What’s in Season in Chișinău

What is in season in Chișinău, and what to order when the market changes.

Spring

Mărțișor sweets and braided breads: March 1 to 12 brings the Mărțișor festival; bakeries sell red-and-white braided bread and small holiday cakes.
Wild garlic (leurdă): March and April wild garlic shows up on restaurant menus stuffed into plăcinte or stirred through soft cheese.
Easter cozonac and pască: Orthodox Easter brings cozonac sweet bread, pască with sweet cheese, and red-dyed eggs sold from every bakery in the run-up to the holiday.

Cherries: Sour and sweet cherries from May through July are the canonical plăcinte filling of the season.
Heirloom tomatoes and bell peppers: From July, Piața Centrală and the smaller weekend markets are stacked with Moldovan tomatoes, bell peppers and aubergines, the base of the year's preserves.
Țuică and home-distilled spirits: Plum and apple harvests across June and July supply the țuică distillers; the season ends with a wave of village home-distilling.

Wine harvest and Ziua Vinului: Late September and early October are the wine harvest. The first weekend of October hosts Ziua Națională a Vinului in central Chișinău.
Pumpkin and squash plăcinte: Pumpkin plăcinte (plăcinte cu dovleac) replaces cabbage as the autumn standard, sold by the slice from bakeries through October and November.
Walnuts and grapes: Moldovan walnuts go into pastries and the holiday cozonac; the table-grape season runs September to October.

Sarmale and răcituri: Christmas and New Year tables centre on sarmale (cabbage rolls) and răcituri (jellied pork); restaurants put both on holiday menus from mid-December.
Pickled vegetables and sauerkraut: Pickled cabbage, peppers, tomatoes and the muraturi assortment carry the cold months on every Moldovan table.
Mulled wine and hot țuică: December markets serve vin fiert (mulled wine) and warmed țuică; the Cricova and Mileștii Mici cellars run winter tasting menus.