Romania
Romanian Cabbage Rolls
Sarmale
Minced pork and rice rolled in whole leaves of barrel-soured cabbage and simmered for hours with smoked pork and tomato, served with polenta and sour cream.
eastern-europe
Moldova
Explore 51 foods connected to Moldova, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
51 foods12 leading categories1 Essentials guides
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The local shortlist
Moldova Essentials
13 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Moldova.
51 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Romania
Romanian Doughnuts
Gogoși
Discs of yeasted dough deep-fried and dusted with icing sugar, sometimes filled with jam or chocolate.
Romania
Romanian Meatballs
Chiftele
Flat patties of minced pork with garlic, dill and soaked bread, floured and fried, eaten hot with mustard or cold in a sandwich.
Romania
Romanian Pancakes
Clătite
Thin pancakes rolled around sweet curd cheese, jam or walnut and sugar, sometimes baked with sour cream on top.
Romanian Moldavia, Romania
Romanian Pork Stew
Tochitură
Pork shoulder, sausage and offal fried and then stewed with garlic and wine, served on polenta with sheep cheese and a fried egg.
Romania
Saints' Day Pastries
Mucenici
Figure-of-eight shapes made either as boiled dough in sweet walnut syrup in the south or as baked sweet bread in the north.
Moldova
Sauerkraut Brine
Zeamă de curechi
The sour brine drawn off barrelled cabbage, drunk cold by the glass in winter and used to sour soups and cure hangovers.
Romania
Smoked Pork Fat
Slănină afumată
Pork back fat salted and smoked over beech, sliced thin onto bread with raw onion, or grilled on a stick over a fire.
Romania
Sweet Bread Roll
Cozonac
An enriched yeasted loaf swirled with a filling of ground walnut, cocoa and rum, baked for Easter and Christmas and sliced to show the spiral.
Romania
Sweet Cheese Parcels
Brânzoaice
Squares of soft yeasted dough with the corners folded in over sweet curd cheese and raisins, baked until golden.
Romania
Tocană
A rustic stew of diced meat — preferably fatty pork or lamb — simmered with vegetables, peppers, garlic and tomato sauce, served on mămăligă.
Romania
Urdă
A soft whey cheese made from what is left after caș, mild and slightly sweet, used in pies and pancakes.
Moldova
Vertută
A rope of paper-thin stretched dough filled with curd, pumpkin, apple or walnut, coiled into a spiral and baked until the outer turns crisp.
Moldova
Viorica
A bottled Moldovan white wine from the Viorica variety, prized for floral elderflower-like perfume, fresh acidity, and a clean finish.
Romania
Winter Pickles
Murături
Whole gherkins, green tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers and watermelon rind brined in large jars for winter.