For a long time considered lost in Romania (except for few families still preparing it at home for own use), the bragă used to be prince and pauper’s hot summer norm in Wallachia until not more than 50-60 years ago. It arrived in Wallachia from the Ottoman Empire in the late Middle Ages. In his great ‘Istoria Bucurescilor’, Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion mentions the bragă, lemonade and covrig sellers that used to come to Wallachia joining the Phanariote beys (Greek noblemen coming from Fener Quarter in Istanbul) to the displease of some of the local aristocracy in mid 18th century.

But what is it about? The bragă is a beige colour, refreshing, naturally acidulated drink made of millet, which is boiled in water for about an hour, it is filtered and then cooled down, being served cold. Its taste is sour-sweet with a lightly bitter scent. It often has many milling remains in suspension and it should never be clear or settled. Prepared the traditional way, it cannot be stored for a long time and even so, one has to store it in a cool place. Due to the millet fermentation, there is a slight touch of alcohol in it. At its peak time, the bragă used to be sold by specific merchants and, due to its being easy to make and subsequently cheap, there still exists an expression in Romania that something is ‘ieftin ca braga’ (En. ‘cheap like the bragă’).

Local recipes went astray from the millet version mostly due to the shortage or absence of the main ingredient. Moldavia for instance saw a wheat and corn variation, where wheat bran and corn flour were mixed with water to create a dough that was baked. The result was then placed in a wooden barrel and left to ferment. After a while, water and yeast were added; a few days later, the resulting liquid was filtered for larger impurities. It was then transferred in a clay pot, where sugar was added.

Nowadays it can still be found in countries like Turkey and Bulgaria, where it is called ‘boza’. As of 2011, there are a few places in Bucharest which sell it, the handiest one lying on 21 Lipscani, at a pastry shop next to Saray Restaurant. That is in the Old Town, near the Western end of the Lipscani, between its crossings with Eugeniu Carada and Calea Victoriei. As the saying goes, you’ll pay RON 3 for a glass of bragă and you can have it with a delicious slice of kadayif or - an even better idea - with a slice of meat lahmacun or cheese gözleme. Have a look at the image above and rest assured there’s plenty of choice there.

The other option is the Casa Tradiției Românești on 10 Calea Vitan, Building V50; getting there is easier than it sounds, as the place lies just across the street from Bucharest’s first mall, the București Mall. They have some other goodies you might like to taste or gulp, so have a look here. Last, but not least, there is a company dealing only bragă (Coca Cola started the same way, isn’t it?), the Bragă Bună. You won’t find them at a particular place, but they do appear whenever there is a farmers’, harvest or traditional something fair.

GPS - Pastry shop selling the bragă - N44 25.57 E26 05.53

GPS - Casa Traditiei Romanesti - N44 25.15 E26 07.28