Slovak cuisine

Bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings with sheep's-milk cheese)

Bryndzové pirohy (cheese filled dumplings)

Kapustnica (soup made from sauerkraut and sausage)

Christmas dish (fried carp and potato salad)

Slovak cuisine varies slightly, though sometimes dramatically, from region to region. It was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbours and it influenced these as well. The origins of traditional Slovak cuisine can be traced to times when the majority of the population lived in villages, in self-sustenance, with very limited food imports and exports and with no modern means of food preservation or processing. This gave rise to a cuisine heavily dependent on a number of staple foods that could stand the hot summers and cold winters. These included wheat, potatoes, milk and milk products, pork meat, sauerkraut and onion. To a lesser degree beef, poultry, lamb and goat, eggs, a few other local vegetables, fruit and wild mushrooms were traditionally eaten. All these were usually produced and processed by families themselves with some local trade at the country markets. Wheat was ground, and bread, dumplings and noodles were made from it. Potatoes were mostly boiled or processed into potato dough. Milk was processed into a wide range of products such as butter, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, and various types of cheese etc. Typical pork products include sausages, a local kind of blood sausages, smoked bacon, and lard. Spices were not widely used, and animal fats and butter were used instead of cooking oils. Main drinks included fresh and sour milk, and beer. Contemporary Slovak cuisine is widely influenced by various world cuisines and uses many different ingredients, spices and industrially processed foods.

Slovak dishes

• Halušky
  • Bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings with bryndza - a sheep's-milk cheese)
  • Strapačky
  • Chľustačky
• Lokše (pancakes made of potato-dough baked directly on the stove)
• Bryndzové pirohy
• Parené buchty (steamed jam-filled dumplings topped with poppy seeds or nuts)
• Široké rezance s tvarohom a slaninou: tagliatelle with quark (farmer's cheese) and fried bacon
• Zemiakové placky (potato pancakes fried in oil), also called Haruľa in regions Horehronie, Pohronie, Kysuce and Orava
• Žemľovka (bread pudding)
• Granadír or Granadírsky pochod, also known as Grenadír marš
• Ryžový nákyp (rice pudding)
• Orechovník, a sweet Nut roll
• Makovník (poppy seed roll)
• Bratislavské rožteky
• Segedin Goulash (pork stew with sauerkraut and cream or sour cream, usually served with steamed dumplings (knedľa).
• Rezeň (breaded pork schnitzel)

Soups and sauces

• Fazuľová (soup made of beans)
• Kapustnica (soup made of sauerkraut)
• Rezancová (chicken soup with noodles)

Meat

Pork, beef and poultry are the main meats consumed in Slovakia, with pork being the most popular by a substantial margin. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also well established. A blood sausage called jaternice also has a following, containing any and all parts of a butchered pig; it is an acquired taste. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison, are also widely available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but for the most part are not very popular. The consumption of horse meat is generally frowned upon.

Grilled meat is not common in Slovakia. Instead, meat is either breaded and fried in oil (schnitzel), or is cooked and served in sauce. Hungarian influences in Slovak cuisine can be seen in popular stews and goulashes. However, these have been given Slovak touches. Chicken paprikash is typically served with halušky and Hungarian goulash (spicy beef stew) is served with slices of a large bread-like steamed dumpling.

Traditional sweets and cookies

Slices of Skalický trdelník, a traditional cake and sweet pastry, from the Slovak town of Skalica, ready for serving: note the hollow interior created by baking on a cylindrical spit.

Usually baked at Christmas time, but also all year long, Slovak traditional sweets are usually home baked and harder to find in stores.

• Laskonky: fluffy dough with walnuts and creamy filling
• Mačacie oči
• Trotle: 2 layers of cookie-like round tarts filled with chocolate cream and half-dipped in dark chocolate.
• Vajcový koňak: the equivalent of eggnog.
• Medovníčky
• Medvedie labky
• Trdelnik or Skalický trdelnik, a traditional cake baked on a rotating spit over open fire
• Haboše
• Čeregi
• Makové pupáky

Eating habits

Traditionally the main meal of the day is lunch, eaten around noon. However, changing work routine has altered this in the recent decades; today, it is not uncommon for many Slovaks to eat their main meal in the evening. Lunch in Slovakia usually consists of soup AND a main meal. It's customary in Slovakia to bring a bottle of wine or other alcohol as a gift if you are invited to visit someone's home.

Slovakian dishes

• 

  Kuracie prsia, a chicken dish

• 

  Chicken dish

• 

  Pork with milano sauce and yeast dumpling

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  Chicken dish with dumplings and cream sauce

See also

Food portal

• Cuisines of the world
• List of recipes

External links

• Illustrated Slovak recipes
• Emperor's Crumbs - Central European food and recipe blog.