My discoveries in Romania

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Hello guys! I’ve recently returned from Romania, where I stayed for two weeks. Bucharest, capital city, was truly amazing and it’s really hard to find the words which would better describe this old, beautiful city with its peculiar atmosphere of antiqueness. Among plenty of guided tours, which I’ve undertaken there, was one special which I want to share with. This was a traditional Romanian cuisine tour, where we were taken to some popular national restaurants in various parts of Bucharest. We listened to the history and tried a variety of food that was really tasty.

Ciorbă is a traditional Romanian soup that is usually served at the beginning of each meal. This soup is often rather sour due to some special ingredients like lemon, vinegar and even bran extract which are applied for cooking. There are plenty of ciorbă variations. Ciorbă de burtă is the soup that is made of… Now take a deep breath! - Cow’s innards with a huge amount of garlic. It’s spicy, but really tasty. Other variants of this soup are similar to usual chicken, vegetable soup or soup with meatballs. I was told that in south people eat ciorbă with fish guts and they say that it’s really tasty. However, I can hardly imagine this.

We were served with some cute rolls in a restaurant that looked like a granny’s house. I’m not talking here about sushi! These were cabbage rolls with special filling made of baked minced pork and rice. They called it sarmale and I have to admit that the taste was unbelievable! They were served under cream sauce, again with garlic. We have dipped the rolls into this sauce and it added some unforgettable fleur to rice and meat inside the cabbage.

Another thing that we tried was called Zacusca. They eat it with bread, pasta or porridge. They cook it in autumn and place it in jars to eat during winter and spring. They like using either zucchinis or eggplants with a huge amount of spices; after that they are mixed with mayo and onions. I’ve purchased a jar as a souvenir to use it for a barbeque as it goes great with meat dishes.

To crown all the things that I’ve tried, I need to mention Papanași. This is something like a doughnut, but not that spongy. It’s a traditional Romanian desert that is made by either boiling or frying. It has a very tasty filling inside – soft cheese or any kind of fruit jam. When you take a bite from the sphere, the crusty shell crumbles in your mouth and the filling envelops your tongue and it’s truly amazing!



I liked a lot the tour and the food that was offered. I strongly advise to try these dishes if you decide to travel to Romania.



About author: Jammy Britt, a private teacher of French and English, writer for Madestones.com, TravelBlog and MapHappy, a traveler (has been to 13 countries), is interested in philanthropy, and ecology of the environment and modern arts. Her hobby is to travel and taste food of different nations.

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