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Food & cultureBy Clever Tourists · Published
Romania is one of the cheapest places in Europe to shop, and the gap between supermarket and market is wide. Kaufland, Carrefour, Mega Image and Profi are the chains; the piata is where produce, cheese and preserves are actually bought. Much of what is distinctive is preserved in jars, which makes it unexpectedly good for a suitcase.
Zacuscă is a roasted vegetable spread of aubergine and red pepper, cooked down for hours and jarred. It is eaten on bread and it is the single best thing to bring home: cheap, sealed, and impossible to find made properly abroad.
Murături are pickled vegetables, usually cucumbers, cauliflower and peppers together, and varză murată is whole fermented cabbage, sold in bags and used for sarmale.
Dulceață is a thick fruit preserve, made from everything from figs to green walnuts. The walnut version is the one to look for.
Telemea is the brined cheese, similar to feta but saltier, sold by weight at the market and in packs in supermarkets. Cașcaval is the yellow semi-hard cheese, smoked or plain.
Mămăligă is polenta, made from cornmeal, and the cornmeal itself (mălai) is worth buying.
Mici are the small grilled sausages, sold raw in supermarkets to cook at home. They are the standard Romanian barbecue item and the supermarket version is legitimate.
Cozonac is the sweet bread for Easter and Christmas, and pască is the Easter cheese bread.
The Christmas season here centres on pork, prepared at home in a tradition that many families still follow. The supermarket shelves respond with everything needed for sausages, pâté and preserved pork.
Sarmale — cabbage rolls with pork and rice — are the Christmas and Easter dish, and the ingredients are grouped together on the shelf in December.
Spring brings mărțișor and the first wild greens, and Easter brings lamb and drob (a lamb offal loaf).
Țuică and palincă are plum brandies, often homemade and often very strong. Commercially bottled versions are fine and travel well.
Vin fiert is mulled wine, sold at winter markets, and the wine itself is inexpensive and improving.
Cards are widely accepted in supermarkets and increasingly in smaller shops, but markets and rural shops are cash.
Supermarkets are open long hours including weekends; small town shops keep shorter hours and often close on Sundays.
Our Central Europe guide covers where to go in the region, and the Transfăgărășan road guide covers the drive.
A roasted aubergine and red pepper spread, cooked down and jarred, eaten on bread. It is the most useful food souvenir from Romania because it is cheap, sealed and travels well.
Small grilled minced-meat sausages, sold raw in supermarkets to cook at home. They are the standard Romanian barbecue food.
Pork in various forms and sarmale, cabbage rolls with pork and rice. The supermarket shelves in December are organised around it.
Yes, among the cheapest in the EU, especially for produce, cheese and preserved goods bought at a market rather than a supermarket.
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