbread biscuits, fritule - plain fritters, etc. The favourite meals of very many people on all occasions include spit-roasted lamb and suckling pig, grilled fish, calamari cooked in various ways, barbecue dishes - raznjici, cevapcici and mixed grill - prosciutto and sheep’s cheese, or smoked ham and cottage cheese with sour cream, fish stew, venison…


Olives, Olive Oil, and Croatia

When Croatians reached the shores of the Adriatic, about thirteen centuries ago, they realized that the karst region, with scarce amounts of soil, is especially suitable for olive cultivation. The early Croatians noticed fruitful olive trees scattered throughout the coast (Istria and Dalmatia) and especially in the Kaštela region (a 1,500 years old olive tree still persists in Kaštel Štafilić). Throughout the past, in the myths, legends and reality of Croatians, the olive tree has been allocated a key position. The olive oil produced in Croatia today belongs to the very top of olive products from around the world. At a fair held in 1910. in Aux-en-Provence, the first prize was awarded to Croatian olive oil producers.

The wide array of Croatian olive oils includes light and gentle ones, as well as the powerful and bitter oils produced from top quality native Dalmatian cultivars, Drobnica (island of Korčula) and Lastovka (Korčula). Top quality olive oil marks the beginning and the end of traditional Mediterranean cuisine. For Croatia, domestic olive oil and superior quality wines are the entrance tickets to the world of elitist gastronomy.

The southern coastal belt (Dalmatia) and Istrian peninsula are the original home of olives in Croatia, where we differentiate the wild type (Olea oleaster L.) from the domesticated (Olea europaea L.) varieties. The wild olive is one of the major constituents of Mediterranean vegetation and is only sporadically represented in Croatia, with the exception of the islands Lun and Pag where it is found in greater numbers.

The domesticated olive cultivars are much more widespread and, grown on plantations, occupy an area of 1,349 ha according to the most recent data from the National Statistics Service (2003). It is believed that small individual estates (less than 0.5 ha) significantly contribute (about 2 million trees) to the total number of olive trees planted in Croatia today (2,432,653). The domesticated varieties have most probably evolved from the wild types (Fischer) and throughout the years have become significantly different in terms of the morphological-ecological and agro-biological characteristics.

(Photo Credits for Olive Oil Section: Boris Kragić; Text Credit:  Dr. Jasenka Piljac-Žegarac)