Čvarci facts for kids
Čvarci (say "chvar-tsee") are a popular snack and food ingredient from Southeastern Europe. They are a type of pork rinds or cracklings. To make them, fat is slowly cooked out of pork lard.
You can find čvarci in countries like Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and North Macedonia. They are also popular in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, and Belarus. Most people make čvarci at home, but you can also buy them at farmer's markets or supermarkets.
How to Make Čvarci
Making čvarci involves melting pork lard. First, the lard is cut into small blocks, about one inch (2.54 cm) in size. These blocks are then slowly fried in their own melted fat.
Sometimes, a little milk is added during cooking. This helps the čvarci get a nice caramel color. The cooking continues until all the fat has melted away. What's left are crispy pieces of pork rind. People often add onion or garlic for flavor. Salt is always used to season them. Some čvarci might have small pieces of skin still attached. Most types of čvarci still contain some pork fat.
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Cooking čvarci slowly
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Squeezing out the fat
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After the fat is squeezed
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The finished čvarci
Special Type: Duvan Čvarci
A special kind of čvarci is called duvan čvarci. These are mostly made in Western Serbia, especially near the town of Valjevo. For duvan čvarci, the cooking process is much longer. All the fat is cooked out until almost nothing is left.
What remains is a very delicate, thin mass. It looks a lot like finely chopped tobacco. This is why it's called duvan čvarci, because duvan means tobacco in Serbian. This special type of čvarci is even protected by law in Serbia. In Hrvatsko Zagorje, a similar method uses a potato press to squeeze out the fat faster.
How People Enjoy Čvarci
Čvarci are often seen as a winter food. In the Balkans, people traditionally process pork in late autumn. Čvarci are then eaten throughout the colder months.
You can eat čvarci by themselves as a snack. They are sometimes served with a warm fruit brandy called rakija. Čvarci can also be used as an ingredient in other dishes. For example, they are baked into a type of corn bread called proja. In Croatia, people often eat them with bread and onions. When enjoyed as a snack, they are also a popular pairing with beer. Many different kinds of pastries are made using čvarci as an ingredient.
cs:Škvarky hr:Čvarci it:Ciccioli sl:Ocvirki
