Czech cuisine is not exactly
a synonym for healthy cooking, but everybody will probably
find some meals they'll love. 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 towards 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 can 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
- fruit (ovoce), such as strawberries
(jahody),
- chocolate (čokoláda), whipped cream and
- sometimes nuts (oříšky)
- 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), a variety of fruit juices, such as orange
juice (pomerančový
džus), apple juice (jablečný džus), pear juice (hruškový džus), or a
soda (specify the kind 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).
