Czech cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Czech_cuisine

Czech cuisine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the

cuisines of surrounding countries. Many of the fine cakes and
pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated in the
Czech lands.

Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes.

Pork is quite common, and beef and chicken are also popular.
Goose, duck, rabbit and wild game are served. Fish is rare, with
the occasional exception of fresh trout, and carp, which is
served at Christmas.

Vepřo-knedlo-zelo (Roast pork with dumplings

and cabbage)
Contents
1 Side dishes
2 Meat dishes
3 Snacks
3.1 Cheese
4 Sweets
5 Beverages
6 Links

Side dishes
Knedlíky (boiled sliced dumplings) are one of the mainstays of Czech cuisine and are quite often served with
meals. They can be wheat or potato based, and are sometimes made from a combination of wheat flour and stale
bread or rolls. They are typically large and served cut into slices, in contrast with the smaller dumplings found in
Austrian cuisine. Only potato based dumplings are usually smaller.

Meat dishes

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Roast pork with dumplings and cabbage (vepřová pečeně s knedlíky a se

zelím, colloquially vepřo-knedlo-zelo) is considered the most popular Czech
dish. There are two variants of preparing the cabbage, Bohemian and
Moravian. Bohemians prefer the cabbage to be sour, so they prepare the dish
from sauerkraut. In Moravia it is preferred sweeter and so is prepare from fresh
cabbage, or by adding some sugar, if the fresh variety is not accessible. But
these variants aren't strict, and either may be available in each region.

Marinated beef sirloin (svíčková na smetaně or simply svíčková). Roast beef,

usually larded, with a thick sauce made of carrot, parsley root and cream,
svíčková na smetaně served with dumplings. Often served with a cream topping, a teaspoon of
cranberry compote and slice of lemon.

Snacks
Since beer culture is a big part of Czech life, many important Czech
dishes and cheeses are usually eaten as pub fare.

Bramboráky (regionally called cmunda or vošouch in Pilsen and

"strik" or "striky" in Czech Silesia) are fried pancakes made of
rough-grated or fine-grated raw potatoes (brambory in Czech),
flour, milk and sometimes sliced sausages (but this is not common,
because bramboráky are usually inteded to be a vegetarian meal).
They are spiced with marjoram, salt, pepper, garlic. Usually sized to
Fried bramboráky
fit the cooking dish. Smaller variant can be made smaller and eaten
as side dish. There is a similar dish from the Slovakian-Ruthenian
borderland called harula, prepared with less milk and fat, addition of onion, baked on tin in oven, instead of
frying.

Utopenci (literally "drowned men") are piquantly pickled bratwursts.

Cheese

Smažený Sýr (colloquially smažák) is maybe the less noble, but the most contemporary of Czech national dishes.
A slice of cheese (usually Edam or Hermelín) about 1 cm thick (or whole Hermelín) is coated in bread-crumbs
like Wiener schnitzel (which is very popular, also) and fried either on a pan or in deep fryer, and often topped
with tartar sauce (tatarka or tatarská omáčka in czech). The czech version of tartar sauce is not so thick which
makes it more similar to mayonnaise.

Nakládaný hermelín is a soft cheese, similar to Camembert marinated with peppers, onion etc. in oil. Hermelin
can also be deep fried as above.

Pivní Sýr (beer cheese) is a soft cheese, usually mixed with raw onions and mustard, and spread on bread.

Niva is a a blue cheese, originally made in the town of Niva in the Prostějov district.

Olomoucké syrečky maturing cheese with strong odour, invented by Josef Wesselss 131 yrs. ago. It's made in
Loštice, small town in Moravia. Tradition of making this cheese dates since 15th century. Tvarůžky can be fried,
marinated or added to bramborák i.e.

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Sweets
Fruit dumplings (ovocné knedlíky) are mostly made using plums (švestkové
knedlíky). Whole plums (in some regions including the stones) are coated with
potato dough and boiled, then served with butter, sugar and sometimes milled
poppy or tvaroh. Different varieties of fruit dumplings include strawberry,
cherry, apricot, bilberry or peach. They are usually eaten as a main dish, not
simply dessert.

Kolache (Koláče) is a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits to

cheeses inside a bread roll.
Christmas cookies (vánoční
cukroví) Vánočka is prepared for Christmas, along with many kinds of biscuits and
sweets (vánoční cukroví).

Beverages
Aside from Slivovitz, Czech beer and wine, Czechs also produce two uniquely
Czech liquors, Fernet Stock and Becherovka. Kofola is a non-alcoholic Czech
soft drink.

Links
Cooking Czech - Czech Recipes for North American Kitchens
http://www.rampouch.com/cookingczech.html

Cordon Blue in Czech - Czech Kitchens Vocabulary

http://www.slovodne.cz/slovodne/gordon-blue/

Description - Czech Traditional cuisine

(http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/health-and-health-care/public-health/lifestyles/food-and-drink/)
Pilsner Urquell served in
Prague
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_cuisine"

Category: Czech cuisine

This page was last modified 22:50, 13 December 2007.

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