Amarena - Fruit Syrups
Centuries ago Prunus Cerarus Marasca sailed from the middle of Asia to the Dalmatian coast. Finding the limestone karst and rich, red soil of northern and mid-Dalmatia to his liking he decided to stay. These days the local inhabitants abuse him in many different ways, and one of the most popular forms of misuse is to make a deep red syrup by crushing him, named Amerena. As is usually the case, it was the local monastery that started up the persecution when they began to make Rosolj, (taken from the words ‘ros solis’ or ‘the sun’s dew’), a strong liqueur – which was to become Maraschino – named simply after the imported cherries.

Cedevita - Vitamin drinks
This is a range of alarmingly colourful drinks that can be bought whether in the bottle or as a powder concentrate to mix up at home. The cool bit is that the whole range contains natural colours and flavours – of course this doesn’t vouch for preservatives etc. but what do you want – blood? For all you folks that don’t like fruit and vegetables, these high vitamin drinks will help fool your body that you do have a brain lurking around up top.

Franck - Coffe & Tea
As you will no doubt have noticed by now, coffee enjoys something of a central position in the cultural life of Zagreb. The Franck Company in Zagreb actually came into life as a subsidiary of the German multi-national Henrich Franck Sohne in 1882. Until 1957 the Croatian operation only produced coffee substitutes from ingredients such as chicory. However, with changes in economics and therefore customer demands, the emphasis then moved to real coffee. Franck is now overwhelmingly the market leader in Croatia. A swift walk through the town will convince that these days this is entirely a product that has at least captured the market in Croatia if indeed it hasn’t captured the spirit. Fruit, herbal and black teas are also processed in the Central European tradition.

Gavrilović - Salami
This spicy sausage is the claim to fame of the sleepy town of Petrinja, which lies about 40km southeast of Zagreb. The most recent ad campaign however for the long, stick shaped snack did its best to shake the town out of its torpor. Nationwide, the country was treated to billboards showing the torso of an unclothed young lady. In one hand she held the desirable object – you guessed it – a Gavrilović salami sausage. In the other she clutched a huge knife – with which of course she was slicing up the snack with evident delight. It's up to you – buy a salami and work out the subtext for yourself.

Kravata - Necktie
For any of you that are thinking about finding the slightest hint of irony in the idea that an item of clothing that almost single-handedly represents an uptight, constricted lifestyle should come from passionate Mediterranean climes, remember one thing – the Croats are kings and queens of fashion! ‘Twas way back in 1635, amongst the large numbers of soldiers rolling into Paris to fight against the nasty protestants in The Thirty Years War were Croatian mercenaries from the coastal regions. They wore coloured scarves around their necks, which the French military thought a wonderful idea. They were so much easier to keep clean than the lace frills that were the norm in Gaul. Hence the new fashion was taken up with enthusiasm and rapidly spread to the rest of Europe – the word for the original wearers: Hrvat transforming on the non-Slavic tongue to Cravat. For those of you that do not want to carry around a painful reminder of that which awaits at the end of your holidays, they make them in nice bright styles also.

Licitarsko srce
These small cakes are traditionally made from honey dough or gingerbread, although try eating one of those that you find displayed in shop windows all over Zagreb and indigestion is the likely result rather than the happy love life that is actually the point. Shaped as a bright-red heart and decorated with white framing lines, flowers and mirrors, licitarsko srce have long been offered as love tokens to the object of affection. These days they are adorned with imaginative slogans such as ‘Zagreb’ and lie in wait to reveal to you the love the locals have for the contents of your wallet.

Morčić - The Moretto Jewellery
There are two legends concerning the introduction of this jewellery as having a special place in society on the Croatian coast. The first involves a defeat of Turkish invaders. The women of Rijeka prayed during the battle for a rain of stones to crush the invaders. Being a good Catholic, God duly sorted it out. The men of the town, having been saved a fair bit of bother promptly thanked the girls by making them all earrings. The other version comes from the Pelješac Pennisular and tells of an Itlaian Baronness that loved her servant girl so much that she granted her freedom and had The Moretto made to remind her of her favoured slave whilst she was doing the washing herself. Even though this form of adornment – brooches, earrings and various other trinkets that take the form of a bust of a black man wearing a white turban – originated in Italy, it is now the official mascot and well-known symbol of Croatia’s main port city: Rijeka. 17th and 18th century Venice had something of an obsession with the Orient and loaded up servants along with spices and cloth on the boats back home. Jewellers started celebrating this practice with these patronising fashion accessories. The maritime regions of Croatia started to produce their own, more modest versions soon afterwards. A single Moretto earring was worn by only sons, sailors and fishermen as a talisman.

Naive ArtOriginating in Croatia in the mid-20th century, naive art is extremely colourful and often political style of painting. Humans appear almost as cartoons and a strange, unsettling feeling is often conjured in the expressions and symbolism. To see examples visit Hrvatski muzej naivne umjetnosti (Naive Art Museum) C-1, Ćirilometodska 3, tel. 485 19 11, fax 485 21 25. Open 10:00 - 18:00, Sat 10:00 - 13:00, Sun 10:00 - 13:00. Closed Mon.

