Traditional Czech food is very hearty and tasty. It is based on a large amount of meat with the addition of various sauces, very popular here are dumplings, as well as sweet desserts from dough. Czech culinary traditions have come from the blending of traditional local dishes and borrowed from neighbors. Great influence on the local cuisine was provided by Slovakia, Austria, Hungary.
National dishes and drinks in the Czech Republic
Traditional Czech food is very hearty and tasty. It is based on a large amount of meat with the addition of various sauces, very popular here are dumplings, as well as sweet desserts from dough. Czech culinary traditions have come from the blending of traditional local dishes and borrowed from neighbors. Great influence on the local cuisine was provided by Slovakia, Austria, Hungary.
National dishes and drinks in the Czech Republic
So, what to try in the Czech Republic from food to understand its cuisine? Usually tourists begin acquaintance with beer and snacks to it, it is enough salty and sharp:
- the Utopians - marinated sausages, which were drowned in vinegar, serve them usually in a marinade with onion and red pepper;
- tlachenka - similar to the cold, served with watered vinegar;
- fried sausages to beer - their kinds are very many, they can be from a liver, from meat or with a blood, but all of them will be fat and sharp.
Soups
The rich, thick soups refer to the national dishes typical for the cuisine of all regions of the Czech Republic:
- garlic - thick soup with garlic and sausages;
- kulayda - mushroom with potatoes and sour cream;
- bramborichka - potato;
- cibulochka - onion;
- Vole in bread - soup, poured into bread, popular food in restaurants in Prague and throughout the Czech Republic.
Traditional second courses of the Czech Republic
The main meal of the Czech Republic is meat, mainly beef, veal and pork. The goose is served for the holidays , it is considered together with the duck a traditional meal for Christmas.
The names of the main national dishes of the Czech Republic:
- Veprevo knee - delicious pork knuckle, baked whole. Usually this dish weighs about 1 kg, so for one person it can be a lot. A pork knuckle is served along with mustard and horseradish on a wooden tray, on which it will be easily cut to get to the meat.
- Vepro-kondllo-zelo -pork in gravy with stewed cabbage and dumplings.
- Свикова on sour cream - a cutting, most often beef. Served in sour cream sauce and dumplings. Each hostess of the Czech Republic is proud of her own family recipe for this dish.
- Goulash - a dish borrowed from Hungarians, is made from beef or veal with tomatoes, pepper and garlic. Served traditionally with dumplings.
- Bramboraki - potato pancakes, very similar to draniki. Used as a side dish or an independent dish with sour cream sauce.
- Pechena is as good as a goose or a duck, baked entirely. Served with sauerkraut, horseradish and mustard.
Dumplings are present on all the photos with traditional Czech cuisine. They are considered the most popular side dish for all types of meat in sauce. They make them from flour or potatoes, they are in themselves practically tasteless and were invented in order to collect meat sauce. Later, sweet dumplings with curd, fruit, jam appeared. Dumplings are cooked in plenty of water and served hot. Many Czechs prefer them to all other dishes, and eat constantly in both salty and sweet form.
Dessert
Sweet in the Czech cuisine is mainly represented by various dishes from the dough. Baking is popular both in home execution, and bought on the street.
- Trdelnik - this is what you can try in Prague in special tents on the street, it is considered the most popular sweet national dish of the Czech Republic. The dough is wound on a rolling pin or special cylinder, after which it is rolled in nuts and sugar. It is popular at Christmas markets and fairs.
- Kalachi - delicious bread rolls with different fillings.
- Howska is a bun from a twisted heart-shaped yeast dough. Sprinkle sugar powder over the top, inside add raisins or nuts.
Drinks in the Czech Republic
The most famous and delicious drink in the Czech Republic is considered to be beer. It is as popular as German and Belgian. The country produces a huge number of different brands of this foam drink in large factories and in private breweries.
Despite the fact that the Czech Republic is a beer country, winemaking is also widespread here, especially in the wines of southern Moravia. Lovers of stronger liquors like Slivovitz, especially home-made, and Becherovka - a popular balm, infused on a variety of herbs, produced in Karlovy Vary .
What is the cuisine of the Czech Republic and Slovakia like?
The food of Slovakia is considered more simple and unpretentious than the Czech, while they have much in common. The main dishes are traditional for both countries, especially for soups. The Slovaks, like the Czechs, like thick, rich soups with garlic, spices, and smoked products. And mushroom and garlic soup, and those, and others generally consider their national dish. The same applies to meat: in Slovakia on the menu you will certainly find a Veprevo knee, schnitzels coming from Austria, and Hungarian goulash. Unlike in the Czech Republic, there is often fish on the table, especially river and lake trout, which Slovaks know how to cook deliciously.
Favorite Czechs dumplings are popular with Slovaks, they are loved here in salty and sweet, with and without fillings.Traditional food of the Czech regions
National dishes in certain Czech cities can often be used not only as food, but also as souvenirs:
- Karlovy Vary wafers - delicate and tender, with a lot of sweet fillings, are popular since the XVIII century. Earlier they were made in every house, but now they are more likely to buy ready-made. Factories produce special gift and souvenir packs of waffles, which can easily be taken away with them.
- Pardubice gingerbreads refer to traditional honey baked goods, decorated with glaze. Most often baked in the form of the heart, then painted with plot pictures or inscriptions. Earlier they were brought as gifts home from the fair in Pardubice , and today they are taken to other countries as souvenirs .
- Stubber ears are a delicate biscuit made from a thin gingerbread dough wrapped in a bag that resembles an ear shape. Delicacy, loved by adults and children, is produced in Stemberk, which is reflected in its name.
Gastronomic tourism in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic is rightfully proud of its cuisine and is happy to devote tourists to it. For fans of beer, wine, meat, sweets, various routes have been developed, on which you can more deeply immerse yourself in the local food culture .
The most popular tours are considered beer. It's not just tasting different types of beer, but also visiting large factories and private breweries, getting to know the traditions of growing hops and participating in making a delicious drink.
In southern Moravia, you can go on a wine tour of the vineyards and wineries. Here you will find tastings, the history of grapes cultivation in the Czech Republic, acquaintance with the peculiarities of local varieties and the opportunity to purchase wine directly from the producers.