Czech Republic’s position in Europe gives a hint of the kind of cuisine to expect in the nation that oozes history from every cobble-stoned laneway. Potatoes, cabbage and meats form the main ingredients in several dishes, with soups, goulash, game like wild boar and pheasant, and dumplings some of the most commonly found menu items. For dessert baked goods are the go, with rolls, cakes and fruit dumplings, all of which are well washed down with some local beer like the world’s first Pilsner, Urquell.
Soup:
Bramboračka potato soup
Cabbage soup, lentil soup, garlic soup
Czech goulash
Meat:
Pork, Duck, Goose, Beef, Wild Boar, Pheasant
Tatarák raw mince
Utopenec sausage snack
Fish:
Carp fish, Herring, Mackerel
Vegetables:
Knedlíky dumplings
Potato salad, Potato dumplings, Potato pancakes
Sauerkraut, Garlic
Forest mushrooms, fried cauliflower
Dessert:
Lázeňské oplatky spa wafers
Trdelník sweet rolls
Medovník cake
Palačinka crêpes, Ovocné knedlíky fruit dumplings
Pivní sýr beer cheese
Beverages:
Kofola (communist cola)
Beer (Pivo):
Pilsner Urquell, Budvar, Staropramen, Krušovice
Wine:
Burčák young wine, Svatovavřinecké red wine, mulled wine
Spirits:
Becherovka herb liquor
Bohemian Absinthe
Slivovice plum brandy
Grog (rum and hot water)
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
