The main ingredients are roasted eggplant, sauteed onions, tomato paste, and roasted gogoșari (a Romanian red bell pepper variety).

Bay leaves are added as spice, as well as other ingredients (oil, salt, and pepper).

Traditionally, a family will cook a large quantity of it after the fall harvest and preserve it through canning.

In the Orthodox Christian majority countries, it is sometimes eaten during fasting seasons due to the absence of meat, eggs or dairy products.

[citation needed][3] The word zacuscă is of Slavic origin which means simply "appetizer", "breakfast" or "snack",[1] see "Zakuski".