A deluxe selection of 7 unique food products, sourced from family-run farmsteads.
LIMITED QUANTITIES
Ready to enjoy Croatian homemade food? This collection of Croatian food is cheery-picked to represent the tastes and flavors of the entire country. Each jar, bottle or box follows a traditional recipe that is homemade by a small local farmer.
Putting this food together for you, we stay true to our mission to support small scale, artisanal production and preserve authentic Croatian recipes. Your only task is to eat it!
Please note that items are individually packed in bubble wrap for maximum safety. For this reason, they are not presented in a gift box.
1. Ajvar
This ajvar tastes exactly like the version your Mama or Baka would have cooked in their kitchen. It follows the authentic recipe and uses roasted peppers and aubergines. Mass-produced ajvar is made from cooked vegetables to save time and speed up the process. Not this jar of delight: this ajvar is as artisanal as it gets and a definition of slow food. The first teaspoon will seduce you with its creamy texture and smoky flavor. The label says spicy, but it is mild compared to the Mexican or Thai palate.
Check out my ajvar recipe.
Weight: 370 ml
Ingredients: peppers, eggplants, chilli, sunflower oil, salt, black pepper. No preservatives. Store in a cool, dark place. Use within 10 days of opening. Vegetables grown near Lonjsko polje nature park.
2. Salted anchovies
Preserving fish in salt and oil is a time-tested culinary technique of our ancestors. When the sea gave them abundance, they took time to filet each anchovy and dress it with salt. Once the fish was preserved, it was stored in oil to last even longer. Fishermen and home cooks worked together with the sea and nature so they could eat well during leaner times of the year. Adria Fishing Collective from Tribunj near Šibenik practices this old technique of hand-salting anchovies and makes us appreciate our traditions even more.
Weight: 70 g
Ingredients: anchovies, salt, vegetable oil.
Store in a dry, dark place. Anchovies are from the Adriatic Sea. Best-by date is printed on the packaging.
3. Dried oregano
You only need a pinch of this dried wild oregano to make your food taste like a bomb. The reason is simple. When Mediterranean herbs struggle to grow, they develop more essence in their leaves. Imagine those sun-kissed fields on Hvar island and the rocky, almost unfriendly, soil... This is what makes the plant work harder to flourish. So, give thanks to this Hvar oregano for its hard-won essence. Your dishes (think tomato-based sauces or hearty stews) will taste like drops from heaven infused with the soul of Dalmatia.
Weight: 15 g
Ingredients: wild oregano sourced from ecologically tended wild fields (Hvar island).
Store in a dry, dark place.
4. Herbed almonds
If you lived in Dalmatia and had nothing else to eat but almonds, you would thrive. Dalmatians bake and cook with almonds or munch on them throughout the day to stay healthy. Travel there in February and the sight of almond blossoms will take your breath away. Notice that each house has a tree in the yard. Almonds taste even better when paired with different flavors. This bag contains olive oil-roasted almonds spiced with Mediterranean herbs and salt so you can daydream of the Croatian coast whenever you feel nostalgic.
Weight: 100 g
Ingredients: almonds, rosemary, thyme, salt, olive oil.
Store in a cool, dry place. Best-by date is printed on the packaging.
5. Plum marmalade
Plum marmalade is the staple of almost every Croatian pantry – and the king among fruit preserves. A slice of bread buttered and topped with plum marmalade makes a great breakfast. But this deluxe fruit spread is also our go-to baking ingredient. Imagine a heap of pancakes slathered with plum marmalade or fluffy doughnuts oozing with warm plum filling in the middle. This jar follows the traditional recipe, where plums are cooked for hours until they turn deep purple and gloriously thick. Little sugar is needed to reach this stage, only time and family effort.
Weight: 100 g
Ingredients: ecologically grown plums, sugar, citric acid.
Pasteurized. 160 g plums yield 100 g marmalade. Plums grown in the countryside around Sisak.
6. Pumpkinseed oil
Black as night, pumpkinseed oil is among the most prized ingredients in continental Croatia. Those who grew up with it are hooked on its deep, nutty flavor, but everyone should consume it for its incredible medicinal benefits. Cold pressing pumpkinseeds was never easy, which is why the locals call it ‘črno zlato’ (the black gold). Enjoy this award-winning bottle from ecologically grown pumpkins in the Varaždin area. Season your salads with it, add it to a cheese spread, or drizzle a few drops on vanilla ice cream – this one is a winner.
Weight: 250 ml
Ingredients: 100% cold-pressed virgin pumpkinseed oil, ecologically grown.
Store in a cool, dark place. Best-by date is printed on packaging.
7. Horseradish relish
There is a saying in continental Croatia that horseradish root should be plucked only in the months with the letter ‘R’ in their name. So, use it in the winter to keep warm and in the spring to wake up from the slumber. Here's what you do. Add a few teaspoons of this relish on your plate to give meat dishes a warm and peppery kick. The flavor travels up your nose, so if you feel clogged up, expect a sudden relief. This jar is a traditional mix of grated horseradish root and apple sauce, with a sidekick of ginger and spices.
Weight: 210 g
Ingredients: apples 60%, horseradish 35%, ginger, apple cider vinegar, sunflower oil, lemon juice, spices.
Store at temperature 4-8 ºC (40-48 ºF). Best-by date is printed on packaging.