Zadar Region

Luscious Zadar

The Zadar region is a place of exceptional gastronomic tradition, developed and perfected through centuries of industrious, painstaking and resourceful approach to food and wine making. If you are a food buff that wants to have a great gourmet meal prepared from indigenous food, but you also want to enjoy it in a heavenly environment, wait no more and visit the Zadar region!

Whether you favour panoramic mountain views while feasting on outstanding meat products or you relish the prospect of tasting terrific seafood while exploring distant sea horizons, you have come to the right place. The area abounds in choices and varieties, offering something for all those who prefer trying something new and dining in style. People of the region do not shy from raising free-range livestock, fishing on the open sea, planting various fruits and vegetables or cultivating vineyards and olive groves, as they know that they will be bountifully rewarded. Distinctively traditional and scrumptious dishes like brudet from Kali, skuta from Pag, šokol from Nin, prisnac from Benkovac, ćućka from Biograd, srdela from Sali and many others reveal all the love and dedication put into their preparation. Of course, no great meal is complete without a glass of invigorating wine, a few sips of aromatic aperitifs and a couple of bites of delicious dessert, so you may want to try adding Zinfandel, Maraschino and orange cake to the delight of a luscious gastronomic experience, otherwise simply known as Zadar’s cuisine!

SHEEP AND LAMB

Say YES! to Pag

If you are a fan of exceptional juicy meat or a connoisseur of top-notch prized cheese, do not miss spending more time in the area!

Farmers of the Zadar region have been fostering a long tradition of raising indigenous free-range sheep and lambs, perfecting their specific production of first-rate meat and cheese products.

The outstanding natural conditions, in which the strong bora wind scatters nearby sea salt on fragrant shrubs growing all around, give particularly marvellous and distinctive aroma to these two staples of many Dalmatian recipes. Celebrated by many food experts and considered among the best in the world, lamb and cheese of the area have made famous several coastal, inland and insular localities. However, no top list of gourmet food would exclude young spit-roasted lamb and hard sheep-milk cheese from Pag Island. Visit, taste, tour, experience, learn more about the production and find out for yourself what makes them so unique!

SALT PANS AND OLIVE GROVES

Say YES! to the Zadar Region

Everyone knows how hugely important the olive is for entire Dalmatia, but the Zadar region cherishes a very long and special relationship with sea salt as well!

Mythical and mystical features contributed to ancient olive trees are certainly not without great merit and a deeply rooted millennia-of-concrete-experience base.

Olive fruit and olive oil of the region have been nurturing endless generations of local communities and delighting many other nations in all corners of the world. There is no doubt about the native olive being regal and magnificent, so visit Ugljan Island, for instance, to learn all about it. Nonetheless, the area around Zadar boasts another fabulous gift of nature and a primary ingredient of virtually all food known to human kind, i.e. pure unspoiled sea salt. Pag Island and Nin saltworks in particular take pride in their deposits, which have been harvested and produced traditionally for centuries with minimum changes. Nin even has an onsite museum that will lead you through the process, offer souvenirs and present the flower of salt, an exquisite delicacy dubbed "the caviar of salt"!

VINEYARDS AND ORCHARDS

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Vineyards and orchards of the region have been cultivated for more than 3000 years, giving birth to numerous colourful stories behind outstanding wines and brandies!

Predominantly red wine sorts, like Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet and similar, have put the Zadar region on the world’s wine map.

These intoxicating wines have been steadily crossing the boundaries of Southeast Europe, winning many international awards in the most prestige world festivals that promote this nectar of the gods. Every wine produced in the region has an interesting tale of its intimate origin and meticulous production, but the region also prizes itself with excellent fruit brandies and liqueurs. Nurtured orchards and shrubs of the area are generous with prime pears, plums, peaches, oranges, cherries, blueberries, figs and carob, so their fruit is being used in well-known and valued drinks. However, the famed Marasca sour cherry, first used for brandies in the 16^th century by the local Dominicans, is the most beloved fruit of all and a base for Maraschino, "the king of liqueurs" exported to almost every country in the world!

Characteristic Cuisine — Maja Danica Pecanic

CHARACTERISTIC CUISINE

Say YES! to the Zadar Region

Cuisine of the region provides everything to satisfy your heart’s desire and it is characterized by simplicity of preparation and harmony of assorted flavours!

It is always difficult to get richness of taste using basic ingredients, but natural conditions of the region greatly facilitate simplicity of local food preparation.

The wind that spares the olive, but whips shrubs of aromatic plants and covers them with sea salt, the rolling sea that gathers the said salt along the coast for man to collect it, as well as the sun that dries and nourishes both, nurture all living things in the area. Proximity of the settlements and diversity of the environment enable a fusion of continental and Mediterranean cuisine, with easy access to fresh sea food, ripe fruits and vegetables, distinctive dairy products and succulent meat. Šokol from Nin Riviera, prosciutto from Vinjerac, lamb and cheese from Pag, goatmeat from Bukovica, tuna from Ugljan, mussels from Novigrad, Marasca cherry and so much more is awaiting, so bon appétit!