{{Short description|Balkan condiment}} {{distinguish|Avar (disambiguation){{!}}Avar}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox food | name = Ajvar | image = File:Ajvar1 bright.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | alternate_name = | country = | region = Balkans | creator = | course = | served = | main_ingredient = Capsicum (bell peppers), oil, salt | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Ajvar'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|v|ɑːr}} {{respell|EYE|var}}; Serbian and {{langx|mk|ајвар}}; {{IPA|sr|ǎjʋaːr}}; {{IPA|mk|ˈajvar}}; {{langx|bg|айвар}}; {{IPA|bg|ˈajvɐr}}}} is a condiment made principally from sweet bell peppers and eggplants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How to Make Serbian Vegetarian "Caviar" or Ajvar|url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/serbian-eggplant-pepper-spread-vegetarian-caviar-1137506|access-date=2020-10-25|website=The Spruce Eats|language=en|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026203744/https://www.thespruceeats.com/serbian-eggplant-pepper-spread-vegetarian-caviar-1137506|url-status=dead}}</ref> The relish became a popular side dish throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and remains popular in Southeast Europe.
Homemade ajvar is made of roasted peppers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ajvar (Serbian Roasted Red Pepper Sauce) Recipe|url=https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/09/ajvar-serbian-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-recipe.html|access-date=2020-10-25|website=www.seriouseats.com|language=en|archive-date=4 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504001219/https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/09/ajvar-serbian-roasted-red-pepper-sauce-recipe.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Depending on the capsaicin content in bell peppers and the amount of added chili peppers, it can be sweet (traditional), piquant (the most common), or very hot. Ajvar can be consumed as a bread spread or as a side dish. Ajvar has a few variations. One variation contains tomato and eggplant, and another green bell peppers and oregano.
"Homemade Leskovac Ajvar" and "Macedonian Ajvar" are registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization in order to protect their brand names.<ref>{{cite news|title=How this traditional Balkan red pepper spread brings the neighbourhood together|year=2017|newspaper=Hindustan Times|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/how-this-traditional-balkan-red-pepper-spread-brings-the-neighbourhood-together/story-d8Rn4553E8xmEra7dYwNyN.html|archive-date=24 March 2022|access-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324024210/https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/how-this-traditional-balkan-red-pepper-spread-brings-the-neighbourhood-together/story-d8Rn4553E8xmEra7dYwNyN.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Etymology and origin== The name ''ajvar'' comes from the Turkish word {{lang|tr|havyar}}, which means "salted roe, caviar" and shares an etymology with "caviar", coming from the Persian word {{lang|fa-Latn|xaviyar}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=havyar&x=0&y=0|title=Nişanyan Sözlük - Türkçe Etimolojik Sözlük|website=Nişanyan Sözlük|access-date=9 September 2020|archive-date=31 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731192835/https://nisanyansozluk.com/?k=havyar|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Etimološki rečnik srpskog jezika I, 2003, s.v. ajvar</ref> Before the 20th century, significant local production of caviar occurred on the Danube, with sturgeon swimming from the Black Sea up to Belgrade.<ref>{{cite book|author=Josip Pančić|title=Pisces Serbiae|year=1860|page=33}}; {{cite book|author=Mihailo Petrović|title=Đerdapski ribolov|year=1941}}</ref> Domestic {{lang|sr-Latn|ajvar}}, meaning "caviar", used to be a very popular dish in Belgrade homes and restaurants,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Belgrade through the ages|volume=7|year=1960|pages=61, 64|journal=Belgrade through the ages}}; {{cite book|author=Dušan J. Popović|author-link=Dušan J. Popović|title=Beograd kroz vekove|year=1964|pages=93, 215, 241}}</ref> but the domestic production of caviar became unsteady in the 1890s because of labor disputes. Eventually a special pepper salad was offered as a substitute in Belgrade restaurants under the name "red ajvar" ({{lang|sr-Latn|crveni ajvar}}) or "Serbian ajvar" ({{lang|sr-Latn|srpski ajvar}}).<ref>{{cite book|author=Malcolm Burr|title=Slouch hat|year=1935|page=165}}; {{cite book|author=Lovett Fielding Edwards|title=Introducing Yugoslavia|year=1954|page=79}}</ref>
==Preparation== thumb|200px|Ajvar and other pickles in a home larder
Homemade ajvar is made of peppers that are roasted, minced, and then cooked, but some industrial producers use fresh minced peppers, which are only cooked with sunflower oil afterwards, which leads to lower quality. Ajvar preparation is somewhat difficult, because it requires considerable manual labour, particularly for peeling the roasted peppers. It is traditionally prepared in mid-autumn, when peppers are most abundant, and preserved in glass jars for consumption throughout the year. Anecdotally, most households' stocks do not last until the spring, when fresh vegetables become available, so it is usually enjoyed as a winter food. Entire families or neighbours often gather to prepare the peppers together.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} The traditional cultivar of pepper used is called ''roga'' (approx. "horn"). ''Roga'' is large, red, horn-shaped and relatively easy to peel, with thick flesh. It typically ripens in late September.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}
