Slavonska Krv (Slavonian Blood) is followed by Slavonsko Zlo (Slavonian Evil). Slavonska Krv was the first series of hot chilli sauces from Slavonia, followed by Ljutoteka from Vinkovci, and now Slavonsko Zlo. The idea has been conceived by Matko Maltar from Belišće. An old Latin saying states that “laziness is the beginning of every evil,” but this Evil is an exception since it is not a fruit of laziness but of extra work filled with enthusiasm.
Although he works for a family printing company, Matko apparently needed new business challenges, so he threw himself into this project. He shares his story with great optimism: “We use Bhut Jolokia, Naga Viper, Carolina Reaper and certain milder varieties. The sauces are free of preservatives and other additives, completely natural. The peppers are not fermented, and everything is fresh. They are produced locally and organically; just the sun and water in a forest near Petrijevac. For smoked sauces, we use the natural condensate of smoke, while family farms supply garlic and onions.”
So far, there are three versions of the sauces; classic, smoked and reaper, each having a different hotness gradation level, so the classic is rated as 3/5, the smoked as 4/5, and the hottest one (as the name suggests) is reaper with a rating of 5/5.
After tasting, I can just say that the sauces are really hot but edible. It is refined hotness that fortunately does not leave any negative consequences on the digestive tract. And I am not just saying this because Matko used to be my neighbour. After all, try it yourself. You can order it by e-mail at [email protected], or come to Ljudevita Posavskog St. in Belišće. It is perhaps better to go there personally since it is also a chance to visit Belišće.
Belišće is an industrial town built in 1884, like a town in the American Wild West. A real greenfield startup; wealthy industrialist S.H. Gutmann came with money, bought the forests and land, built a sawmill and a narrow railroad, and was then followed by immigrants from the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Belišće used to be the home for people of over twenty different nationalities.
Within a few years, once empty fields were filled with modern industrial plants and residential buildings; a town was born. The spirit of that times can be felt in the town museum located in one of the oldest residential buildings in the town. The surrounding area is ideal for cyclo-tourism (for example, Drava Bike Tour), hiking (for instance, Belišće-Podravina Hiking Trail), canoeing on numerous Drava branches, or birdwatching at the Jugovača pond, where bird watching huts have been set up. After returning to the town, you can refresh yourselves at the Kanu pub which offers over 120 kinds of beer.
As everyone knows, Slavonia and Baranja is the hottest Croatian region in the gastronomic sense. In October last year, Goran Vrabec saw that for himself when he visited the Paprika Fest in Lug. He was the first who started making hot food additives in Croatia and thus became an inspiration to others who tried to follow in his footsteps.
After Medulin, Čakovec and Zagreb, Lug hosted a meeting of spicy food fans. In Medulin and Čakovec, the contestants came up to Caroline Reaper, but no one was able to eat it, while Zagreb was a complete disappointment, since among the 800,000 inhabitants there was nobody who could eat Bhut Jolokiu, let alone Carolina.
A sensation took place in Lug; as many as three contestants managed to eat three Carolinas, so the competition had three winners – Igor Horvat, Zoran Majstorović and Branko Dvorski, which points to Slavonsko Zlo having a strong local market.
With the appearance of the Slavonsko Zlo series of hot sauces, following Slavonska Krv and Ljutoteka, we can say that there is now a hot sauces industry developing in Slavonia and Baranja, the industry of producers of hot dietary supplements, which is excellent news since only healthy competition can stimulate better (and ever hotter) new products.
More news about Slavonia and Baranja can be found in the Lifestyle section.
