Although Czech cuisine is not exactly a synonym for healthy cooking, everybody will probably find at least a couple of meals "to die for". It may be the potato soup, the traditional roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut, the fruit filled dumplings, or the apple strudel. Czech cooking and eating habits have been shifting in the general direction of a healthier lifestyle, but traditional Czech recipes are still extremely popular - and those tend to be high in calories, fat and sugar. Sauces and condiments are popular.

Soups

A Czech meal often starts with soup (polévka). Some popular Czech soups are:

- potato soup (bramborová polévka or bramboračka)
- garlic soup (česneková polévka or česnečka)
- chicken noodle soup (kuřecí polévka s nudlemi)
- beef soup with liver dumplings (hovězí polévka s játrovými knedlíčky)
- sauerkraut soup (zelná polévka or zelňačka)
- dill soup, made from sour milk (koprová polévka or koprovka)

The Main Course

The main course (hlavní chod) usually consists of meat (maso) and a side dish (příloha). The most popular meats are chicken (kuře) and pork (vepřové), followed by beef (hovězí), usually served with some kind of sauce (omáčka). Fish is not very common although trout (pstruh) or cod (treska) are sometimes served. Salmon (losos) and seafood (plody moře) are served in better restaurants. The mackerel (makrela) is a popular fish to grill over open fire in summer. Carp (kapr) is traditionally served on Christmas Eve.

Side Dishes

The most common Czech side dishes are:

- boiled potatoes (vařené brambory)
- roasted potatoes (opékané brambory)
- mashed potatoes (bramborová kaše)
- French fries (bramborové hranolky)
- rice (rýže)
- bread dumplings (houskové knedlíky) or potato dumplings
- (bramborové knedlíky) with sauce (omáčka)
- bread or potato dumplings with sauerkraut (zelí)
- potato salad (bramborový salát)

Desserts

Desserts (moučníky) come in many varieties and tend to be heavy and fatty because butter (máslo) and whipped cream (šlehačka) are often used. Some popular desserts are:

- crepes (palačinky) filled with jam (džem) or strawberries (jahody)
- and whipped cream
- honey cake called Medovník
- blueberry dumplings (borůvkové knedlíky)
- apple strudel (jablečný závin)
- ice cream sundae (zmrzlinový pohár)

Beverages

As far as drinks (nápoje) go, a Czech meal is often accompanied by the national beverage, which is beer (pivo). If you're not in the mood for beer, you can have a mineral water (minerálka), orange juice (pomerančový džus), apple juice (jablečný džus), or a soda (specify its name because soda in Czech means "soda water"). Czechs also like to drink tea (čaj) with sugar (cukr) and lemon (citrón), and coffee (káva) with or without milk (mléko) or cream (smetana).

Czech Cookbooks
"Eating Out" Czech phrases and vocabulary on Local Lingo