To produce ajvar, fresh peppers are roasted whole on a plate above an open fire,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Travel/Macedonia/03_Macedonia/Ohrid/Making_Ajvar.JPG|title=Making Ajvar|date=16 July 2011|access-date=15 December 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163448/http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Travel/Macedonia/03_Macedonia/Ohrid/Making_Ajvar.JPG|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref> a plate of wood in a stove, or in an oven. The baked peppers must briefly cool to allow the flesh to separate from the skin. Next, the skin is carefully peeled off and the seeds are removed. The peppers are then ground in a mill or chopped into tiny pieces (this variant is often referred to as pindjur). Finally, the resulting mash is stewed for several hours in large pots. Sunflower oil is added at this stage to condense and reduce the water, and to enhance later preservation. Salt is added at the end (sometimes alongside vinegar), and the hot mush is poured directly into sterilized glass jars, which are sealed immediately.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}
==Production== [[File:Albi Market, Gjakova, 2025 Ajvar.jpg|thumb|200px|Ajvar jars in a supermarket in Gjakova, Kosovo.]] {{refimprove section|date=May 2021}}
Ajvar is produced in most Balkan countries,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ajvar: The vegan 'caviar' of the Balkans |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220417-ajvar-the-vegan-caviar-of-the-balkans |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=www.bbc.com |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107193114/https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220417-ajvar-the-vegan-caviar-of-the-balkans |url-status=live }}</ref> including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia. Serbia's reported annual production is 640 tons.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.siepa.gov.rs/attach/VegetableIndustryInSerbia.pdf | title= Vegetable Industry in Serbia | publisher= Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency | access-date= 6 December 2010 | archive-date= 6 October 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111006084601/http://www.siepa.gov.rs/attach/VegetableIndustryInSerbia.pdf | url-status= live }}</ref>
Ajvar is often included as part of ''zimnica'' (winter foods), which include pickled chili peppers, pickled tomatoes, and anything else that can be preserved in a jar just before winter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=zimnica - Medicinski leksikon |url=https://medicinski.lzmk.hr/clanak/zimnica |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=medicinski.lzmk.hr |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191204/https://medicinski.lzmk.hr/clanak/zimnica |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-14 |title=Dobra Hrana - Svi recepti koje ćete trebati za pripremu zimnice! |url=https://www.jutarnji.hr/dobrahrana/price/svi-recepti-koje-cete-trebati-za-pripremu-zimnice-4694417 |access-date=2024-02-25 |website=www.jutarnji.hr |language=hr-hr |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225191158/https://www.jutarnji.hr/dobrahrana/price/svi-recepti-koje-cete-trebati-za-pripremu-zimnice-4694417 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== * {{annotated link|Ljutenica}}, a similar relish in Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian cuisines * {{annotated link|Zacuscă}}, a similar relish in Romanian cuisine * {{annotated link|Kyopolou}}, an eggplant-based relish in Bulgarian and Turkish cuisines * Malidzano, a similar relish in Macedonian cuisine * {{annotated link|Biber salçası}}, a Turkish paste made from red peppers alone * {{annotated link|Lecso}}, a similar Hungarian (also made in parts of Slovakia and Serbia) stewed red pepper, onion, and garlic dish * {{annotated link|List of spreads}} * {{annotated link|South Asian pickle|Achar}}, a similar relish of Indo-European origin in South Asian cuisines
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{cite web|title=Fall Brings Red Peppers and Ajvar, 'Serbian Salsa'|date=8 November 2006|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6430271&sc=emaf}} (article and recipe) *{{cite web|title=Ajvar srpski kavijar|year=2013|publisher=Novosti|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/naslovna/reportaze/aktuelno.293.html:447291-Ajvar-srpski-kavijar|language=sr}} *{{cite news|title=Leskovčanka po čijem receptu je brendiran srpski ajvar ušla u biznis kad je ostala bez posla |year=2012|newspaper=Blic|url=http://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/leskovcanka-po-cijem-receptu-je-brendiran-srpski-ajvar-usla-u-biznis-kad-je-ostala/7khcd1s|language=sr}} *{{cite web|title=Ajvar - Top-notch gastronomic delight, vegan soul food, recipes and origin|year=2017|publisher=Ajvar.com|url=http://www.ajvar.com/en/}}
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Category:Albanian cuisine Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina cuisine Category:Bulgarian cuisine Category:Chili pepper dishes Category:Condiments Category:Croatian cuisine Category:Eggplant dishes Category:Kosovan cuisine Category:Macedonian cuisine Category:Montenegrin cuisine Category:Romani cuisine Category:Serbian cuisine Category:Spreads (food)