Bulgaria offers a true culinary journey in mid-October

Bulgaria offers a true culinary journey in mid-October, bringing together traditional recipes, local producers, folklore and cooking demonstrations. Bulgarians celebrate autumn with Elena dry-cured ham, Smilyan beans, roasted chestnuts and a variety of pumpkin delicacies.

The popular Elena Ham Festival takes place in the town of Elena in northern Bulgaria from October 16 to 18. Visitors can sample a traditional Bulgarian dry-cured pork delicacy made from a hind leg of pork and characteristic of the Elena region.

Locals say the recipe is simple: meat, salt, spices and a little patience. Yet the ham’s distinctive flavour is closely tied to the local climate, traditional curing methods and generations of experience among local producers.

Vegetarian food lovers may be tempted to visit the Rhodope village of Smilyan, home to the traditional Smilyan Bean Festival, held from October 16 to 18.

Meanwhile, the village square in Brezhani in southwestern Bulgaria hosts the Brezhani Chestnut Festival. The famous local chestnuts are smaller and have lighter-coloured shells than other varieties, but boast a much sweeter taste. Roasted on the spot, they are served with young wine made from the latest grape harvest.

The 11th National Walnut Festival will take place this weekend in the centre of Golyamo Dryanovo, a village in the Kazanlak region. The event was first held in 2014 in honour of what was once the oldest walnut tree on the Balkan Peninsula, estimated to be 500 years old and which survived until 1993. A special postage stamp was issued in Bulgaria in 1965 in three print runs in honour of the tree. Today, Golyamo Dryanovo is still home to one of Bulgaria’s largest walnut plantations featuring local varieties, covering an area of more than 2,500 decares (250 hectares).

The flavours of the sea will take centre stage at the 13th Autumn Fish Festival, “Autumn Shoals”, in Nessebar from October 16 to 18.

To mark World Bread Day and World Food Day on October 16, the town of Strazhitsa is hosting the Wheat Loaf Festival. The event is inspired by The Wheaten Loaf, a popular fairy tale by Angel Karaliychev, a writer born in Strazhitsa.

The Pumpkin Festival is being held for the seventh time in the village of Dalboki, near Stara Zagora in southern Bulgaria. The programme includes a cooking competition, a variety of pumpkin dishes and a tasting of traditional rachel, a sweet pumpkin preserve.