Kulen

Kulen is a type of flavoured sausage made of minced pork that is traditionally produced in Vojvodina [ [http://www.blic.co.yu/vojvodina.php?id=3383 Blic Online | Vojvodina | Sremski kulen se pravi pola godine ] ] [ [http://www.kulen.co.yu/kulenijada.html Kulenijada - Petrovská klobása - Petrovacki kulen ] ] and Slavonija. The meat is low-fat, rather brittle and dense, and the flavor is spicy. The red paprika gives it aroma and colour, and garlic adds spice.The original kulen recipe does not contain black pepper, as its hot flavor comes from hot red paprika.

An annual festival "Kulenijada" is held at Backi Petrovac to honor the history and great regional masters of making kulen.

The meat is stuffed and pressed into bags made of swine intestine, generally the colon (because it is wider), and formed into links that are usually around ten centimeters in diameter, and up to three times as long, weighing around a kilogram.

The pieces of kulen are smoked for several months, using certain types of wood. After the smoking they are air-dried for another several months. This process can last up to a year. Although similar to other air-dried procedures, the meat is fermented in addition to the air-drying. High-grade Kulen is sometimes even covered with a thin layer of mold, giving it distinct aroma.

When the kulen meat is stuffed into the smaller intestine, it is narrower and requires less smoking and drying, but it also gets done quicker. This type of sausage is often referred to as "kulenova seka" (literally kulen's little sister).

Kulen is occasionally produced commercially, but it has not yet become a major product due to the lengthy and somewhat complicated production process. However, it is economically feasible, given that on a Zagreb market, even a low-grade kulen can cost around 30 euros per kilogram, which is much more expensive than other types of sausages and comparable to smoked ham.

The traditional time of producing kulen is during the slaughter of pigs done every autumn by most rural households. Kulen matures during the winter; it can be eaten at this time, although not fully dried and cured yet, with very hot taste, but it will develop its full taste by the following summer. Kulen is a shelf-stable meat product, with a shelf life of up to two years when refrigerated or even kept at room temperatures.

Kulen eaten during the winter is not as hard as those left to mature until the summer, but some people prefer this kind of kulen, because it is very spicy.

In parts of Slavonia, kulen is called "kulin" due to Ikavian speech.

External links

[http://www.kulen.co.yu/ Vojvodina site on kulen]

References