Food&Wine
High above the clear waters of the Makarska Riviera, Biokovo mountain keeps a different kind of treasure. This is the “high-altitude kitchen”, a tough pantry where frost, limestone, and the bura wind shape every ingredient. To truly understand the flavors of this coast, you have to go beyond the usual fish and olive oil and head up into the peaks, where centuries of survival shaped a food culture entirely its own.
The villages along the Riviera, from Brela and Baška Voda in the north, through Makarska, Tučepi, Podgora, down to Igrane, Živogošće, and Zaostrog, each carry their own version of these mountain traditions. Here are six flavors worth seeking out.
1. Kripost svetog Jerolima — an ancient Mediterranean energy drink
Long before energy drinks lined the supermarket shelves, people here reached for a liquid pick-me-up called Kripost svetog Jerolima (the Virtue of St. Jerome). St. Jerome, the Bible translator born in Dalmatia, was said to use this rich blend to sustain his concentration during long hours of work.
What‘s in it: Egg yolks, fresh milk, and a splash of local liqueur, blended until smooth and creamy.
Why it matters: For generations, this drink gave people the energy for tough work on the rocky slopes above Makarska and Tučepi. It’s a taste of history, rich, warming, and unmistakably Dalmatian.
2. Bikla — the raw mixology of shepherds and winemakers
Bikla might be the most surprising drink in the Dalmatian backcountry. Equal parts fresh goat’s milk and new red wine, both staples of the Biokovo pantry, it’s where the shepherd meets the winemaker, a bold, purple mixture that sounds unlikely and tastes unforgettable.
How it‘s made: Usually a 1:1 mix; the flavor shifts depending on the grape, sometimes robust like Plavac Mali, sometimes softer like Merlot. Always creamy, tangy, and redolent of late summer harvests.
Worth trying: The Biklijada festival in Podaca, a small settlement between Brist and Zaostrog, is the best place to taste Bikla at its freshest, shared the way locals have shared it for centuries.
3. Rožulin — the sun-captured scent of heritage roses
The mountain may be tough, but the gardens below can be delicate. Rožulin is a rare liqueur made from old rose varieties that bloom just once a year, along the lower slopes of Biokovo above villages like Tučepi and Živogošće.
How it‘s made: Rose petals steep in the sun for forty days, slowly releasing their fragrance into the liqueur. Time and patience are the only real ingredients.
In the kitchen: Rožulin is the secret flavoring behind the famous Makarana cake, a layered pastry unique to Makarska. On its own, it tastes like preserved spring.
4. Mandulet — the sweet architecture of the Riviera
If the karst has a sweet side, it’s mandulet. This classic almond nougat is a tribute to the hardy almond trees that grow along the lower slopes of Biokovo, above Makarska, Baška Voda, and Brela.
How it‘s made: Thirty minutes of nonstop whisking over steam produces a light, airy mixture of egg whites, honey, and toasted almonds, pressed between thin wafers.
What‘s it like: Crunchy on the outside, honey-sweet within, a fixture at celebrations across every village on the Riviera, from Podgora to Drvenik.
5. Raščika — the bitter sweetness of winter greens
In the cold soil beneath Biokovo, raščika, a robust variety of leafy cabbage, rules the winter garden. Locals say the best leaves come only after the first frost, which transforms the plant’s bitterness into a quiet sweetness.
Why wait for the cold: Frost pulls the bitterness out and draws the sweetness in. Whether cooked as zeje with olive oil and garlic, or picked young in spring as čimulice, raščika has been a mountain staple in settlements from Igrane to Zaostrog for as long as anyone can remember.
6. The Biokovo potato — royalty of the high peaks
Up in the thin mountain air above Makarska and Podgora, potatoes are the real survivors. In the past, Biokovo’s potato harvests were so abundant they filled wagon after wagon, a lifeline for villages through lean winters and one of the most important elements of the pantry of the Riviera.
Best way to eat them: Keep it simple. Slice, sprinkle with coarse sea salt, and roast until the skin is crisp and the inside soft. The altitude does the rest.
Where to find them: Ask at any konoba in the villages above Tučepi or Baška Voda; some still grow the old mountain varieties.
The pantry is still there
These flavors didn’t disappear with modernisation; they just moved off the main road. The best way to find them is to slow down, drive up into the hills, and ask at a local konoba or market stall. From Brela to Gradac, every town on the Riviera has its own version of this mountain pantry, and most are glad to share it.
