From which fruit is the Balkan brandy Slivovitz made?
"plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer bread and salt to guests, and also ""slatko"" (fruit preserve). Meat is widely consumed, as is fish. Serbian specialties include ""kajmak"" (a dairy product similar to clotted cream), ""proja"" (cornbread), ""kačamak"" (corn-flour porridge), and ""gibanica"" (cheese and kajmak pie). Ćevapčići, caseless grilled and seasoned sausages made of minced meat, is the national dish of Serbia. Šljivovica (Slivovitz) is the national drink of Serbia in domestic production for centuries, and plum is the national fruit. The international name ""Slivovitz"" is"
"of the UK. Many types of moonshine are produced in Serbia, even though they are almost exclusively fruit-based, made in pot-stills and commonly referred to as rakija. Šljivovica (plum brandy) is the most popular, but brandies based on other fruits, such as breskovača (peach brandy), kajsijevača or kajsijara (apricot brandy), viljamovka (pear brandy), jabukovača (apple brandy) and dunjevača (quince brandy). Product quality can range from poorly produced low ABV brlja (cheap raw brandy) to oak barrel aged fine quality rakija that is superior to the bulk of the commercial market. Rakija is readily available on open markets even in the"
"villagers still wear their traditional costumes. The fertile region of Šumadija is particularly known for its plums and Slivovitz (""Šljivovica""), plum brandy, the national drink of Serbia. Plum and its products are of great importance to Serbs and part of numerous customs. Serbia is the largest exporter of Slivovitz in the world, and second largest plum producer in the world. In the Šumadija regions – Kačer, Gruža, Lepenica, Kragujevačka Jasenica, Smederevsko Podunavlje and Jasenica, Kosmaj and in the villages around Belgrade, 8,894 kin families with 52,475 households were included in the study of J. Cvijić. Of these, only 464 families"
"the plum brandy šljivovica or homemade rakija . With Serbia being located on the crossroads between East and West, its cuisine has gathered elements from different cooking styles across the Middle East and Europe to develop its own hearty gastronomy with an intricate balance of rich meats, vegetables, cheese, fresh pastries and desserts. It has much in common with the cuisines of neighboring Balkan countries, as well as, to a smaller extent, the cuisines of countries as far north as Germany and as far east as Iran and Pakistan. Its flavours are mild, fresh and natural. Seasonings are light, while"
"Borovička Borovička () (also known as Juniper brandy) is a Slovak alcoholic beverage flavored with juniper berries. It is characterized by a white or golden colour and a taste similar to that of dry gin. It is popular especially in Slovakia, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Today's commercially produced borovička contains about 40% alcohol by volume or 80 Proof. As a benchmark, the minimum alcohol amount required by law in Slovakia is 37.5%. Similar drinks but differently made are known in south Slavic countries such as brinjevec in Slovenia (""brin"" means juniper in Slovene) and klekovača in Serbia (""kleka"" means"
"kg, and at least 40% dry matter.<br> Not to be confused with mead, which is made solely of honey. Rakia Rakia or Rakija () is the collective term for fruit brandy popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50%). Fruit brandies are commonly known as ""Rakia"" in Greece (Ρακί, Ρακή , or Τσικουδιά/Tsikoudia, ), Turkey ""Rakı"" (/rɑːˈkiː/, /rɑːˈkuː/, /rɑːˈkɜːr/, Turkish pronunciation: [ɾaˈkɯ]), Bulgaria (ракия), Croatia (rakija), Bosnia and Herzegovina (rakija/ракија), Albania (rakia), Macedonia (ракија), Serbia (ракија/rakija ), Montenegro (ракија/rakija). In Slovenia, it is known as ""sadjevec"" or"
"it, thus producing a variety of fruit based spirits: ""borovničevec"" with blueberries, ""višnjevec"" with sour cherries, ""orehovec"" with walnuts, etc. It can also be used with herbs or honey (""medica""). But ""tropinovec"" is not necessarily a low-grade spirit. When fine wine varieties are used to produce it, it can be marketed as a stand-alone product. Tropinovec Tropinovec is the Slovene variation of marc or pomace brandy, i.e. a spirit made out of grapes remaining in the wine press after the expression of grape juice, or ""tropine"". According to Article 4 of the Slovene Rules on Spirit Drinks, the appellation ""tropinovec"""
