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A colleague of mine told me to visit the old wholesale produce market in the outskirts of Zagreb which caters for small retailers. So Davorin my all time favorite taxi driver brought me there in the morning before office hours.

On the way he showed me the new wholesale market full of large trucks catering for the big supermarket chains. But our goal was the traditional one further down the road. In front of the big gate he dropped me off and I felt like entering something which was not made for consumers & tourists. I expected to be asked for an ID or similar but everything was laid back.

Despite being there relatively early, it was not packed with traders and produce, I guess more than half of the space was underutilized. I was a little disappointed, but Davorin had already told me that the big business was done elsewhere.

I made my round to get an overview. The wholesale dealers were coming from Croatia but also as far as Albania and Bosnia Herzegovina. And most of the produce were grown in this region as well, even though I saw some larger bags of carrots, strawberries and apples from France, Italy etc.

From time to time a van stopped at one of the stalls, the driver got out looked at the produce, some words were exchanged, the boxes with produce were weighted on the big scales and then disappeared in the van. I was wondering where those small retailers had their shops as I never had seen them in the Zagreb city center.

I continued to make my round for good photos and to start talking with the traders. A few were able to speak English and I had some friendly exchanges. Most were curious about me, trying to understand why I was taking pictures. After some explanations they were even willing to “pose” a bit.

The ambiance at the market seemed cordial, it seemed less about competition, more about having some fun before any customer came over to do some business. Nobody looked rich, nobody had a large lorry. It seemed to come from a time when food production and distribution had not gained today’s scale and intensity. Somehow I felt sad that this type of small scale business had become a niche thus loosing more space for “true” personalities who shape a public place.

Davorin, my taxi driver picked me up and I started my office day.

I still feel a bit sad about the decline

All in all: Visit this traditional wholesale market in Zagreb before it will probably disappear. It gives you an impression on how small trade – wholesale & retail – works to feed Croatias capital

A little link list:

• The official website from Zagreb Holdings on this market
• My other posts on Zagreb markets

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The three sections of Dolac market

Dolac market is the most famous one in Zagreb and consists of three sections:

• the outdoor market – see post
• the fish market – see post
• and the “underground” market which is situated below the outdoor market and is basically a market hall

To my embarrassment I missed the “underground” section of the market which is indeed a market hall. I only got to know about it as I watched a documentary on Dolac. The entrance is indeed not obvious enough for me, but the many customers show that this is not a true barrier.

The market hall is a bit dark when you enter it giving it a slightly spooky touch. While the outdoor market above is more focused on fresh produce, in the market hall meat and cheese lovers will find here all the Croatian specialties. Still fresh produce and pickles are available as well.

The offering

The offering is focused on the local population but culinary tourists can make discoveries as well and bring back home some goodies.

The many butchers offer mainly pork cuts and adhere to the nose to tail philosophy. Besides traditional cuts whole pork heads are available, dried/smoked pig ears etc. Fat is not seen as unnecessary bi-product but is presented in many ways to be used for cooking. Popular is the Čvarci, basically pork fat crisps with a very pleasant taste – certainly not the healthiest food but good to bring back home. All the meat makes you feel that it is easy to survive a cold winter, with hearty tasteful dishes.

The cheeses are mainly fresh or harder cheeses, soft cheeses are not really available. There is a lot of sheep and cow milk cheeses available, I had not seen goat milk ones. One stall sells an award winning sheep cheese from the Island of Pag sold as Paški sir (see also photo gallery above). As this cheese is available vacuumed packages of different sizes, I can only recommend to bring it back home as a souvenir or to eat it on the go. Fortunately enough some vendors speak English and are willing to share their knowledge.

Next to the fresh produce were the pickles as they may be found elsewhere in central Europe, e.g. in Bratislava or Tirana. Those are always great to look at and it would have been worth to grab a portion and eat them on the spot. The pickles were made out of any kind of veggies: peppers, cauliflower, onion, cucumbers and more, often mixed all together. I was very much impressed by the fermented cabbage leaves which are put together to make them look almost like whole heads of cabbage.

All in all: A nice market hall to discover ingredients of the hearty part of the Croatian cuisine and to get culinary souvenirs.

