Shopska Salad is a Fruit Salad with Onion and Cheese

Of course, there are many opinions on the subject, but from a botanical point of view, all of the vegetables in the most famous Bulgarian salad are actually fruits. We Bulgarians learn to make Shopska salad at a very early age, long before we learn how to walk or talk—no, I am kidding. But every Bulgarian must be familiar with the recipe. Usually, this delicious mix contains beautiful red or pink Bulgarian tomatoes, grown cucumbers, red paprika or peppers that could come fresh or roasted, olives, onion, Bulgarian cheese that is similar to Greek feta. Bulgarians also add a little salt, vinegar (although I am not a fan of those two), olive oil, and parsley. You can always play with the recipe and add some ham or different cheeses or whatever you like, but at its core, Shopska salad remains the same. According to Wikipedia, The Shopska salad was created by professional chefs from the State Tourist Company 'Balkantourist' in 1956 at the 'Chernomorets' restaurant in the then resort of "Druzhba" (today 'St. Konstantin and Elena') and is now a well-known salad throughout the country as well as in our neighbors.

First of all ask yourself if you can handle such a delicate information. Most of the people I know are not familiar with the information I am about to provide, and I will change your world forever. Hold on. Except for the onion, all of the ingredients of our beloved salad are actually fruits. When I first discovered this information a couple of years ago, I was broken. Thirty years of lies, and I am telling you when you find that even the olive, the goddamn olive, is a freaking fruit, your life is inevitably changed. Now I am asking myself before I make a Shopska salad, do I eat it for dessert? What are we doing with it? Fruits and Rakia? I am telling you; you are never going to be the same, and please spread the word. I sometimes correct the dinner lady with my newly adopted knowledge or some random people out in the streets. It is a great conversation point, especially when you buy a smoothie. You go out there and you tell them what you have learned today.

So how are these freaking veggies a fruit? Botanically, meanings often differ from the culinary, but this classification provides a scientifically accurate way to categorize them. From a botanical perspective, fruits are the mature ovaries of flowering plants, typically containing seeds. Vegetables, on the other hand, can include any edible part of a plant, such as leaves, roots, stems, or even flowers. And to add insult to injury, in the case of onions, they are usually considered vegetables in the culinary sense because the term 'vegetable' in cooking is often used more broadly to refer to various edible plant parts. However, botanically, onions are bulbs, which are modified underground stems, and they are part of something you will not remember after reading it just once. What the hell is also fruit?

Here's a list of fruits that are commonly mistaken for vegetables or are used as such in culinary contexts:

Tomatoes: Often used in savory dishes, tomatoes are botanically fruits.

Bell Peppers: Like tomatoes, bell peppers are fruits but are used in savory dishes.

Cucumbers: Frequently treated as vegetables in salads and savory dishes, but botanically fruits.

Zucchini and other Squashes: Used in savory cooking but are botanically fruits.

Eggplant (Aubergine): Commonly used in savory dishes, but it is a fruit from a botanical perspective.

Pumpkin: Used in both sweet and savory dishes, but it is a fruit.

Olives: Considered savory but are botanically fruits.

Cilantro/Coriander: The seeds (coriander) are used as a spice and are considered fruits.

Peas: Peas are seeds that develop inside pods, and these pods are considered fruits.

Beans: Similar to peas, beans develop inside pods, making the pods fruits.

These examples highlight the common discrepancy between botanical and culinary classifications. In the kitchen, these items are often treated as vegetables or used in savory dishes despite their botanical fruit classification. Now with all that gathered information, go make a fruit salad for your Rakia and spread the word.

Iliya Badev