This old town open air market is a trip back in time!
Every morning there is a spectacular market in stari grad (old town) Dubrovnik. This is an agricultural country, and everywhere we go there are open air markets. Little kiosks dot the highways, and sideways throughout the country selling fruit, vegetables, homemade jams, honey, oil, meat, cheese, and crafts. In this market, you will find some people that speak English to explain things to you. There will always be homemade rakija, sljiva, a variety of homemade liquors, jams, honey, fruits and vegetables, cheeses, and smoked meats. There will also be all sorts of herbal remedies for health and tea. These people believe deeply in the power of herbal medicinals.
Dried fruits are everywhere. Beautifully dried. Look at these figs! And taste? Absolutely! Taste! Compare mine to hers! Taste! Each person is completely committed to his product, proud of it, and happy to share it with you. But, if you just want to take a photo and not buy anything, be prepared for some major flack!
The orange peels were scrumptious, but I now how to make my own.
So, I bought the figs!
Dried fruits, fruit pastes, fruit gelées are all specialties of this reason. The climate is incredible. The season is long. Everything grows here. Above is some quince paste and fig paste with a laurel leaf on each.
Here are dried figs, laurel leaves and walnuts. Then, fruit jams. Homemade? Come on! Absolutely!
And the little sardines packed in oil are a hot seller. They are usually fried crisp and served at fast food stands. Yummy! See the herbal liquors? (Good for your health! Ha-Ha!) And, if you cannot afford a big bottle, try some samples. Great gifts for home! They are all a minimum of 40% proof. The prices you see are in Euros or “œKunas” and about 7.4 Kuna equal one Canadian dollar.
I had never seen these kind of figs (the green ones above, not quite ripe yet) or such tiny pears. They are obviously pears in this photo, but when I saw them, I had to ask as they were so small! Look at the amazing produce, and the fresh unripened cheese (right photo) below
The basil is always sold with the flowers on it and is used just as much to place around the house for protection as to eat.
Everything is weighed with what are old antique looking scales with actual weights (photo above).
Fantastic environment for a market. The coffee tables are to the back and the espresso was excellent, much to my surprise. The Turkish coffee is usually always excellent, but it is hard to get a great espresso with milk. Yum!
Pava bought some beautiful quince paste from here to give to my mom. I can’t wait to sample it with her! (grin!)
This was a rich an vibrating experience for me. But, how tough to see all of this and not be able to buy it for the evening meal? One thing is for certain: this region is rich in produce from seeds to herbs to nuts to fruit to cheese and meats. And, the pièce de résistance had to be the zucchini flowers. Look at them! Oh my GOD, at this moment I actually DID wish I was at home to buy a bushel and play with them in my kitchen at home. Imagine that when you are on the Adriatic Sea Coast?
I guess I really am a foodie!
Those green figs are actually fresh figs. Dry figs that you buy in the store are preserved by washing slightly over-ripened figs in a see water and then sun-dryed for 4 – 7 days. Dry figs are then shortly boiled in a see water and sundried for day or two. After that they are stored in a cold and dry place with some bay-leafs placed among them and are ready for use after two months when they develop white sugary crust.
Those small pears are the on you could find in this parts of the Europe. They are not grown in large quantities, so you could find them only at local markets.