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Food & cultureBy Clever Tourists · Published
Montenegro is small enough that the supermarket shelf changes noticeably between the coast and the mountains. Voli is the biggest chain, with Idea, Aroma and HDL alongside, and local markets sell produce and cheese by weight. The two regional specialities — Njeguški pršut and Plantaže wine — are genuinely good and genuinely cheap here.
Njeguški pršut is the smoked, air-dried ham from the village of Njeguši in the mountains above Kotor. It is a protected product and it is the thing to buy.
Heavily smoked and saltier than Italian prosciutto, it is served thinly sliced with cheese and olives, or with bread.
Njeguški sir is the cheese from the same village, usually a hard sheep cheese kept in oil. Together they are the standard mountain platter.
Kačamak is polenta cooked with cheese and cream, and the cornmeal and cheese to make it are both on the shelf.
Plantaže is the big state winery, based near Podgorica, and its Vranac red is the national grape. The premium ranges are better than the entry-level bottles and still inexpensive.
Krstač is the local white grape, and it is worth trying if you want something you cannot get at home.
Nikšićko Pivo is the national beer, brewed in Nikšić since the nineteenth century, and it is on tap in almost every café inland.
Rakija — loza (grape) and kruna — is the household spirit, often homemade.
On the coast, markets sell fish, olives, figs and citrus, and the supermarket shelf is oriented to seafood and tourists.
In the mountains, the shelf turns to cheese, cured meat, potatoes and cornmeal. This is where the pršut and the hard cheeses are best and cheapest.
Fish is best bought at a coastal market early, and it is worth knowing that much of what is sold as fresh in summer is farmed.
Euros are used, which makes Montenegro unusually simple for a non-EU country — there is no currency exchange to think about.
Cards work in supermarkets and larger shops. Markets and small village shops are cash.
Voli has the widest coverage and the largest stores; smaller shops in the mountains carry a narrower, more local range.
The Nikšić guide covers where the beer comes from, and the Balkans road trip guide covers the regional route.
A smoked, air-dried ham from the village of Njeguši above Kotor. It is a protected product, saltier and smokier than Italian prosciutto.
Yes, the euro is used as the everyday currency even though Montenegro is not in the EU, which removes any need to change money.
Vranac is the main red grape and Krstac the local white, with Plantaže the largest producer.
A polenta dish cooked with cheese and cream, eaten mostly inland and in the mountains.
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