Historical influences

Montenegrin cuisine has its own history and tradition.

By studying the past and more recent times of Montenegrin cuisine it wasn’t difficult to get to the roots and discover how its traditions and history associated with the Mediterranean area. Similar to other nations in the Mediterranean region, for centuries the ancestors of modern Montenegrins life was simple and rustic, and so was their food. The population is engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Poverty drove them to pay more attention to everything that has to do with food. And nowdays food in Montenegro is still treated with a lot of respect.

It was not simple to provide enough food to sustain families, so people had to experiment with what nature offered. Although the food was uniform, it was healthy, cereal, milk, cheese, eggs, tubers, greens, mutton. Meat was not often eaten because the sheep and goats were used for milk and cheese, and cows were rare. Cheese and milk have always played an important role in nutrition of the population. Greens was also important in ensuring vitamin C. Cooked grains, and all sorts of beans were completing the nutrition.

Although Montenegro is relatively small, her kitchen is quite regionalized. Each region has its own distinctions due to geographic, climatic and historical differences. These differences were maintained until today. Food is a substantial part of the northern regions where the climate is harsher, to help keep the body in the winter. The more we descend to the plains, the climate becomes milder, more fertile land and the manner of nutrition changes. Plenty of vegetables, fruits, fish, makes consumption more diverse. The food is delicious, as is prepared with spices, rosemary, garlic, parsley, laurel. Fish and meat are prepared in many ways, the sugar is replaced by honey. Sailors from the Bay of Kotor, with which the southern parts of Montenegro traded with the East, brought previously unknown spices.

In early urbanization and modernization of society, turning Montenegro into the world, kitchen becomes more diverse and refined, gradually takes on the influences that come from famous European kitchen and begins to adapts his style of cooking. Between frequent wars he social life is renewed and the food is increasingly becoming a symbol of prosperity and happiness.