čvarci

(Translation, Yugoslavia)

wikipedia sums it up quite well.

Singular čvarak (tchvahr-uck) is the remainder of softer parts of bacon, left over after lard is melted out. Related to chicheroni, which are made by a similar process, but not the same at all. These still contain fat, they are not empty husks. The texture ranges between chewy to crunchy. Also, the size varies. The bacon is cut into squares of about 8-10 cm per side, and then it melts down to 2-3cm, but then there are often smaller ones around the edges, and the size doesn't matter so there's really no control over the size. The only spice added is salt, and that's usually at the end of the process, when the liquid lard is strained out.

Čvarci (tchvahr-tzi) are eaten just like any other suhomesnati product, with bread and cheese, for breakfast or dinner, or as a meze (i.e. with drink). Smaller bits (usually brownish crumbs, called droždine, that sit on the bottom of the melting vessel), are used as a spread inside pogačice, which is considered a bit of delikatesse, served with yogurt, of course.

Being the side product of lard melting, they used to cost next to nothing, and were frequently made at home (still feasible, even easier now as the modern thermostats can give you the exact temperature required, and there's soft bacon in retail), and of course we had homemade when we could - 2018-21, while the raw fat tissue was to be bought.

Then gradually, somewhere between 2018 and 2020, the unpackaged ones started missing from the shelves, and now the only format in retail is a plastic translucent box with 250g, which you can't even sample (most people don't like the chewy kind) and it costs a bit more than ham. And still there's demand. So they went from 200 dinars/kg in 2003 to 1200-1600 around 2022, and 2000 and 3000 were also seen the next year. And they still sell. People love čvarci more than to eat bread.

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20-XI-2019 - 13-VII-2026