Istria gastro guide
Decided to make a little introduction to the gastronomy of Istria, before i take you to the specific places to visit. Here it goes.
Istra is a region in Croatia known for good food and wine. This part of the country had a lot of Italian influence during history and you can taste that in the food as well. If compared to a region in Italy I would say Tuscany but a lot smaller. Italians living in Istria are descendands of the Roman settlers and South Slavic people that were later assimilated by the Romans. Don't be suprised when hearing an Italian surname in Istria because they are quite common there.
What you want to try when visiting Istria:
- Truffles
- Wine (Teran, Malvasia)
- Boškarin beef (type of cattle that is indigenous to the region)
- Olive oil
King of mushrooms "Truffle"
One sort of truffles is well known in Istria and that's a white truffle. This Istrian sort of truffles is comparable to those from Italian regions Alba and Pijemont which are the best-known regions for truffles in the world. Giancarlo Zigante held a world record for a white truffle that weighs 1.310 kg in 1999.Since then that record has been broken. He is also an owner of „Zigante truffles“ a brand that is a synonym for good quality products from truffles here in Croatia.
Istrian Wine
There are several well known wineries in Istria. One of them called Veralda won The Best Red Single Varietal at Decanter World award 2016 for their wine “Istrian“. It goes well with wild game or with cheese and smoked ham (prosciutto) platters that are served in the restaurants as an appetizer.They also have a very good white wine from the indigenous grape varietal sort Malvasia.This wine is best combined with fish or seafood dishes.
Other winery's i would mention are :
- Kozlović
- Kabola
- Matošević
- Coronica
Meat made in Heaven - Boškarin
Boškarin was on the edge of instinction a few years back. In the old years it was mostly used for work purposes (plowing the fields, transportation etc.) Modernization took its toll and tractors started to replace the cattle. No one was raising the cattle and the number of live stock was going down year to year. The low point was about one hundred 20 years ago. The problem was solved by „AZRI“, a rural development agency run by the local goverment. They started to subsidize the farmers for cattle raising and they were involved in production and marketing of processed meat products from Boškarin cattle. Now Boškarin is considered as a delicacy not only in Istria but in all of Croatia.
Olive oil
According to „Flos Olei“, Italian guide through the world of virgin olive oil, Istria was proclaimed the best virgin olive oil region for the year 2016. It s no wonder since the olive oil making tradition in these parts dates as far as Greek and Roman era. The largest producer of olive oil in Istria is „Ol Istria“ a brand that has won multiple prizes for their olive oil products all around the world.
If you have any advice or suggestions it will be greatly appreciated
Hope you all are having a great day.
Cheers!