Walking through Montenegro’s markets, fresh produce is abundant. Citrus goes for about 50 cents a kilo, vegetables are abundant, and fresh cheese is pungent and goes well with anything one finds for his or her next meal. But there is an issue: much of it is imported to this country of less than 700,000 people.

While I visited Serbia during my trip through the Balkans, I had the pleasure to meet Jalena Lucic of Ecoist, a leading sustainability advocacy group in Serbia. I interviewed her about Serbia’s future, and would like to share the talk we had on a very rainy morning in Belgrade.

Economic development throughout the Balkans rests on artisan goods, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and niche food products. The region will never compete with the world’s behemoths, including the USA, Brazil, the EU, and China, for a variety of reasons, including scalability, labor costs, subsidies, and mass production capacity. Products of high quality, however, [...]

The Balkans are a treat because of the people, and next the food: homemade, fresh, with loads of vegetables, and desserts that invite a hyperglycemic bliss.

There are two regions where people should not starve: the tropics and the Mediterranean. And in the Mediterranean, there’s no reason why farmers cannot thrive, even in the small Balkan countries. The quality and uniqueness, not to mention the flavor of the foods here, are a reason why this area stands out.

Bosnia . . . Mushrooms that would make any Michelin-rated chef drool; citrus bursting with that perfect balance of sweet and acid; pears boasting a beauty in the lack of a typical pear shape–and that is just in late fall and winter. All this has a future!

Bosnia has its challenges, but one resource from which it strongly benefits is water. Water is everywhere in Bosnia, in all forms.

Endless farms boast a dark rich soil. Carts along the highway showcase huge heads of cabbage and cauliflower, which sell for about 12 cents. Serbia has huge potential in eco-tourism and a market in organic food products.

Factory farming has not taken hold yet in Bulgaria. Any farms collectivized during the Communist era has been returned to families. The results are wonderful: fragrant peppers, cool cucumbers, luscious tomatoes…

Sweet Bite’s pairings may be cold, but their ice cream sandwiches are hot, developing a local following throughout the DC area’s farmers markets. Sweet potato marshmallow is a winner! Co-founder Tricia Widgen explains the hottest cold spell in DC.