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Well, it is a " memory of tastes" that sometimes doesn t let us to adapt ourselves with the new tastes of food found in another part of the world!
I think it is unit of comparison with what you tasted before...
But, Romanian SMANTANA is the best in the world, my opinion, because I was used with it, that has a perfect match with some fresh cow cheese and MAMALIGUTA, that corn flour, polenta as Italians call it!
Instead going for shopping in supermarket, I advice you to try to visit a local market where people from the villages, the producers come and sell it fresh.
Sure, the taste will be different!

Having grown up with American sour cream I find the Romanian to be much too bland... I need flavor!! But with so many choices on the shelves, I don't know which one to select so I'm hoping someone can advise me on which one might offer more flavor.
Local markets might be a good option, thanks.

If you want from supermarkets, Smantana " Bucovina" could be a good choice.

I agree with Vali - get the smantana from the farmers markets if possible. That goes for cheese and ham/bacon too. Not only does it taste better, it's also half the price.

For example, I love 'telemea de bivolita' (buffalo cheese). In Obor cheese market it's about 15 RON/kg and tastes great - soft, fluffy, milky. In my local supermarket it's 15 RON for a 500g package, and it doesn't taste half as good - far too salty for a start. You can also try the cheeses in the market so you don't end up wasting money on something you don't like.

Same for bacon. I get 'scarita afumata' from the market. I usually get a chunk of about 1kg and it costs 20lei or thereabouts. Then I just slice it up myself and use it like bacon (bacon sandwiches, flavouring stews, whatever). Tastes great, has a real 'smokey' flavour. It has ribs in it, so it's probably about 750g of actual meat. In the supermarket, you can buy nicely sliced and packaged bacon, but it's about 6 ron for 8 rashers (about 80g). That means I'd be paying about 50 RON to get the same amount as I got in the farmers market for 20 RON. Also, the 'smoke' is painted on.

I've found the same thing with meat and fruit and veg too. The supermarkets are usually 2 or 3 times more expensive. In the market, the in-season veg and fruit is geneally around 3 RON/kg. Nowadays I just use the supermarket (which is on my doorstep) for things I've forgotten or stuff like washing up liquid and toiletries or stuff in bottles (wine, beer, milk, whatever).

If you want a more flavorful sour  cream; look for one with a bigger grasime content.  That is fat.  But if I were you go to your local farmers market.  also, you can try iuart ...it is a bit more flavor than s.c.   I'm still trying to figure out cascaval.  t theKauffland market here in Tulcea I have found cheddar cheese.  Its about 5 lei for 100 grams

Not sure what you mean by "the SMANTANA choices are officially overwhelming"... in fact there is only one version of it and it basically refers to the fat that gathers on top of the fermented milk. Just that. And us here think it's delicious just like that, no need for other flavours. Sure you can add other ingredients and make sauces etc.

At the supermarket you can find "smantana" made by different companies, maybe that's what you mean by "versions"... well I think the best is "Napoca"( I prefer this brand for other diary products as well)... seems the most natural. Actually I try to stay steer from buying smantana from the supermarket though.

There are also some versions concerning different fat levels. 15%, 20% etc. The more fat, the tastier ofc

Just like other people before me I would recommend getting this stuff from peasants. It's definitely tastier, cheaper and HEALTHIER, as it's supposedly 100% natural. Sadly there are some that cheat by adding wheat flour ( or so I've heard). Either way I definitely prefer to buy from peasants, in markets or traditional fairs.

Oh and by "cascaval" we mean all those types of yellow cheese. The white cheese is generally referred to as "branza" or "telemea". I think the difference is that white cheese is fresh, while the yellow cheese was processed in some way - boiled, smoked etc.

thanks for the responses!

What I mean by versions is that they have smantana "dulce" and other varieties that I cannot think of right now.  In the US they have low fat sour cream that tastes like the fatty kind.  Trying to be more health conscious (more for my husband who watches his weight) I've naturally bought the ones with less fat but perhaps I will give the fatty ones a chance.
I have avoided buying from markets or peasants, mostly because I speak little to no Romanian but I will expand my horizons.

megc74 wrote:

thanks for the responses!

What I mean by versions is that they have smantana "dulce" and other varieties that I cannot think of right now.  In the US they have low fat sour cream that tastes like the fatty kind.  Trying to be more health conscious (more for my husband who watches his weight) I've naturally bought the ones with less fat but perhaps I will give the fatty ones a chance.
I have avoided buying from markets or peasants, mostly because I speak little to no Romanian but I will expand my horizons.

If you want low-fat smantana that's tasty you could try a creamy yogurt like greek.

megc74 wrote:

In the US they have low fat sour cream that tastes like the fatty kind.  Trying to be more health conscious (more for my husband who watches his weight) I've naturally bought the ones with less fat but perhaps I will give the fatty ones a chance.
I have avoided buying from markets or peasants, mostly because I speak little to no Romanian but I will expand my horizons.

Haha sorry but I had to laugh because I can relate to the American desire for "low-fat" products. I went through the same thing. Just go ahead and throw that out the window. Low-fat is slowly being integrated into different Romanian products (yogurt, only the spreadable cheeses and some juices) but mostly its fatty (and might I add delicious). I wrote a whole post about cascaval on my blog but to give you a quick tip if you desire something in the range of cheddar buy Napolact Dej. The former is the brand and the latter is the specific type of cheese. It is good and reasonably priced.

I'm not that into buying from the peasants either when it comes to dairy and meat. I just don't feel like I know what I'm getting exactly (due to my Romanian). For meat we always bought from Angst in Bucharest.

p.s. Angst has awesome fresh baked croissants both plain and with chocolate.