Besarabia, or as we also call it in Ukraine, Danube Besarabia, is the southern part of the Odesa region, the territory is bounded by the Danube and Dniester rivers and the Black Sea. This southern part of Ukraine is famous for its vegetables, fruits, wine, brynza (a traditional local cheese made mainly from sheep's milk) and, of course, spices. This region is inhabited by Ukrainians of Bulgarian, Moldavian, and Gagauz origin, and add to this the culinary traditions of the Lipovans and the influence of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, and you will get the cuisine of Besarabia. Bright, rich, aromatic, juicy and tasty. The local cuisine smells of roasted sweet peppers, smells of field tomatoes, homemade unrefined oil and aged sheep's cheese. Local cuisine smells of lamb kavarma (a popular local dish) and smoked Danube herring. Local cuisine smells of duck stewed with chickpeas and sarma or golubtsy, made of grape leaves. It smells like homemade bread, baked in village ovens melted by grape vines. Besarabia and its cuisine have hundreds of beautiful aromas.

   The traditions of local cuisine are based on seasonality and conscious consumption. Nature itself made sure that in every month of the year there was something to eat in Besarabia - be it vegetables, fruits, fish or meat. And local people took care to turn these products into dishes worthy of long stories and tastings. And almost no local dish is complete without traditional spices - Besarabian spices.