Gastronomy of Karlovac County

The nature of the Karlovac region has always been truly generous: from the diverse species of river fish from the Kupa, Korana, Mrežnica, or Dobra rivers, to game and mushrooms from our forests. When you add to that the centuries-old, diligent work of human hands on fertile land, you get a remarkably interesting "broth" for fantastically tasty traditional dishes, based on locally produced ingredients.

Where to begin?
Perhaps with prežgana (browned flour) soups, sour soups with shredded eggs, thick porcini mushroom soups, meat broths with homemade noodles; then moving on to roasted pork knuckles, thighs and breasts, breaded poultry, rabbit in clove sauce. There is a wide array of fish specialties, especially carp, pike, catfish, or pike-perch prepared in various traditional ways, bean stews, Ogulin sauerkraut dishes, different grain porridges, wild mushrooms, and true homemade desserts – plum dumplings or bazlamača (a type of cornmeal cake). You probably didn’t know that the longest strudel in the world – measuring 1,479.38 cm – was baked right here in our region and is listed in the Guinness World Records!

Of course, we mustn’t forget the various authentic cheeses produced in our small dairies, such as the Dugoreška žuljica and Slunjska masnica. These traditional dishes are just a part of the region’s broad hospitality offering and the result of the work of dedicated and talented chefs who promote culinary culture.

There is a growing number of restaurants marked with the TRAD FOOD SPOT label, where guests can order traditional dishes of this region. There are many reasons for a gourmet visitor, a hungry tourist, or a passing traveler to be truly satisfied with the food we offer – because once imprinted in memory, the scent and taste of a local specialty will, we hope, bring the guest back to that table again.