Bulz

What it is

Bulz is mămăligă with a surprise. Thick corn porridge is flattened in the palm, a spicy sheep cheese — most often brânză de burduf — is placed inside, and then it is closed into a ball. The balls are baked in the oven or over heat until a crust forms on the outside and the cheese inside melts.

Romanians jokingly call bulz 'urs de mămăligă' — bear made of mămăligă. It is served hot, with sour cream, often with a fried egg and pieces of crispy bacon.

This is the food of the stâna — a shepherd's hut in the mountains, where the available products were corn flour and cheese. Today, bulz can be found on the menu of almost every mountain restaurant in Romania.

History and name

The word bulz in Romanian means lump, ball; from the same root comes the Ukrainian budz and Polish bundz — which refer to a lump of fresh cheese.

In June 2010, a 50-meter-long bulz was prepared in the town of Covasna — a record recorded by the Guinness World Records.

Ingredients and allergens

Corn flour300 gFinely ground corn, used to make kulesha (mămăligă) and bake malai.

Brânză de burduf200–250 gSalted crushed sheep's cheese, matured in a bag or fir bark; sharp and aromatic.Contains allergens: milk

Butter50 gButter is placed on slices of kulesha, used to grease riplianka, and to fry breadcrumbs for hombovtsi.Contains allergens: milk

Sour creamto serveThick homemade sour cream is the base for banosh and machanka, a common dressing for Carpathian dishes.Contains allergens: milk

Smoked baconoptionalSmoked brisket is cut into cubes and rendered — it is poured over dumplings, pies, and mamaliga.

EggsoptionalChicken eggs — for the dough of hombovtsi, palačint, pasky, and deruny.Contains allergens: eggs

Also: water (1 l), salt

Contains allergens: milk
Depending on how it is served, may contain: eggs
Diet: gluten-free by ingredients; traces possible

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is traditionally made

Serves: 4 servings

• Corn flour — 300 g
• Brânză de burduf — 200–250 g
• Water — 1 l
• Salt
• Butter — 50 g
• Sour cream
• Smoked bacon
• Eggs

1. Boil salted water. Gradually add corn flour in a thin stream, stirring continuously, and cook over low heat for 20–30 minutes, until the porridge starts to pull away from the walls.
2. Mix in the butter and let the mămăligă cool slightly so that it can be handled by hand.
3. With wet hands, take a portion of the porridge, flatten it into a disc, place a spoonful of cheese in the center, and form a ball the size of a fist.
4. Place the balls in a greased dish and bake at 200 °C for 15–20 minutes, until golden brown. In the stână, they are baked over heat.

How it is served

Hot, with sour cream; optionally — with a fried egg and crispy bacon.

Variants

There is a layered version: mămăligă, cheese, and bacon are layered in a dish and baked.

The traditional method as described by our sources; every family does it its own way. We have not tested this recipe in a professional kitchen.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

The mountainous counties of Romania along the Carpathian arc — from Maramureș and Bukovina to the Southern Carpathians. The counties are shown on the map in their entirety, along with their flat parts, so the area is approximate.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Polonyna (May — September) · Everyday food

FAQ