Early autumn is a special time in North Macedonia. It is the season when families come together to make ajvar. If you walk through a Macedonian town in late September or early October, you will smell the unmistakable aroma of ajvar cooking. You might see entire families sitting in their yards, preparing peppers by hand, while others stir large pots of ajvar simmering over wood-fire grills.
For Macedonians, making ajvar is about much more than cooking. It is a yearly tradition that brings the whole family together, almost like a holiday!
When I first arrived in North Macedonia to begin my training as a Peace Corps volunteer, I was assigned to live with a host family in a town called Sveti Nikole while I studied the Macedonian language. My hosts were a sweet older couple named Guna and Mitre. They gave me my first chance to experience the tradition of making ajvar firsthand!
Their adult children traveled from the capital city of Skopje to join us. Together, we spent a weekend making ajvar, sharing the work and enjoying time as a family. It was an experience that helped me understand just how special this tradition is to North Macedonian culture.