Paprenjak - cookies
Mention of this sweet and peppery treat is found as far back as the Renaissance. There is mention of its popularity amongst the early inhabitants of Gradec (now Gornji Grad) in Augusta Šenoa’s book ‘The Goldsmith’s Gold.’ These small, rectangular pastries are made using honey, walnuts and pepper.

Paška čipka - Pag Lace
The tradition of making lace is so well regarded on the island of Pag that there is now a lace making school well established in the town of the same name – a resurrection of a former school that had run since the turn of the 20th century. It was way back in this time that Pag lace had become famous in its own right and was busy decorating the homes of the royalty of Europe. Previously the local industry had had its work presented as Greek, Austrian or Italian on the world markets. The lace – twenty inches in diameter – consists of a different pattern for each piece, never to be exactly repeated. The painstaking creation of the intricate circular patterns is carried out by the women of the town – and what with the shift away from the islands in general by the younger population it was realised that the tradition and skills could well be lost – thus the reawakening of the school.

Paški sir - Pag Cheese
All things in this world have their beauty. The barren spaces of the island of Pag, which constitute the very northern reaches of Dalmatia, have not only a specific beauty to those with an eye for severe and arid rock formation in place of grass and the like, but this extreme environment also produces special characteristics in the produce that springs from within it. As is discussed elsewhere in this section, without fields to dance around in and daises to pick, the females of the local population have refined their lace making skills. Similarly, the dry and rocky hills here, whilst warding off most lifeforms via boredom and hunger, provide a landscape on which those morons of the animal world – sheep – can be let loose upon without them getting beaten up by the cows. What little vegetation (including hardy medicinal herbs) these poor critters can manage to lay their molars on, is caressed by the sturdy bora (a brisk northern wind) which carries with it salt from the surrounding seas. This high sodium diet imparts special flavours to the hard, salty and absolutley glorious cheese that is made from their milk and then coated in olive oil whilst it ripens. A note for Croatian waiters here: this is the reason that it is so easy to tell when you have handed out a plate of Edam in place of Pag Cheese to that stupid foreigner who you assume won't know the difference.

Pršut - Smoked HamIt tells you something about the nation that whilst everyone else goes round smoking ham and fighting lawsuits for trying to pass it off as Parma, the Croats – sitting just across the Adriatic from that famous pig graveyard – are more than happy to give their produce its own name and character – the latter apparently imparted by the process of drying it in the bura wind. This Dalmatian delicacy tends to be a little tougher and more robust in flavour than its Italian cousin. However, this isn’t necessarily so. Should you be able to get hold of the particular example of Pršut that wends its way from Posedarje then this prime hunk of meat’s recent conquering of European competition should ensure a sublime feast.

RakijaAre you a fan of westerns? Does the scene in the saloon with whisky being shot down have you salivating? Well then this is the review for you – Croatian firewater. Rakija is the generic name for the huge variety of fruit and herb brandies, (although just about anything can, and has been, forced through a still), that can be found in every single Croatian home, bar, restaurant or what have you. The best Rakija is homemade – often in the villages, one person will own a still and share the produced booze with the fruit growers. Naturally all social occasions surround the beloved liquid, whose strength is capable of inducing more winces than a GW speech at a Greenpeace meeting. Arriving in most homes as a guest will involve you and this beast raising a toast. It is also claimed to be good as an aperitif and even better as a digestive – burning a hole through all that fodder you just wolfed down. Strains particular to Croatia include Travarice, which is made from aromatic grasses and kirsch made from Maraschino cherries.

Vegeta - Food Seasoning
This is basically a food seasoning. It is made from vegetables, spices and salt and therefore has the added bonus of being vegetarian – oh you healthy beast! And don’t worry; MSG is in everything these days anyway, as it is in this Croatian stuff and indeed most of Central Europe. Remember how we raved about the standard of the food in this country? Well, now you have joined us in this appreciation we can reveal the secret to you – and that secret is Vegeta. When you find that your pasta dish is unreasonably rich and salty – well then you know that the commis chef is in need of extra training for his Vegeta shake.

Wine
There are 650km2 of vineyards in the state of Croatia utilising land that is ideal for vines and taking full advantage of the favourable climate. There are essentially two distinct wine regions; the generally arid and barren southern and western areas of the country consisting of the coast and the limestone karst mountains just inland and the richer, more fertile plains of the interior. Essentially whites dominate production inland – the most famous of which is the lightweight Graševina, whilst rich and powerful reds, such as Babić from the island of Hvar are baked in the coastal sunshine. A claim to fame is found in the form of Mali Plavac, (literally ‘Small Blue’ – referring to the appearance of the ideal grape), which is transformed into excellent reds such as Dingac and Postup from the Pelješac Peninsula in southern Dalmatia. It is now accepted that this variety of grape is the original progenitor of Zinfandel – a mystery that had gone back for a century and had endured Italian claims via the Primitivo strain. For decent and bargain-priced wine when out and about in bars and restaurants, ask for open domestic wine that comes in half or full litre jugs or by the glass.