I don’t know what to tell you, Anna, this doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever eaten,”says Ja- net to her friend Ana as she munches a pork rind in her mouth. Ana doesn’t even dare to try those “weird cubes of fatty meat” because she’s repulsed by the look, so she simply frowns and rolls her eyes. The scene provides unusual entertainment for 60-year-old Dra- gutin, who has spent decades selling dried meat products at Kalenić Market. He also likes the fact that this group of six Swedish women have deviated from the usual market scenes, where everyone rushes with the aim of buying something. And they wander without any purpose, other than to have a good time, under the scope of an al- ternative food tasting tour of Belgrade markets for tourists. Dragutin is acquainted with Ksenija Kastratović, who leads these Farmers market food tasting culinary travels (Walk- ing Belgrade tour). That’s why he feels free to ask her if “these merry blondes are taken”. When she translates the question for them, they all giggle and show o their wedding rings. “Now we see each other once a year and travel together,”says Anna. They always visit some di erent country with customs that they want to discover, and in some cases participate in. For them, coming from the north of Europe, Čvarci pork rind crisps are the most exotic item on the morning bu et, which is actually a walk among market stalls. Everything here is colourful with the fruits of autumn - red bell peppers, purple aubergines, white blossoming cauli ower, light green cabbage heads... and the appetite is also awakened by rich aromas, while attention is attracted by the shouts of traders. “Come on over here,” says an exhilarated Mile from Obrenovac, a seller of cheeses and curds, enticing our happy sextet. He quickly moves from words to deeds, extracting a lump of young‘kajmak’milk curd from a tub, o ering them a bowl with his bumpy ngers.“Mmmm”, they comment one after another as the creamy mass melts on their palates. Anna has no other option than to admit that it is“the best ever tasted”. One customer considers themselves invited to explain the di erence between old and young kajmak, in uent English. During this time, Mile contents himself with the claim that everything is okay, and doesn’t miss out on the opportunity to also o er goat’s whey. The Swedes reject the o er, as gracefully and a ectionately as they do everything else. In truth, it is the burek pie that knocks them o their European tracks, as a true representative of the Ori- ent. They end up smeared in grease up to their elbows, because“burek is eaten with hands, without cutlery,”as Ivan the baker suggests. His olden style pie shop is full because it’s break- fast time, and all the customers curiously watch the Swedish ladies. Ossa excels in everything. She tries to grab a greasy piece of pastry, but its contents fall from her fork. She then she accepts the baker’s advice, taking a new slice of burek with three ngers, just as she’s shown by Čeda. She is joined in the tasting session by her friends, albeit more cautiously. On the plate they try the crispy crust from the soft centre.“This is fantastic,”Anna admits rst, with the oth- ers nodding their heads in approval. Whoever’s been to Serbia and hasn’t tried traditional ćevapčiči mini meat kebab sticks is either a vegetarian or insane. That’s why they’re next on the menu, and the meat is deliv- ered by a meastro from the Lenče Butchers. The Swedish ladies check out the minced meat snacks served to them by Ljuba, who addresses them in their native language. The ladies are in shock, although the explanation for this phenomenon is extremely logical: Ljuba spent years working in Gothenburg. In order to keep their breakfast on the move balanced, next up is for them to sample ajvar pepper chutney, with which they also receive a recipe for pro- ducing it. However, none of them pay attention to what Ruža is saying, and Ksenija translat- ing, as they are carefully testing the taste of the chutney mixture from the jar. Their approv- ing facial expressions suggest that it’s not bad… And now it’s time to sweeten things up, news of which causes our Swedish ladies to jump for joy. The eatery we visit is actually a kiosk, where the smiling face of the middle-aged Slavi- ca awaits. She quickly extracts a baking tray containing pieces of traditional oriental desserts – urmašice/kalburabastı walnut cakes, tulumba, baklava, kadaif etc. Slavica enjoys watching them enthralled by her treats. “How beautiful they are”, they are irresistible, and the guests can’t resits giving a compliment. She understands her Swedish guests without translation, through the medium of delicate smiles. Then Ossa experiences the same bad luck: the noodles of her kadaif fall from her fork. Then she provides the accidental audience with a culture shock: she uses a paper towel to clean the result of her rush from the pavement. If Dragutin had been there at that instant, he would have immediately asked her out. Filled with energy, the Swedish girls complete their tour of Kalenić Market, and they’re still laughing. We ask them what they liked the best. They are all again in agreement when they say that the best thing is the atmosphere, only then followed by the burek and desserts, in which – according to Ksenija – they don’t di er from other tourists. We don’t know what will be the crucial factor in them returning to Ser- bia, but they conrm in choral unison that they surely will.
Šta im se najviše dopalo, pitamo ih. Opet su sve saglasne i kažu: atmosfera We ask them what they liked the best. They are all again in agreement when they say that the best
na meniju, a roštilj iznosi majstor iz mesare Lenče. Šveđanke zagledaju zalogajčiće od mlevenog mesa, kako im ćevape Ljuba servira obraćajući im se na njihovom maternjom jezi- ku. Ženice su u šoku, iako je objaš- njenje fenomena krajnje logično: Lju- ba je godinama radio u Geteborgu. Kako bi doručak s nogu bio ba- lansiran, na redu za probu je ajvar, uz koji dobijaju i recept za spravlja- nje. Međutim, nijedna se ne obazire na to što priča Ruža, a Ksenija pre- vodi, jer pomno ispituju ukus žitke smese iz teglice. Izrazi lica govore da nije loše... E, sad je vreme da se zaslade, na šta Šveđanke poskaku- ju od radosti. Ugostiteljski objekat je zapravo kiosk, odakle se smeši lice sredovečne Slavice. Ona hitro vadi tepsiju i u njoj komada urmašice, tu- lumbe, baklave, kadaif... Slavica uži- va dok ih gleda zanete u poslastice. „Kako su lepe“, ne može da odoli a da gošćama ne uputi kompliment. Šveđanke je razumeju i bez prevoda, i to po razneženom osmehu. Onda se Osi ponavlja isti peh: sa viljuške joj spadne nekoliko rezanaca kada- ifa. Tada slučajnoj publici priređuje kulturološki šok: papirnim ubrusom čisti rezultat svoje žurbe sa pločni- ka. Da je tu sad Dragutin, odmah bi je isprosio. Pune energije, Šveđanke završa- vaju obilazak Kalenić pijace, i dalje se smejući. Šta im se najviše dopa- lo, pitamo ih. Opet su sve saglasne i kažu: atmosfera, a tek onda burek i poslastice, po čemu se ne razliku- ju od drugih turista, kako objašnja- va Ksenija. Šta će biti presudno da ponovo dođu u Srbiju, ne znamo. Ali horski tvrde da će se to sigurno do- goditi.
thing is the atmosphere
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