Among the many features of the modern Bulgarian table likely to appeal to Western tastes are the appetizers or meze. These include white beans and preserved vegetables in olive oil, peppers, olives, tomatoes, spicy sausage (pasterma), hot pastry and deep-fried savouries in batter, green onions, cucumber, yoghurt, pickled cucumbers and a white, very salty, fresh cheese like the Greek feta. Herbs — thyme, tarragon, basil, savory, mint, dill — are widely used, both fresh and dried, to flavour salads and in curing or preserving cheese and meat.

The Bulgarian cuisine is one the world's simplest, healthiest and most naturally elegant styles of cooking, akin to the cuisines of Turkey and Lebanon. The seasoning is light and the accent on preserving natural flavours. The land, which the Ancients called Thrace, yields abundant green vegetables and fruit.