Bulgarian secret spice: Chubritsa adds zest to your meals

Anyone who has vacationed in Bulgaria has likely encountered chubritsa. Bulgarians use it frequently. However, you don't need to leave home to try it; you can buy it at any grocery store.

True chubritsa is simply mountain savory. Sometimes, it is substituted with garden savory, which is much less intense. When buying chubritsa, it's worth considering this. Mountain savory is almost as sharp as pepper and has an intense aroma. It is a well-known plant in the Mediterranean region from the mint family, and it is related to the garden savory. Garden savory contains significantly fewer tannins and essential oils, making it milder. It can also be cultivated in our country and planted in a pot on a balcony. Under the name chubritsa, it's not always just savory; sometimes, it's a mix of herbs.

Stores offer simple dried savory or mixes with other spices. The popular mixes are green chubritsa and red chubritsa. The former is milder and contains savory, garlic, green pepper, sea salt, and loveage. It's suitable for sandwiches, cucumbers, tomatoes, cottage cheese, butter, and salads, especially those with feta, raw salads, and sauces, as well as scrambled eggs, chicken soup, casseroles, and pizza.

Red chubritsa gives dishes a bold, even spicy flavor. It contains savory garlic, pepper, chili, sweet paprika, onion, rosemary, and sea salt. It works well with meats, tomatoes and cucumbers, ratatouille, various vegetarian dishes, stews, sauces, sandwiches, toast, cottage cheese, and eggs with mayonnaise.

Less famous is yellow chubritsa, which owes its color to turmeric and curry. It also contains fenugreek, sea salt, parsley root, and garlic. This spice is primarily recommended for vegetables—raw and baked—other vegetarian dishes, cottage cheese and cheeses, soups, meats, and sauces.

Other mixes of chubritsa, such as white or gray, can also be found in stores. However, if you have savory, you can easily create your own mix. Add paprika, rosemary, black pepper, chili, fenugreek, granulated garlic, or salt.

Chubritsa not only improves flavor; it has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and aids digestion, which is why it is used in natural medicine. It stimulates the production of gastric juice, benefiting digestion and easing bloating. Therefore, adding it to fatty meat dishes and those with legumes is worth it. Importantly, it also supports liver function.