"Viljamovka (pear brandy). Swisslion Group traces its origins from the Takovo, founded in 1962 in Gornji Milanovac and Swisslion itself was founded in 1991. Takovo was state-owned during SFR Yugoslavia and one of the country's biggest industrial companies. Swisslion and Takovo merged in 2004 under the name of Swisslion Takovo, following Swisslion’s acquisition of Takovo through a public tender. Since then, Swisslion Takovo's main factories in Serbia are located in Vršac and Gornji Milanovac. The factory in Vršac primarily produces confectionery. Facilities in Gornji Milanovac spanning on over 30,000 square meters, produce ready-made meals, pasta, soups and fruit juices. In"
"so is the Śliwowica łącka. Numerous social organisations have been campaigning to have this law changed, so far unsuccessfully. A ""Fruit-harvesting Festival"" celebrating the Śliwowica is held yearly in Łącko. Śliwowica łącka Śliwowica łącka (literally śliwowica from Łącko) is a plum brandy made traditionally in the region of Łącko in Lesser Poland. Distilled at least since 17th century, the brandy contains usually between 70 and 80 per cent of pure alcohol. As the lands around Łącko are rich in fruits, ""virtually every farmer is known to distil his own brand"". Altogether some 300 farmers produce approximately 15 thousand litres of"
"Rakia Rakia or Rakija () is the collective term for fruit brandy popular in the Balkans. The alcohol content of rakia is normally 40% ABV, but home-produced rakia can be stronger (typically 50%). Fruit brandies are commonly known as ""Rakia"" in Greece (Ρακί, Ρακή , or Τσικουδιά/Tsikoudia, ), Turkey ""Rakı"" (/rɑːˈkiː/, /rɑːˈkuː/, /rɑːˈkɜːr/, Turkish pronunciation: [ɾaˈkɯ]), Bulgaria (ракия), Croatia (rakija), Bosnia and Herzegovina (rakija/ракија), Albania (rakia), Macedonia (ракија), Serbia (ракија/rakija ), Montenegro (ракија/rakija). In Slovenia, it is known as ""sadjevec"" or ""šnops"". In Romania, the terms ""ţuică"" and ""palincă"" are used over ""rachiu"", ""răchie"". In Central Europe, it is known"
"which have been steeped for several weeks before being distilled. The different kinds of ""Obstler"" are similar to the varieties of ""Rakija"" found in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Slivovitz is a popular schnapps made from Damson plums found throughout the region. ""Kräuterlikör"" (herbal liqueur) is another popular form of schnapps, often sweetened. Well known brands include Jägermeister, Underberg, Kuemmerling, Killepitsch and Wurzelpeter. An inexpensive heavily sweetened form of liqueur is made in America by mixing neutral grain spirit with fruit syrup, spices, or other flavors. Referred to as ""schnapps"", these are bottled with an alcohol content typically between 15%"
"Tropinovec Tropinovec is the Slovene variation of marc or pomace brandy, i.e. a spirit made out of grapes remaining in the wine press after the expression of grape juice, or ""tropine"". According to Article 4 of the Slovene Rules on Spirit Drinks, the appellation ""tropinovec"" can only be used to describe spirits distilled out of grape marc. If a spirit is produced out of marc of other fruit, the name ""tropinovec"" needs to be preceded by the name of that fruit. Because it is neutral in terms of taste and smell, home-produced ""tropinovec"" is commonly used to soak fruit in"
"was made until 2009 by the state-owned company Subotičanka from Subotica, in the province of Vojvodina. Since 2009, when Subotičanka went into bankruptcy, the production and bottling of this brand has been moved to Slovenia. Currently the brand is the property of the Slovenian company Grenki List. Although less renowned within the region, pelinkovac is also produced by a number of small distilleries in Slovenia, Istria and in the city of Trieste and Friuli, Italy. In Bulgaria, pelin () is a type of wine with up to 34 herbs and some fruits added, including wormwood, St John's wort, apple and"