A little link list:

• How to make Croatian Čvarci
• The markets in Zagreb – in Croatian but easy to grasp
• Comments welcome on Twitter

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Everything is red at the Britanski square outdoor market in Zagreb. The umbrellas of the stalls and those of the large café watching over the market. The historic buildings around it serve as a nice frame of this relaxing market where locals buy their food.

Many tourists know the Dolac market next to the city square. In less than 10 minutes walking distance Britanski market is less busy but has the charm of a neighbourhood meeting place. In the evening hours, when the market has closed, the huge café at the square is still open, adding life and local flavour to the then empty square.

Buy

In the early morning hours, just after breakfast, the market has a constant flow of buyers wandering from stall to stall looking for deals on vegetables and fruit. The offer is seasonal and gives an impression on what people are going to cook. Looks pretty vegetarian, but a couple carts were selling meat and sausages as well.

Some of the vendors had a very small offering, barely covering the table of their stall. It seemed that they had a small plot at home and wanted to increase their meagre pension.

Eye catching were the plastic bags filled with chopped mixed vegetables (see photo gallery). Slices of carrots, zucchini, cabbage and more were mixed ready to be used for a soup or so.

As this market, like all the others in Zagreb is managed by the city company Zagrebački Holding. The setup of the market is standardized: the stalls all have the same type tables reminding of German Beer Fest ones and a red umbrella – all helping to set up and dismantle very quickly. Stalls which need refrigeration, e.g. the cheese mongers have simple, stainless steel covered stalls with power supply. All the stalls stay overnight at the square in a proper order, only the umbrellas are stored somewhere. I assume this standardization assures fairness amongst vendors and some promotes basic hygiene.

Relax

The café along the quare is a winner. Not only that the red sunshades match those ones of the market, but it allows to observe all the market activities from the comfort of a chair. In the early evening parents come and share a drink while their little kids are playing on the then empty square. Later when the kids are in bed, people are still sitting together, enjoying conversations and life. No hustle and bustle as in the close city centre. And for your date there is an open flower shop next to the café.

All in all: a very relaxing ambiance – observe locals and guess what they are going to cook with their purchases

A little link list:

• A post on the weekend flea market at Bristanski square by Rangan Datta
• My photos of the Britanski market
• My posts on markets in Zagreb: Dolac, Kvatric, & the fish market

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Surprise: winter is cold

It is cold, it is grey on this winter day in Zagreb, but suddenly there are bright summer colours popping up. Piles of oranges, mandarines, apples, kiwis and the abundant red umbrellas pop up when approaching the Kvatric market (or Kvaternikov Trg). A friendly touch to this day.

Located next to a larger street (Ulica Pavla Šubića), the iron fence around the market gives a feeling of being a protected school yard. And it is busy indeed, despite being smaller than the more famous Dolac market.

Structure & order are everything

The city of Zagreb has a very clear idea on how a market has to be like: it has to look very, very organized and structured. All stalls in the centre have the same tables of the same size of the same shape. Against sun, rain and maybe bad luck the stalls are all protected by the same umbrellas, the ones beach cafés might use as well. There is a section with open stalls which need refrigeration and a glass protected display. Also here the same size, shape and style. The open space is surrounded by permanent structures which look also similar to one another.

The vendors

The vendors, mainly ladies, gave this rigid structure and organization a nice charm. To my relief some of them spoke English. The cheese stands operated by old ladies throughout, my lack of Croatian by big smiles and body language for great conversations.

I don’t know how they made it throughout the day in this cold weather as not everyone had an outdoor heater to get at least some warmth. And the cafés at the market helped as well. The weather did not stop people from leaving the market with their hands full of large bags with merchandise.

The offering – quite local

The offering was seasonal for sure. Oranges, apples everywhere. Cabbage, beets, potatoes, carrots, dried beans of all kinds were the common vegetables. Pickles, open sauerkraut, and whole fermented cabbages were unique and interesting to discover.

Strange to me was the set of egg shops, maybe half a dozen all in permanent structures. So many eggs on one single market. No idea why.

The old ladies of the cheese stalls offered only local ones, no Camembert or so.

