Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. It is a fertile agricultural and forested lowland bounded, in part, by the Drava river in the north, the Sava river in the south, and the Danube river in the east.
The area is divided into five counties. Two more counties mostly located in Central Croatia also include some western parts of Slavonia. The biggest city is Osijek. Other cities are: SlavonskiBrod, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Đakovo, Požega, Virovitica, Nova Gradiška, Slatina, Županja, Nasice, Valpovo, Belišce.
Abundant portions, spicy meals and a lot of meat are characteristic of what is generally regarded as some the most fertile part of Croatia. The roots of this type of diet may be found in the tough manual labour endured by the peasants through the centuries, but also due to the abundance of this lowland area. Slavonian cakes and bakery products made with white flour are famous far and wide (e.g. cakes made with walnuts, poppy seeds or jam). Also, potato dishes, bean dishes as well as dairy product meals may be found in the daily offering of the inhabitants of Slavonia and Baranja, and also of local catering establishments. Many would object to this description of the Slavonian cuisine without the mention of meat products such as; “kulen”, various hams and sausages or the spicy fishmeal called “fiš-paprikaš”.
