Edible souvenirs are the best kinds of souvenirs, and we are here to tell you about some edible Serbian souvenirs that you can bring home from your trip to Serbia.
Serbia
If you know us, you know we love to eat food, learn about food, and also buy more food! When we travel, we love to visit local delis, artisan food shops, and farmers’ markets to taste and buy edible souvenirs. It’s our small but formidable attempt at carrying the memory of our trip in a physical, and albeit edible form! On our weeklong trip to Serbia where we visited the cities of Subotica, Novi Sad, and Belgrade, we tracked down the best edible Serbian souvenirs.
Unique Serbian Souvenirs: Edible Souvenirs to Buy in Serbia
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What are Edible Souvenirs?
Edible souvenirs are food items that people bring back from their travels to share a taste of the local cuisine with friends and family. These can range from sweets and snacks to spices and beverages, often reflecting the unique flavours and culinary traditions of the region they come from. For example, popular edible souvenirs in India include spices, sweets, savoury snacks, and more. These treats are not only delicious but also beautifully packaged, making them perfect gifts. In general, edible souvenirs are a great way to share your travel experiences through the universal language of food. Have you ever brought back any edible souvenirs from your travels?
Why Do We Buy Edible Souvenirs?
We love buying edible souvenirs on our trips because edible souvenirs allow us to bring home an essence of the place. It is a slice of memory that encompasses all the wonderful cuisines we eat on our travels, all the new flavours we try, and all the wonderful food stories we share.
- Cultural Connection: Edible souvenirs offer a taste of the local culture and cuisine, allowing us to bring a piece of our travel experience back home.
- Unique Gifts: They make thoughtful and unique gifts for friends and family, providing them with a chance to enjoy flavours they might not otherwise encounter. Artisan and gourmet food products made by small family businesses are some of the best gifts I like to give and receive!
- Memories: Tasting the food again can evoke memories of your trip, making it a sensory way to relive your travel experiences! All the times to have eaten the sesame honey from Fruska Gora and waxed eloquently about the mountains and the monasteries. Or, the kaya we brought home from Malaysia that brought back lovely memories of breakfasts at kopitiams.
- Supporting Local Economy: Purchasing local food products supports small businesses and local producers, contributing to the local economy. We picked up Serbian souvenirs from local markets and independent shops.
- Conversation Starters: Sharing these treats can spark interesting conversations about your travels and the places you’ve visited.
Where Can I Buy Edible Souvenirs in Serbia?
Our favourite places to buy edible souvenirs in Serbia, or anywhere we travel to, are local markets and independent shops. Visiting local markets is one of the best things to do in Novi Sad and other Serbian cities. Markets such as the Kalenic Market in Belgrade or Futoska Pijaca in Novi Sad offer an unmatched insight into the daily lives of locals and local food habits and you can join a market tour in Belgrade such as the one below to get a taste of local culinary history and sample the local food. In Serbia, you can also shop at gift shops in the monasteries– the proceeds go into the upkeep of the monastery and the livelihood of the monks and nuns– and wineries.
Best Edible Serbian Souvenirs to Buy in Serbia
These are our favourite edible Serbian souvenirs to buy in Serbia.
Ajvar
Pronounced “ay-var”, this red pepper spread is one of Serbia’s national treasures and undoubtedly one of the best edible Serbian souvenirs that you can buy on your trip to Serbia. Ajvar features on every list of top things to eat in Serbia! The word “ajvar” comes from the Turkish word havyar, which means “caviar” and this certainly is as prized. There’s no true recipe for this orange spread and Albania, Serbia, and Macedonia all squabble to own ajvar as its own. At the heart of the recipe are roasted red peppers but ajvar can contain onions, garlic, carrots, vinegar, or sugar depending on the region. Bottled ajvar has a spread-like texture and a mildly tangy taste. In terms of spiciness, it can be either mild or hot depending on the ingredients. It was a revelation, tasting fresh ajvar on all sorts of things, as a spread, dip, or relish, throughout the day. Autumn is ajvar season in Serbia. Between September and October – during the “pepper season” – ajvar is made in homes across the country but you can find glass jars all over markets in Serbia at all times of the year. The best ajvar is homemade; look for jars at local markets such as the Kalenic Market in Belgrade or Futoska Pijaca in Novi Sad. Ajvar travels very well and can be a continued source of joy for weeks afterwards. On dreary Edinburgh mornings, a bit of ajvar on toast with a side of egg has transported us back to the sunny Serbian afternoons many times over.
