The Balkan cuisine combines rich traditions with Mediterranean lightness. Anyone who likes to eat hearty and healthy will love the Balkan cuisine. For example, Ajvar, the mousse made from peppers and eggplants – also known as vegetable caviar – can be served cold with grilled food, meat, vegetables and foil potatoes or enjoyed as a delicious spread of bread and toast. The “Dona Bakin Ajvar” tastes like home-made from grandmother’s kitchen. We work closely with producers from different countries and are involved from cultivation through harvest to the manufacturing process. Long-term cultivation contracts with farmers and the highest standards in the processing of vegetables ensure consistent quality. Since all the ingredients come from Mother Nature, they are produced in a predetermined quantity, which guarantees the dealer and customer always fresh goods.

In the “Dona Bakin Ajvar”, for example, these are red peppers and aubergines that have ripened in the sun. Your flesh is gently fried with a little oil until it has dissolved into a homogeneous mass. Then salt and pepper are added. This traditional way of preparation can take several hours. The «Dona Bajkin Ajvar» impresses with its distinctive character and its permanently creamy, rough consistency. It contains no preservatives and is available in the “mild” and “spicy” versions. We sell various types of Ajvar as well as pickled vegetables and legumes under the “Dona” label and thus ensure a taste enrichment in every kitchen.

Legumes such as chickpeas, beans, lentils and soybeans are rich in nutrients, low in calories and contain a lot of protein. They are good for intestinal health and for cholesterol levels, their high potassium content also lowers blood pressure and they also provide vitamins B1, B6 and folic acid. Their variety invites you to try them out and lets us travel around the world in culinary terms: white beans enrich the Italian minestrone. Everyone knows kidney beans from Tex-Mex dishes, such as chili con carne or as “sin” carne. Black beans belong in a Brazilian feijoada. The pea stew is a traditional dish from grandma’s time. Lentils are suitable for binding soups, as a salad and get a completely new taste in oriental dishes. Chickpeas are also popular with us as hummus, falafel or in curry dishes.

The original process, in which the acid is produced by fermentation, has been known in both Asia and Europe for thousands of years. For this, raw vegetables are mixed with salt and pressed, whereby liquid escapes and the vegetables are sealed from the air. In this environment, the glucose contained in the plants is converted into lactic acid by intermediate steps from anaerobic lactic acid bacteria. Since the vegetables are not cooked with this preservation method, the vitamins (especially vitamin C) are largely preserved. During the winter, sour vegetables have long been one of the most important sources of vitamins in regions where year-round vegetable harvesting is not possible due to climatic reasons. In the shipping industry, sauerkraut has long been a matter of provisions, since it prevented scurvy from developing and was long-lasting. The pickled vegetables from Dona combine tradition with modern cuisine.