"fruit from ""manzana de agua"" (Malay (rose) apple) to pineapple. The tradition in Croatia is similar to Bosnia, and it is also called ""rakija"" and it's made of various fruits. Each fruit has its own quality. Most common fruit for producing ""rakija"" is plum, because of its high percent of fruit sugar which should be better than industrial sugar, since the final product should contain no methanol. It can also be made from wine and grapes, when it is called ""Lozovača"". In some parts of Croatia herbs are put into ""Lozovača"", which they call ""Travarica"" and it is said that"
"numerous varieties, which are usually named after the type of fruit they are made from. Comparatively many people brew their own rakija. Šljivovica, made from plum, is considered the national drink. Beer is widely enjoyed in Serbia. There are 14 breweries in the country. There are nearly 70,000 hectares of vineyards in Serbia, producing about 425,000 tons of grapes annually. Despite that, Serbia still has little international recognition as a wine producer. Serbian cuisine Serbian cuisine () is the traditional cuisine of Serbia, sharing characteristics with the rest of the Balkan nations (especially former Yugoslavia). Historically, Serbian food is characterized"
"Brinjevec Brinjevec (or ""Brinovec"") is a strong alcoholic drink, produced in the Karst and Brkini regions in Slovenia. It is re-distilled from ground and fermented juniper berries only and it differs from similar drinks that have different alcohol bases with added juniper flavor (compound Gin, Slovak Borovička, Dutch Jenever, Serbian Klekovača, etc.). It has a clear transparent color and it is meant for folk medicinal use and not for regular drinking. It contains between 40% and 50% alcohol and has a very distinctive tart taste ""Kraški brinjevec"" means 'Karst gin' or 'Karst juniper brandy'. The word ""brinovec"" derives from the"
"as ""pálenka"" in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic and ""pálinka"" () in Hungary. Common flavours are ""šljivovica"", produced from plums, ""kajsija"", produced from apricots, or ""grozdova""/""lozova"" in Bulgaria (""raki rrushi"" in Albania), or ""lozovača"" or ""komovica"" in Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina produced from grapes, the same as ""Zivania"" in Cyprus. Fruits less commonly used are peaches, apples, pears, cherries, figs, blackberries, and quince. Similar spirits are produced in Romania, Moldova, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia and the Caucasus. In Albania, rakia is most commonly made out of grapes in mild climate regions and out of plums"
"the original fruit it is better and more common to drink ""slivovice"" at room temperature. Poland has a long tradition of making Slivovitz. Historically it has been distilled in the southern regions of the country by local highlanders and not necessarily given any particular brand names. One of the more recognised of such products is Śliwowica Łącka associated with the region of Łącko. Over the years, it was regarded as one of the best Polish Slivovitz. However, due to the fact that it is made without any specific control and brand ownership it has declined in quality, especially in recent"
"given certain degree of respect above all other alcoholic drinks. The fertile region of Šumadija in central Serbia is particularly known for its plums and Šljivovica. Serbia is the largest exporter of Slivovitz in the world, and second largest plum producer in the world. Serbs are famous for their sporting achievements, and have produced many talented athletes. Over the years Serbia has been home to many internationally renowned football players such as Dragan Džajić (officially recognized as ""the best Serbian footballer of all times"" by Football Association of Serbia; 1968 European Footballer of the Year third place) and more recent"
"from the process of burning during distillation. A common moonshine in Slovakia is slivovica, sometimes called ""plum brandy"" in English. It is notorious for its strong but enjoyable smell delivered by plums from which it is distilled. The typical amount of alcohol is 52% (it may vary between 40–60%). The homemade slivovica is highly esteemed. It is considered a finer quality spirit compared to the industrial products which are usually weaker (around 40%). Nowadays this difference in quality is the primary reason for its production, rather than just the economic issues. A bottle of a good homemade slivovica can be"