Serbian Pickles
Crunchy and sour, Serbian pickles also known as tursija are delightful and usually eaten as appetizers or as sides with meat-based main courses. Pickled carrots, cauliflower, celery, and peppers are widely eaten but the most-loved is pickled cabbage. Whole heads of cabbages are lacto-fermented; the leaves are often used for sarmas or served on their own. We ate a plate of pickles at Sokace, one of the best restaurants in Novi Sad, and enjoyed them. They were delightfully crunchy, had a mouth-puckering sour taste, and were truly delicious despite their simplicity. The pickles served as a refreshing palate cleanser, cutting through the richness of the meat dishes. Their tangy flavour helped balance the meat-heavy meals and made them more digestible. We brought some back and made the pickles a regular part of our meals, enjoying them as a side dish or even as a standalone snack. When it runs out, we will be thinking of running back to the Balkans!
Sesame Honey
We tried sesame honey for the first time at the Museum of Beekeeping in Sremski Karlovci which we visited on our Fruška Gora Monasteries Tour and were smitten by it, so much that we brought a bottle back home to Edinburgh. Honey tasting was something we’d never heard of before, but it made perfect sense on the tongue. The sesame honey is very thick and sticky, has a texture similar to peanut butter, and has a unique nutty flavour. We tried it with crackers and cheese and it was, no doubt, one of the tastiest and most unique things we have eaten on our 7 days Serbia trip and tops our list of Serbian souvenirs. As we were preparing to board our flight home, airport security took a curious glance at the small paper-wrapped bottle we were carrying back. One look and with a knowing nod, they waved us through, clearly understanding the treasure we were taking with us.
Smoked Paprika
No list of Serbian souvenirs would be complete without smoked paprika. Smoked paprika is to Serbian cuisine what red chilli powder is to Indian food. There are two types of smoked paprika: hot and sweet, and both are ubiquitous and add an incredible hint of sweet, spice, and smokey notes and a deep red colour to dishes. Paprika is commonly used in Serbian dishes such as punjene paprike and fis paprikas and you can buy some at any supermarket in the country. But if you want to buy a really good bottle of smoked paprika, head to Spice Up in Belgrade. It is a small shop that you can immediately recognise going by the deeply textured aroma that wafts from inside. Go in and the shop is stacked with little glass jars of spices where you can find locally sourced paprika and various spice mixes commonly used in Serbian cooking, and also spices from across the world from Indian turmeric and Middle-eastern Baharat to African Berbere and Chinese Sichuan peppercorns. They also stock a variety of flavoured salts. We’ve been experimenting with the paprika we brought home to make roast vegetables. The smoky aroma, mingling with some nice olive oil, gives vegetables, especially carrots, a depth of flavour that’s simply irresistible.
Herbal Tea
If you love herbal teas, you must buy them from a Serbian monastery. In Fruska Gora, teas made of locally foraged and grown herbs such as camomile, valerian, peppermint, and various others are sold by monks and nuns at monastery gift shops. We browsed through various religious souvenirs but were immediately drawn to the display of teas. The vibrant colours and fresh appearance of the herbs were so enticing that we knew we had found what we were looking for. We bought a packet of chamomile tea and the quality is excellent. The camomiles bloom beautifully when steeped in hot water, a stark contrast to the artificial-looking tea bags we’re used to. It’s as if all those commercial camomile teas we’ve had in the past were merely a distant memory. However, note that most of the packaging is in Cyrillic and the nuns and monks mostly speak Serbian, so it helps to have a guide to translate. The products are 100% local and the money goes towards the expenses of the order and the upkeep of the monasteries.
