"Rakia and Salad", is a combination unsurpassed and isthe perfect compliment of food and drink in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian's are very proud of the rakia they make and are not shy in showing it off and forcing upon guests in rather large quantities.

Most rakia bought from supermarket, shops and drunk in restuarants and bars is commercially made and essentially made from grapes.  Many good brands of grape rakia are about, along with a few commerical brands made from "sliva", plum.

There remains an enormous market in Bulgaria for this and you will see bars, shops and supermarkets where the shelves have a greater selection of rakia than any other type of drink.

But far more interesting is the home made rakia, where standards and quality are as diverse as you could imagine.  It is very common for home-made rakia to exceed the quality of top brand names.   Bulgarian's by nature would back this up on every occassion, stating that their home-made rakia is far better than anything on the commerical market.

Rakia is basically made from wine which is then distilled into spirit.  There are many types of rakia with different base ingredients.

The bulk of rakia is made from the sliva fruit, (plum).  You will see countless sliva trees everywhere you look in Bulgaria. 

The fruit comes in many colours from yellow through to pink and on to black.  The size of the fruit also varies from a small marble size to a large egg size. 

Rakia is also made from grapes which usually come from the sediment left over from wine making.  The fermenting process is restarted by adding more sugar and water.

Rakia is also made from apples, pears, melons and other fruits that are not suitable eaten or bottled.  In essence the rakia is made from waste ingredients.

It is a great joy and occasion to go and gather the sliva on a lovely dry summer's day.  The time is chosen when the fruit is about to drop from the trees from the weight of their ripeness.

Bulgarians being so practical, do not pick the fruits but place a sheet under the trees, climb up the tree then violently shake the branches to a shower of sliva which lands on the sheet. The sheet is gathered up and the slivi picked over for twigs and leaf debris.

The crop is then taken to an outbuilding where the barrel is now filled to 1/3 full of sliva and topped up with a ratio of 3 litres of water to every 1 kg of sugar.

With a 240 litre barrel they add 75 litres of water and 25 kg of sugar.  The mixture is then stirred and the fruits crushed by hand at least twice a day for the next three weeks, with the fermentation starting almost immediately in the warm August weather.

Once the mixture is no longer bubbling it is technically wine but not very nice to drink, this is the stuff from which rakia is  made.

In every village and town there are rakia houses specially built for the use of the community.  There can be anything from one to five stills in each house, and the smell once experienced tells you exactly where you are.

These houses are managed by a "responsible person", usually a man, and are supervised by the Mayor who grants permission for the rakia to be made ensuring it is solely for personal consumption.

An appointment has to be booked well in advance, as from August through to the end of November these facilities areheavily used.

There is a charge of anything from 10 - 15 leva for the use of a still and the equipment there.  A receipt is given, in triplicate of course, which is also accountable to the Mayor.

Once booked, the day is eagerly anticipated, as it is an excuse for eating, drinking and talking with the expectaion of a year's supply of rakia.  This is also a day where there would be no time for work anywhere else as the process takes up to 5-6 hours.

Distillation day has arrived, but much preparation has to be made the day before.  The use of the rakia house is one thing, but everything has to be supplied and taken to the rakia house by trailer or cart.

For a start, how do you lift a 240 litres barrel of wine onto a trailer or cart?   Bulgarians don't!   An empty barrel is placed on the cart and a bucket is used to transfer the wine from one to the other.  This is also a team effort where at least two, and in some case up to five people help.    With trailer or cart being shared by more than one family this is quite common.

There is the wood for the fire which has to be provided which also has to be taken to the rakia house.   This is loaded up around the barrel jamming it against the sides of the cart to stop it toppling over on the rough tracks en route to the still.  Then there is the flour that has also to be taken to use as a seal for the copper stills.

The ingredients are  ready and outside the rakia house for the distilling operation.

The still is primed with a little coriander seed and other, "family secret" additives.  Once the wine has been transferred by a chain of helpers and buckets from the barrel, the flour, which is mixed with a little water to make a dough, is then moulded around the still and pipes to seal them and make them air tight.

The fire is lit and the waiting begins.  It takes about an hour before the wine is hot enough to produce steam which is then forced through the sealed pipes into the cooling condenser.  In the meantime, the fire heating the wine is used to cook food on a grate.

Whilst the waiting goes on, other villagers' rakia is sampled and beer and wine is brought in along with food by the wives who set up a picnic in the house.

The first drops of rakia are eventually produced, turning into a continuous stream of spirit that subsequently runs into a bucket.  This is transferred into a plastic container which is measured every so often for the alcohol content.

The first samples are usually between 65-70% proof but as the process carries on it drops to 50%.  The last trickles can be as low as 25-30% and are stored separately as it is not good enough to drink and added to the next batch of distillation.  In effect being double distilled.

Nothing is wasted in Bulgaria.  From a 240 litre barrel of slivi wine there should be about 30 litres of rakia whose overall proof should be around 45-55%.  The optimum proof level is between 45-50% and mineral water is added to bring this down.

The fresh rakia is now back at home, but it is another three weeks  before it becomes drinkable.  Peeled and cut apples are put in a net bag and a certain type of wood placed in the rakia barrel.  This is to change the colour from crystal clear to a distinctly rakia smokey coloured spirit.

There are normally two rakia making sessions during the season.  The sliva rakia taking place in August to September and the grape rakia from the end of September to the end of November.

The grape rakia is an every day drink, but home made sliva is a much prized item and drunk on special occasions.

Rakia making is part of the way of life in Bulgaria.  In the villages and smaller towns it is part of their seasonal routine.

It is now big news that this home-made rakia will become a thing of the past with Bulgaria's inclusion in the European Union.  Officially, this will be the end of homemade rakia in Bulgaria, but being Bulgaria, the art will still go on.