Monday, July 21, 2008

How to prepare a cup of Serbian Coffee


One of the first things I wanted to learn properly when I got married to a Serbian, was to prepare a decent cup of "domaca kafa" (serbian coffee). Unthinkable to receive Serbian guests and not to know how to serve them coffee! (and with my Italian background I knew too good that coffee is not just coffee!)

The best lesson I got, was probably from a girlfriend from Senta. With her preparation guide I never messed up a coffee anymore:


1. mesure 1 cup of water and pour it into a dzezva
2. heat the dzezva on a stove until the water starts to boil. (don't overboil it!)

3. Pour a little of the boiled water back in the cup

4. Add a big full spoon of Serbian ground coffee (and if you like some sugar) to the remaining coffee in the dzezva. (Serbian coffee is very finely grinded something more like a powder.)

5. Stir gently (don't overdo it or you would distroy the foam)
6. Bring back to the heat source and it will start to foam up. Just in the moment it foams up and rises...take it from the heat.
7. Now pour the little quantity of boiled water you kept in the cup, back to the dzezva and see how it foams even nicer.

8. Put a spoon of the foam into the cup.

9. Now you pour the rest of the coffee into the cup.
10. Serve with some sweets or ratluk


(The thing with the extra water that is put on the side: many don't do that and the coffee is very good anyway...other say, not possible without that....)

A common discussion is about the difference between Turkish and Serbian coffee. Roughly one could say it's the same. But it's the same like an French crêpe and a Serbian palacinka are the same...there are so many subtile differences that in the end it's really not the same.
Also the Turkish dzezva has a different form (with a tight neck and the Serbian one is all over wide) even that apparently makes a big difference in coffee cooking!
(Not to speak about all the ways to make coffee of every single region of the balkans)

To study the little differences, here how to prepare Turkish coffee.


Of course I would love to know about your ideas and knowledge about this big thema! (Obozavam kafu!)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

ssssssiiiiiiiiiiii.. il caffè
brava Francy.. sei insuperabile !
2 anni fa sono andata in serbia perchè dejan è stato operato..
ho fatto di tutto : lavato a mano, attaccato la lavatrice, stirato, spesa, farmacia, mercato, medico, commissioni.. ma quando dejo diceva :- lina , prepara il caffè per gli ospiti.. io pensavo di morire !!!
sembra facile.. ma non lo è !
comunque mi hai messo voglia Francy.. vado a prepararmelo.. vediamo cosa ne viene fuori !!!

Riccardo said...

Ahh... grazie per aver risposto ad un mio desiderio!!!

Biljana Petrova said...

In Macedonia, we take the dzezve and we put a cup of water, then we add one spoonful of coffee, (the finely ground one, the same that is used in Serbia) and sugar to taste (or the number of cups and spoonfuls according to the number of people drinking)...
No sugar means "gorko" (bitter or black)
One spoonful of sugar "sredno"- or medium
More sugar than coffee means slatko or sweet :)
Then we put the dzezve on the heat and we wait until the water does it all by itself when it boils..the moment it boils and makes a fine heap of foam on top we remove the dzezve and we pour the coffee or we take a spoon and distribute the foam (kajmak, as we call it, but only in this context;)
And there, you have another subtlety in preparing coffee! :)
Thank you, Lina for the link
And thank you Sajkaca, for posting this!
Biljana, inviting you to a cup of coffee "alla macedone" :)

Sajkaca said...

Thank you Biljana, I've seen that you invited for a cup of coffee over at burekeaters....wait....see you there!

TRASLOCO

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