"Śliwowica łącka Śliwowica łącka (literally śliwowica from Łącko) is a plum brandy made traditionally in the region of Łącko in Lesser Poland. Distilled at least since 17th century, the brandy contains usually between 70 and 80 per cent of pure alcohol. As the lands around Łącko are rich in fruits, ""virtually every farmer is known to distil his own brand"". Altogether some 300 farmers produce approximately 15 thousand litres of śliwowica a year. In Poland it is a well-recognised brand and it also gained much fame abroad. However, as producing alcohol outside of established industrial distilleries is illegal in Poland,"
"is made from plums, and one called viljamovka (viliam-ovka) is made from Williams pears. Rakija () is one of the most popular alcoholic drinks in Serbia. It is the national drink of Serbia. Serbia is the world's largest rakia producer and drinks more rakia per capita than any other country. According to Dragan Đurić, President of the Association of Producers of Natural Spirits, the EU protects the names of beverages by allowing the prefix ""Serbian"". In Serbia there are 10,000 private producers of rakia. 2,000 are on the official register and only about a hundred cellars produce high-quality brandy. In"
"of sugars (40%), and antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, niacin, tocopherols, and organic acids that are precursors to omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (nearly 9%). They are edible fresh, but that is an uncommon consumption, especially because the mature fruit tends to bruise very easily, making transportation difficult. They are used mostly for jam, marmalades, yogurt and alcoholic beverages, such as the Portuguese ""medronho"", a type of strong brandy. Many regions of Albania prepare the traditional drink rakia from the fruits of the plant (mare or kocimare in Albanian), hence comes the name of the drink ""raki kocimareje""."
"presence of sour cherries (usually the ""morello"" variety, or a bitter variety known as the Schaerbeek cherry) and with secondary fermentation in the bottle results in kriek. Traditional versions of kriek are dry and sour, just as traditional gueuze. Lambic with the addition of raspberry (framboise), peach (pêche), blackcurrant (cassis), grape (druif), or strawberry (aardbei), as either whole fruit or syrup. Other, rarer fruit lambic flavorings include apple (pomme), banana (banane), pineapple (ananas), apricot (abricot), plum (prune), cloudberry (plaquebière), lemon (citron), and blueberry (myrtille). Fruit lambics are usually bottled with secondary fermentation. Although fruit lambics are among the most famous"
"juniper in Serbian). Other similar drinks include several types of Gin like Jenever, etc. International Juniper Brandy Day is celebrated annually on 24th of June. According to ""The Dictionary of the Slovak Language"", ""borovička"" derives its name from the Slovak word for juniper, ""borievka"". Borovička harks back to the 16th century, when this beverage was produced in the Habsburg Monarchy's county of Liptov, today part of central Slovakia. It was exported throughout the whole Habsburg Monarchy, particularly to Vienna and Budapest. It was transported southward principally via rafts floating down the river Váh. Borovička Borovička () (also known as Juniper"
"used similar to ""cordials"", and as an ingredient in cocktails and cakes. Fruit brandies obtained by distillation are often referred by the French term eau de vie. Fruit brandy usually contains 40% to 45% ABV (80 to 90 US proof). It is often colourless. Fruit brandy is customarily drunk chilled or over ice, but is occasionally mixed. Including some of the above, there are about 80 different kinds of fruit brandies in the European Union, registered with protected designations of origin from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain. Most of these fruit brandies are"
