ZAGREB - Croatia and Slovenia - page 116

thetopofthestairscomingupfromJela č i ć Square,noticethestatueofthe kumica —avilla-
ger wearing a traditional dress (with a head scarf) and balancing a basket of produce on her
head.
Outside is the produce market, with vendors from all around selling what's fresh. What
you'll see changes with the season (for instance, in fall, look for nuts and mushrooms),
but a few things are mainstays. The honey (med) is a reminder that the mountain behind
Zagreb is called Medvednica. In Croatian, a bear is poetically called a medved —literally
“honey-seer.” So Medvednica means “place of the honey-seer.” The big red umbrellas over
some stalls evoke the parasols that are part of the traditional costume for the region around
Zagreb.Thestallsbehindtheboxywhitebuilding(whichistheentrancetothelower,indoor
market)sellvariouscomponentsofthatsamecostume(suchasembroideredscarves);while
tourists can buy them, most customers are locals. Nearby, the few “souvenir” stands (at the
top part of the market, near the cathedral) show off colorful, traditional wooden toys, still
madethewaytheyhavebeenforcenturies(mendothecarving,womendothepainting);the
wooden birds on sticks—which flap their wings when you roll them along the floor—are a
favorite.
As you face the top of the market, to the left you'll see the fragrant fish market (ribar-
nica). While Zagreb is far from the sea, the freshest catch is trucked in daily.
To get to the indoor market (tržnica) , enter the boxy white building and descend using
thestairsorelevator.You'llpopoutinthe meat market. Strollthestalls,noticing—inaddi-
tion to the typical array of sausages, salamis, and pršut (cured ham)—the local affection for
horsemeat (from a young horse— ždrebetina, or an adult— konjetina ). Also watch for piles
of a local delicacy called č vartci . Vaguely similar to pork rinds, these were created as a way
to use up otherwise unused bits and pieces of pork; they'd press all of the fat out of them,
creating a crispy snack. While this used to be simple peasant food, these days meat produc-
tion is streamlined to process pork leftovers in other ways—and so č vartci are considered a
rare and expensive delicacy ( prešani č vartci are even more pressed—and more expensive).
From the meat market, look for the dairy section (marked mlijen č i proizvodi ). Most
cheese here is cow cheese (kravlji), typically very fresh and soft, and sometimes with fla-
vorings (such as paprika or chives) mixed in. Goat cheese (kozji) is more rare. In this area,
you'll also see some local starches. The extremely skinny noodles called rezanci are used
in soups; the big, flat squares that look like tortillas (mlinci) are served with poultry—they
soak up drippings to become soft and delicious.