Seasonal Food in Croatia in Winter: Pig Slaughter, Salt Cod, Sprouts and the First Pag Cheese

Dalmatian prosciutto is salted from mid-November to February, salt cod goes on the table on Christmas Eve, Brussels sprouts are best after frost, and in March young Pag cheese and the plumpest Ston oysters arrive. Months, regions and sources.

Dalmatian prosciutto is salted from mid-November until January or February, depending on the area; after salting it is lightly smoked for about 70 days with a flow of fresh air and dried for at least 12 months, and the bura wind is decisive in the first drying phase, when the ham holds the most moisture (Croatian Wikipedia, Dalmatinski pršut). Winter in Croatia is therefore the season of pig slaughter and salting, not a gap in the calendar: alongside prosciutto and kulen sausage it includes salt cod on Christmas Eve, sauerkraut, Brussels sprouts after the frost, citrus fruit, kiwi from storage, winter black truffle and, at the very end, in March, the first young Pag cheese and the plumpest Ston oysters.

Pig slaughter, prosciutto and kulen

Dalmatian prosciutto has carried the EU protected geographical indication since February 2016 (Croatian Ministry of Agriculture) and is salted only with sea salt. A ham hung in the bura this winter will be eaten next winter; what is sliced at the market in December comes from last year's slaughter. When buying at the butcher's, ask for a cut from the middle of the leg, not the edge, and for fat that is white, not yellow. In Dalmatia the pig slaughter takes place in the same period as the salting, from mid-November to January or February (Wikipedia), so fresh pork, cracklings and blood sausages are a seasonal product of those months at the markets.

Salt cod on Christmas Eve

In Dalmatia, Istria and Kvarner, salt cod (bakalar) is prepared on Christmas Eve. The tradition goes back to 1431, when the Venetian nobleman Pier Querini was shipwrecked and washed up on Norway's Lofoten islands, where the locals fed him dried cod; he returned with large quantities and started a trade that spread to the Adriatic coast in the 16th century (Morski.hr). Dried cod does not depend on a fishing season, but it does depend on time: it has to be beaten, then soaked for at least 24 to 48 hours with changes of water before being cooked white with potatoes or as a red stew. Recipes for both versions are among the winter recipes.

Winter vegetables: Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, kale and leeks

Brussels sprouts are harvested from late autumn through the whole winter until early spring; they withstand −12 °C (10 °F), are hardier than cabbage, and are at their best after the first frosts, when the sugar content in the buds and leaves rises by 50 to 100 percent and the bitter taste disappears (Gospodarski list). Frost-touched sprouts at the market are therefore an advantage, not a flaw. Ogulin sauerkraut from Ogulin and Josipdol, with a protected designation of origin since August 2015, is made by natural lactic fermentation from heads heavier than a kilogram (Ministry of Agriculture) and in winter is the only domestic product sold as a whole head for sarma rolls. For January and February the seasonal calendar of the Kreni zdravo portal lists carrots, broccoli, celery and leafy greens alongside cabbage and kale, and parsley, rosemary, sage and bay leaf among the herbs. Lika potatoes, floury and high in dry matter (Agrovelebit), are the winter potato for mash and soups, while waxy salad potatoes wait until May.

Citrus, kiwi and persimmon

The Neretva mandarin harvest begins in mid-September (HRT), and according to the Kreni zdravo calendar November and December bring oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit, kiwi and persimmon, which stay on the list in January and February together with apples. Kiwi is picked in November, about fifteen days before frost, and laid out in a single layer in a room at about 5 °C (41 °F) it keeps until late spring (AgroIstra), so a Croatian kiwi in February is normal, not an import.

End of winter: young Pag cheese, oysters and winter truffle

The Pag sheep is a native Croatian breed, and for cheese production the rams are put to the flock in July or August so that the ewes lamb in December and January; young Pag cheese goes on sale after at least two months, mature cheese after 4 to 12 months, and its particular value comes from the salt that the bura leaves on the grass of the rocky pastures full of sage and other aromatic herbs (Town of Novalja). The island keeps about 30,000 sheep, and the cheese has held the EU protected designation of origin since 25 November 2019. The first young cheese and skuta curd of the new season therefore arrive in late February and March. The Ston oyster (Ostrea edulis) is plumpest and tastiest around St Joseph's Day, 19 March, when Mali Ston and Brijesta hold the Ston Oyster Days, in 2026 from 19 to 22 March (Morski.hr, Ston tourist board). The Istrian winter black truffle is harvested from December to March (Rovinj tourist board) and is a cheaper stand-in for the autumn white one.

Izvori

• Wikipedija: Dalmatinski pršut (soljenje, sušenje, bura)
• Morski.hr: Bakalar, odakle tradicija pripreme na Badnjak
• Grad Novalja: Paška ovca i sir
• Gospodarski list: Kelj pupčar, sadnja ljeti, berba zimi