Bulgaria
България
Bulgaria sits where Europe’s old roads cross. Thracian, Slavic, and Ottoman kitchens met Greek, Jewish, and Armenian tables. The country is ancient; the cooking is a mix you can taste.
Home food is still built around seasons and the shared table. Yogurt and white brine cheese, slow stews, grilled meats, stuffed leaves, peppers, and bread with salt are everyday, not museum pieces. Feast days keep recipes that were passed down more than they were written down.
If you want to try Bulgarian food, you are tasting that history: mountain herbs, Black Sea fish, garden vegetables, and a sweet tooth from the rose valleys and the trade routes. It is generous, sour and savoury at once, and meant to be eaten with other people.