🧑🤝🧑 Bulgarians
A South Slavic people, the main population of Bulgaria in the Balkans; their famous yogurt kiselo mlyako is made with Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
Bulgarians are a South Slavic people, the main population of Bulgaria. Bulgarians live in a land of mountains and valleys with long pastoral traditions, where people keep sheep, goats, cows and in places water buffalo. Dairy is the basis of Bulgarian cuisine.
Kiselo mlyako, Bulgarian yogurt, became world-famous. In 1905 the Bulgarian student Stamen Grigorov, working in Geneva, described a rod-shaped bacterium in it, later named Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Genuine kiselo mlyako is fermented by two kinds of bacteria: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. In the early 20th century the scientist Élie Metchnikoff linked the longevity of Bulgarian peasants to this food, which made yogurt popular in Europe.
Kiselo mlyako is used for the cold soup tarator and the drink ayran. Bulgarian sirene, a white brined cheese, and kashkaval, a hard cheese, are a must on the table, and the Rhodope Mountains preserve old fermented milk products such as katak.
How it connects to milk
🧑🤝🧑 Bulgarians ← among ← 🥣 Yogurt → made from → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Where they live
- 🌍 Balkans
- Traditional products
- 🥣 Yogurt
- Traditions
- 🧂 Brined cheeses, 🍇 Dimiat, 🗺️ Bulgarian wine, 🥃 Rakia, 🥃 Slivovitz (šljivovica), 🥃 Mastika, 🥃 Burgas Muscat Rakia (Bourgaska Muscatova rakya), 🥃 Straldzha Muscat Rakia (Straldjanska Muscatova rakya), 🥃 Yambol Grape Rakia (Yambolska grozdova rakya), 🥃 Pomorie Grape Rakia (Pomoriyska grozdova rakya)
Frequently asked questions
Why is Bulgarian yogurt famous?
The bacterium that ferments Bulgarian yogurt was described in 1905 by Stamen Grigorov; it was later named Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
What is tarator?
A cold soup of kiselo mlyako, cucumbers, garlic and dill.
What is sirene cheese?
A Bulgarian white brined cheese, similar to feta.
What to read next
- 🧂 Brined cheeses — Soft and semi-hard rindless cheeses that ripen and keep in brine: feta, Bulgarian sirene, telemea, Ezine.
- 🗺️ Bulgarian wine — Wine of Bulgaria: 31,234 ha of vines in 2025, two regional PGIs, the Danube Plain and the Thracian Lowland, and 52 PDOs.
- 🥃 Slivovitz (šljivovica) — Slivovitz (šljivovica) is a fruit spirit distilled from fermented plums: in the EU at least 37.5% ABV, with no added alcohol or flavourings. Serbian šljivovica is on UNESCO's list.
- 🥃 Grape rakia — Grape rakia is a Balkan grape spirit: Bulgarian grozdova from wine, loza and lozovača from whole grapes, komovica from pomace. From 37.5% ABV; grozdova from 40%.
- 🍇 Dimiat — A white grape from Bulgaria: 6,057 ha in 2009; by DNA an offspring of Coarna alba and Gouais blanc, known in Serbia as Smederevka.
Similar
Croats · 🧑🤝🧑 Romanians · 🧑🤝🧑 Greeks · 🧑🤝🧑 Turks · 🧑🤝🧑 Cypriots · 🧑🤝🧑 Iranians
ℹ️ This page describes the people only through food: what they grow and make, and which foods and drinks matter in their traditions. History, language, religion and other parts of the culture are not covered here.
What it includes
- Traditional products
Sources
- Traditional Balkan fermented milk products. Engineering in Life Sciences, 2018
- Traditional Bulgarian Dairy Products: Ethnic Foods with Health Benefits. Microorganisms, 2021