Local Snacks
Local snacks are great edible souvenirs! The aisles in Serbian supermarkets are stocked with fun snacks such as štapići which are pretzel sticks sprinkled with salt crystals, Krem bananica which is a chocolate-coated banana cream-filled sweet snack, Plazma which are Serbia’s famous biscuits, and Najlepše želje which is Serbia’s favourite chocolate. One of the things we did in Subotica was simply sit on the bench in the town square and savour supermarket snacks! We love exploring all kinds of local markets (supermarkets are no exceptions!) and browsing through the shelves, especially when I’m met with a variety of unknown, but exciting and mysterious treats. It’s like a culinary treasure hunt! Overcoming the language barrier is the key to unlocking these hidden gems. Imagine trying to explain “pretzel sticks sprinkled with salt crystals” to someone who’s never heard of either! It’s a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the culture and discover how people live their daily lives, beyond the tourist-focused attractions. It’s a delicious adventure that allows you to experience a place on a deeper level, and maybe even take away a few tummy-friendly souvenirs along the way.
Sremski Kulen
If you have ever found yourself midway through a meal wondering hey, is there any way I can get some of this exotic meaty goodness back home as well, then the answer to your query is cured meat. And if you are in Serbia, Sremski Kulen is what you are looking for. Kulen is a spicy, paprika-flavoured pork salami that is loved across the Balkans, and Sremski Kulen is a type of Kulen sausage that is locally produced in the Sremski region of Serbia. It is popular on charcuterie boards and is widely consumed with bread and wine. You can find them at open markets such as Belgrade’s Kalenic Market. They are easy to carry and stay good for a reasonably good amount of time. No better way of making a home charcuterie board stand out than to give your guests delicious food they have probably not come across before.
Pule
One of the rarest and most expensive things you will eat in Serbia or carry home as a souvenir from Serbia is pule or cheese made from donkey’s milk. We didn’t have the opportunity or the moolah to try some but if money is no problem, try this unique cheese.
Serbian Wines and Bermet
If you love wines whether to drink or to gift or both, a bottle of bermet is one of the best Serbian souvenirs to buy. We embarked on a wine-tasting adventure in Fruška Gora, where we sampled a variety of familiar favourites like Malbec and Chenin Blanc. But it was the Bermet that truly stole the show. It is easily one of the best wines I have ever had! This fortified wine, with its unique blend of herbs and spices, was a revelation. I think of it as a heady lovechild of gin and dessert wine. We only encountered Bermet at a handful of restaurants outside of the wineries, but experiencing it in the heart of its production was an unforgettable experience. It’s also incredibly rare to find Bermet outside of Serbia, making it a true gem for those fortunate enough to taste it. Bermets are produced by a handful of wineries in the Fruska Gora region, so if you want to taste some, go on a tour to Fruska Gora to visit the monasteries and the wineries, or bring some home!
Rakija
Serbia’s most famous export is rakija, a type of fruit brandy that is widely consumed throughout the country. We couldn’t get enough of it. We had it with food, after food, and even before food. If you love good liquor, rakija is the best Serbian souvenir you can buy! We brought bottles home for ourselves and for friends and family, eager to share this Balkan treasure. We loved how it was served in tiny bottles and carafes, and often enjoyed in tiny cups or glasses. Clinking a tiny glass with your loved one across the table felt like its own intimate ritual. There was an incredible range of flavours such as plum, apricot, grape, honey, cherries, quince, etc. but the plum rakija is our favourite. From fruity and sweet to fiery and strong, there was a rakija for every taste and occasion.
What are your favourite Serbian souvenirs?
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