ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Balkan cuisine

Hey kiddo! Today I will tell you all about Balkan cuisine. Balkan cuisine is the food that is eaten in the Balkan Peninsula, which includes countries like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.

One of the most important features of Balkan cuisine is that it is a blend of different cultures and traditions. That means, people from different countries and cultures share their food and make new dishes with a unique taste.

Balkan cuisine has a lot of tasty dishes that you will love. For example, there are grilled meats like cevapi, which are little sausages made of beef, lamb, or pork. These are often served with a side of onions, sour cream, and a type of bread called lepinja.

Another popular Balkan dish is burek, which is a flaky pastry filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables. And if you have a sweet tooth, you will enjoy baklava, a sweet dessert made of layers of phyllo dough and nuts, and drenched in syrup.

Balkan cuisine also has a lot of soups, stews, and other hearty dishes. For example, goulash is a stew made of beef, potatoes, and other vegetables, and seasoned with paprika. In some countries, like Serbia, they have a famous soup called šljivovica, which is made from plums and is often enjoyed with a slice of bread.

Finally, if you like dairy products, you will love Balkan cuisine. Yogurt and cheese are staples in this region, and there are many different types of cheese, like feta, kashkaval, and sirene.

So, that's Balkan cuisine in a nutshell. It's a mixture of different cultures, with a focus on grilled meats, pastries, soups, stews, and dairy products. It's no wonder that people from all over the world love Balkan food!