Gastronomy

                           Slovak Cuisine

When you ask someone in your surrounding about the traditional Slovak cuisine, many people stay confused:  - What? Slovak cuisine ? I´ve never heard about it. And this is a big shame.

Slovakia, together with its historical monuments, cultural attractions and traditions, offers for tourists a great variety of traditional meals and drinks.  Although Slovak meals are cheap and easy to prepare, they are extremely delicious. It´s like spending the whole day at your grandparents.

Tasty Slovak meals are served in most of the restaurants in Slovakia and all of them have strong rural roots.  Historically, Slovakia was a land of peasants and shepherds, who usually worked in fields all day long and kept domestic animals. That is why, the cuisine evolved from the ingredients people grew in their gardens or from the products of animals they kept.  Potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage, sheep cheese - bryndza, smoked chees – oštiepok,  bacon, smoked meat, pork and beef meat, legumes are the basic ingredients of many meals.

  So, let us introduce you some typical Slovak meals you can find in any restaurants round Slovakia.

  The most popular dish is "Bryndzové halušky". It is similar to gnocchi, made from potato dough and served with sheep cheese, sour cream and fried bacon.

Then comes kapustnica  - a traditional sauerkraut soup prepared at Christmas period. It is usually thick soup and main ingredients are sauerkraut, potatoes, mushrooms, home-made sausages, smoked meat.  It is cooked in different ways and the other ingredients vary a lot.

The next popular meal in Slovakia is called "bryndzové pirohy" - small triangle-shaped dumplings filled with salty sheep cheese - bryndza. The dish is usually served with sour cream and fried bacon. Pirohy can be also filled with plum jam, the dish popular especilly among children.

  Each region, even town or village, has its own traditional tasty meal. For example, Horehronie is well known for " Mäsové gule" - potato dough filled with mixed meat, "haruľa" - salty potato pancakes, "Šuľance" or "Trhance" - potato dumplings gritted with poppy seeds or nuts.
  Slovaks like eating soups, mainly thick ones, e.g. lentil soup, bean soup, garlic soup. 
  A cold beer in summer, good plum brandy, pear brandy or other quality brandy to warm up in winter, delicious mead to enjoy pleasant moments throughout the whole year - is something that you should taste visiting Slovakia.