The butcher had a shop on the side of the market with classic cuts of beef and pork and some dried sausages. As he allowed me to take some pictures, he took away the tray of sweetbreads as he deemed it as not esthetic enough. What a pity.

One my way out I was surprised to discover the small fish market hall: beautiful selection of Mediterranean fishes like sea devil, calamari and live shrimps. It is almost as living at the sea. Not too many customers were on a shopping spree, an easy time to take some pictures. One fish monger even posed some seafood to get better pictures.

All in all: a typical Zagreb market, a little bit hidden, worth a visit for market lovers who want to experience charming vendors

A little link list:

• A blog post on the market from tatjanapasalic.com
• The official/administrative site for all Zagreb markets from Zagrebački Holding – trznice-zg.hr  with the listing of all the vendors

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When in Zagreb I like to stay in Hotel Dubrovnik. It is not the most fantastic hotel, but it’s location is hard to beat: in the very heart of Zagreb, where people have coffee outside even in winter time when there is snow. Great! It is also located next to some spots I like for my well being: the Pinguin fast food sandwich bar (they do not talk a lot, but they do a great job), the great ice cream parlour Vincek, and at last the micro brewery Pivnica Medvedgrad after having visited the Upper Town and listened to some free (!) live music outdoors at the so called Strossmayer Promenade. It is almost a ritual when I have time in Zagreb.

Hotel Dubrovnik has another advantage: before the work day starts you just walk about 100 meters across the main square, climb up the stairs and you are welcomed by the great Dolac market! It is a fairly big square surrounded by buildings of mixed architectural styles and a fish market. The Zagreb Cathedral is overlooking the market from a distance, also a way to assure fair trade.

From my point of view Zagreb which has lots of architecture from the Austro-Hungarian empire shows a nice mix of Mediterranean & Eastern European lifestyles. And the market reflects this to a certain degree. It is a very well “disciplined market”: the tables for the stalls are nicely standardized including their umbrellas, there is a section with small permanent stalls without shades which come with their own refrigeration. And in the evenings everything is properly put together and piled up.

And when the vendors have prepared their part in the morning, the market offers all its splendour: fruit & vegetables in abundance! It is a feast for the eyes and the locals come here in plenty. Even in winter time the merchants sell fresh produce (more cabbage and alike) while standing in the snow! That is Mediterranean feeling even when it is cold. Besides all the fresh produce there is also honey, cheese etc. But the fruit and vegetables are dominating.

A good place to observe the scenery are the cafes on the Eastern side of the market where you may sit outside and have a coffee or a Rakija.

All in all: Dolac market combines Mediterranean & Eastern European savoir vivre and is worth more than one visit.

A little link list:

• A blog post with great descriptive pictures from Travel & Lifestyle Diaries – highly recommended!
• Frank about Croatia with a post on Dolac market
• Dolac market on trip advisor

The post Dolac market in Zagreb / Croatia – Outdoors even in winter time appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

The fish market in Zagreb is located in a building next to the open main market Dolac in the heart of the city. For a city not being next to the coast it offers a nice variety of treasures from the sea. But as quite a few people from Zagreb go to the sea side for vacation. So this market brings back nice summer memories. Even with fresh water fish

Inside the market has many small stands each one with its own specialties. Coming from the country side it is impressive to see calamari, sea-devil, salmon, bass, trouts and more. But I have to leave without buying anything, sad story.

All in all: large choice of fresh fish, feels like being at the sea.

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Zagreb, capital of Croatia, has several nice markets full of fresh produce and Croatian specialities.

The Trešnjevka market in Ozaljska street (scroll down for map) is embedded in a busy environment not in a historical setting as the main market Dolac. It looks very much like a farmers’ market and offers daily seasonal fruits, vegetables, honey and other products on temporary stands, whereas some butchers, cheese sellers etc. are on permanent buildings on the Eastern wing. On the Western wing some cafés, bars and Cevapcici stands are located. The latter ones are open till late, a nice offer when going home late from work.

In the morning the sellers come to a central building at the market to pick up standardized umbrellas and scales (for a fee?). All temporary structures look alike which gives very much a sense of order.

All in all: a very fine market for daily consumption, a place to pick up some local food souvenirs and eat great Cevapcici. Or to get flowers for a nice person.

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