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H ow did ajvar emerge and who was it that came up with the idea of so many hours and days of work to convert dozens of kilos of bell pep- pers into a few jars of hedonistic enjoyment known as ajvar? Claimed by all countries of the Balkans, the subtext of where it rst came from has not yet been proven scienti cally. Conclusions can only be drawn in- directly on the basis of the development of culinary tech- nologies. Speaking about this is art historian and gastro- heritologist Tamara Ognjević. “There aren’t many written sources on this topic, but it is unlikely that ajvar emerged prior to the mid-19th cen- tury. Speci cally, ajvar requires exceptionally high quality sun ower oil, and that was unheard of before the 19th cen- tury. The rst mention of ajvar is linked to Belgrade’s kafa- na taverns during the time that Serbia was a principality, where it was served almost exclusively. It is interesting to add that the owners of these taverns were mostly‘Tsinters’ from northern Macedonia who’d come to Belgrade to work. That authentic ajvar was composed exclusively from roast- ed red bell peppers, oil and salt, making it virtually identi- cal to today’s version.” Apart from on the menus of taverns, ajvar was only men- tioned as a dish prepared in homes in the rst half of the 20 th century, because it was a very expensive dish for the time, and also required speci c conditions for preparation. “I would remind you that in the 19th century more than half of Belgraders didn’t have ovens in their homes, so they brought food to be cooked at city bakeries. Apart from that, cooking oil was extremely expensive, so obviously it only paid o for tavern owners to make ajvar,”explains Ognjević. Ajvar is also referred to as Balkan caviar, while it’s name is derived from the Turkish word “hayvar”, while the assosi- cation with actual caviar was really just a marketing ploy of old Serbian tavern keepers. “‘Hayvar’is a term that refers to caviar made from the roe of Danube moruna (beluga), a highly prized speciality in this area and a sought-after export product of Serbia throughout the centuries.That was practically the case until the construc- tion of the Đerdap dam, when this species of high-quality sh was“banished”downstream. I think it was a small mar- keting ploy of 19 th -century tavern keepers employed to at- tract the attention of clientele during a time when local be- luga caviar was well known,”says Tamara. It is known that ajvar is best when produced from meaty red peppers, which are easy to roast and peel. Although the recipe is universal, everyone who makes it claims that theirs is the best, or actually that there’s always some aunt who has a recipe like no other. In this region that was simply a matter of prestige... “This is a cultural phenomenon, and the struggle for su- periority in the best ajvar also often has a political dimension. The fact that foreigners who visit our region are extremely fond of ajvar, or rather delighted with it, undoubtedly en- courages this international game. I personally think the best is from the south of Serbia, more precisely from Leskovac, because that region has the best climatic and geographical conditions for the cultivation of the basic ingredient in ajvar - red bell peppers,”explains Tamara.
zni artikal Srbije kroz vekove. Praktično, sve do gradnje brane na Đerdapu, kada je ta vrsta kva- litetne ribe proterana nizvodno. Mislim da je u pitanju mali marketinški trik kafedžija iz 19. ve- ka da privuku pažnju klijentele onog vremena, kojoj je bio dobro poznat kavijar od morune – priča Tamara. Zna se da je ajvar najbolji od crvenih mesnatih paprika, koje se lako peku i ljušte. Iako je recept univerzalan, svi koji ga prave tvrde da je najbolji baš njihov, u stvari, uvek neka tetka ima recept kakav nema niko drugi. Na ovim prostorima to je prosto bilo pitanje prestiža... – U pitanju je kulturološki fenomen, a bor- ba za primat u najboljem ajvaru često ima i poli- tičku dimenziju. Činjenica da se strancima koji posete našu regiju ajvar izuzetno dopada, tačni- je da su njime oduševljeni, nesumnjivo podstiče tu međunacionalnu utakmicu. Lično, mislim da je najbolji onaj sa juga Srbije, tačnije iz Leskov- ca, jer ta regija ima najbolje klimatsko-geograf- ske uslove za proizvodnju osnovnog sastojka aj- vara – crvene paprike – objašnjava Tamara.
„Hayvar“ je pojam koji se vezuje za kavijar od dunavske morune “‘Hayvar’ is a term that refers to caviar made from the roe of Danube moruna (beluga)
Apart from on the menus of taverns, ajvar was only mentioned as a dish prepared in homes in the rst half of the 20 th century, because it was a very expensive dish for the time, and also required speci c conditions for preparation Osim u kafanama, ajvar se u kućnim jelovnicima pominje tek u prvoj polovini 20. veka, jer je to bilo veoma skupo jelo za ono vreme, a zahtevalo je i odgovarajuće uslove za pripremu
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