Things to do in Serbia –Visit the Market
Things to do in Serbia Visit Market
From time to time I will post things I have found interesting in Serbia for you to visit. Stay tuned for others.
So, one of the things I love to do when I go somewhere new is to visit their market. I think I get a sense of the city and the culture there. There are several markets though out Belgrade from those on the sidewalks to the new market still opening near the center of the city. But there are two that I can recommend getting a sense of what it is like and what we eat and drink at home in Serbia. In the old town not far from the center of the city is Kalenić which we live a few blocks away from and which I go to twice a week. The other is in New Belgrade, The Market at Block 44 which also on the weekend has a section devoted to organic produce, not sure how that actually governs organic in Serbia but they are actual farmers as opposed to just sellers of produce We have talked to a few of them and they are really farmers that come to Belgrade on the weekend to sell their produce.
Kalenić has changed even over the 12 years when I first came. Then all the tables were full of people from the farms. I used to kid my wife that you could tell how good the kaymak was by how few teeth the women selling it had. They were peasants selling their own products at the market. Now it is more and more purveyors buying from a collective and selling.. The difference being where we buy our sliced meat, the man there raises all but one. They get prosciutto from Montenegro and the rest he raises here in Serbia
The market is in sections. The meat and cheese is in a building on one in and then there are several individual shops with meat and cheese and fish next to that. Then comes the canned items like ajvar which is roasted red bell peppers and honey and other items. There is the dried fruit and nuts next to the large section of fruits and vegetables. Depending on the season they could come from Turkey or Greece especially the fruit. There is a section for household products such as mops and detergents, a section for electrical items, storage items pretty much everything you would need at home. They even sell all sorts of plastic bags, just not zip locks those are too expensive I hear. A section for flowers and then a section for clothes. I have never really checked out the clothes but they are there. Surrounding the market are a series of shops that sell pretty much everything as well from house products to pastries.
You should walk through one that you are close to if visiting, ask to taste some sliced meat. Most of the places will speak enough English that you can at least point to something you want to try. A lunch of some sliced meat a “sto grama” is one gram, some cheese, a bunch of grapes and a roll from the market would make for a good lunch or snack.