Boza and a bonus

Stopping in Veles on a very hot, sweaty day led me to a sladcarnitsa shop near the bridge over the river. These are shops that sell ice cream, sticky sweet cakes and cool lemonade. They also sell boza.

Boza is popular in Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, parts of Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and also Poland and Lithuania. It is a malt drink, made from maize (corn) and wheat in Albania, fermented wheat in Turkey and wheat or millet in Bulgaria and Romania. It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content, and a slightly acidic sweet flavor.

In Macedonia boza is much thinner and lighter, and tastes sweeter. In Turkey it is served with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas. The Ottoman Empire was known to feed its army with boza as it is rich in carbohydrates and vitamins.

Boza was first made by the Central Asian Turks in the 900s. Later on, it spread to the Caucasus and the Balkans. In the 16th Century the custom of making 'Tartar boza' laced with opium brought the wrath of the authorities down on the drink, and it was prohibited by Sultan Selim II (1566-1574).

In the 19th Century a sweet and non-alcoholic Albanian boza became increasingly popular, while the sour and alcoholic type of boza went out of favor.

The waitress spoke a little English and promised to serve us with authentic boza. When it came, I drank my boza with an added scoop of ice-cream, which just took the edge off the tart acidic flavour.

But it was certainly refreshing - and I complimented the waitress, who spoke a little English. What's more, she gave me her name, address and mobile phone number. Maybe she could tell I have good taste.