"Belgian fruit beers, the use of names such as kriek, framboise or frambozen, cassis, etc. does not necessarily imply that the beer is made from lambic. The fruit beers produced by the Liefmans Brewery, for example, use an oud bruin, rather than a lambic as a base. Many of the non-traditional fruit beers derived from lambic that were commercialized in the last decades are considered to be low quality products by many beer enthusiasts. These products are typically artificially sweetened, artificially carbonated, sterilized, and based on syrups instead of whole fruit. Lambic beers are only produced within 500 kilometres of"
"mixture or even inserted into the plums themselves to replace the pits. Some fruits and vegetables (like rhubarb and physalis) rarely grown in Serbia have also been demonstrated to be well suited for slatko. Frozen berries and fruits may be used as well, but the amount of water and the cooking time should be adjusted accordingly. Slatko Slatko (, meaning ""sweet"") is a thin fruit preserve made of fruit or rose petals in Serbian and Bulgarian cuisine. Almost any kind of fruit can be used, like wild strawberry, blueberry, plum and cherry. Traditionally, all guests in Serbian and Bulgarian homes"
"a reach 50–70% alcohol content. In Slovenia, especially in the western part, moonshine is distilled from fermented grapes remaining from wine production, and sugar if necessary. It is called ""tropinovec"" (tropine, means squeezed half-dried grapes, in the west of the country). Šnops or Žganje, as its otherwise known, is generally distilled from pears, plums and apples. Because it has around 60–70% of alcohol is often mixed with boiled water to make it lighter (vol. 50%). Tropinovec is rarely drunk in large quantities. It is often mixed with fruits (cherries, pears, etc.) to cover the strong odor and taste, or herbs"
"tissue. If the processes involved in forming new tissue can be reverse engineered into humans, it may be possible to heal injuries of the spinal cord or brain, repair damaged organs and reduce scarring and fibrosis after surgery. A 1995 article in the Slovenian weekly magazine ""Mladina"" publicized Salamander brandy, a liquor supposedly indigenous to Slovenia. It was said to combine hallucinogenic with aphrodisiac effects and is made by putting several live salamanders in a barrel of fermenting fruit. Stimulated by the alcohol, they secrete toxic mucus in defense and eventually die. Besides causing hallucinations, the neurotoxins present in the"
"a precious gift, since it cannot be bought. The only way to obtain it is by having parents or friends in rural areas who make it. Slivovica is sometimes used also as a popular medicine to cure the early stages of cold and other minor aches. Though small-scale home production is illegal, the government seems to tolerate it. Several other fruits are used to produce similar homemade spirits, namely pears – hruškovica and wild cherries – čerešňovica. Another common traditional Slovak moonshine is called borovička, distilled from juniper berries or pine. Its flavor, although much stronger, resembles gin and can"
"named after their region of origin and base ingredients. For example: ""Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser"" (cherry spirit of the Black Forest), ""Framboise d'Alsace"" (raspberry of Alsace), ""Aprikot dell'Alto Adige"" (apricot of South Tyrol), etc. They are often regulated more strictly than generic fruit spirits; other than limiting their region of origin, restrictions may include fruit variants, mashing and fermenting technology, distilling apparatus, barrel aging, etc. Among the better known fruit brandies are: Fruit brandy Fruit brandy or fruit spirit is a distilled beverage produced from mash, juice, wine or residues of edible fruits. The term covers a broad class of spirits produced"
"an important part of the local economy: besides grapes, cherries are the most important agricultural product in the municipality, followed by apricots, pears, figs, and plums. Together with the Vipava Valley, Brda produces most of the persimmons in Slovenia. Small amounts of olive oil are also produced. The wine varieties grown in Brda include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Pinot gris, and Sauvignon vert. Brda is the native land of the poet Alojz Gradnik, who was born in the village of Medana. The people speak a distinctive Slovene dialect belonging to the Littoral dialect group. Municipality of Brda The Municipality"