Traditional Slovak Cuisine Intro: Hello, my name is Katarina Simkova and I prepared a project about traditional Slovak cuisine. I chose this theme, because I adore Slovak cuisine and I consider it the best cuisine in the world as well as I find my grandmothers being the best cooks in the world 

INGREDIENTS • Cuisine of the northern part of Slovakia is influenced more by weather as the real winter there usually endures about three months. So the cuisine had to be adjusted and that’s why it contains so much perishable food. • The main ingredients of northern Slovak regions are: o meat: smoked meat products as sausages, bacon etc., lamb and fish, mainly trout o potatoes harvested in October which are used as basis of almost all our traditional dishes o cabbage which is harvested during autumn and then cut, mixed with spices and then it ferments, which turns cabbage into valuable source of vitamin C during winter o cow, goat or sheep milk which is then processed into many different kinds of cheese and other products such as cheese strings, smoked cheese (ostiepok), sheep cheese (bryndza), curd (tvaroh), cream, butter, žinčica etc. o flour o leguminous plants (bean, peas) o regions near a forest: meat from forest animals, mushrooms and forest fruit o beekeeping and its products • The cuisine of the southern part of SVK, which is more plain and warmer has more various ingredients: o meat: beef, goose, duck, turkey and fish – especially carp o homemade pasta o various vegetables and fruit, marmalades, jam, dried fruit • Slovak sheep cheese, smoked cheese and rolled cheese are protected geographical labels by European union SOUPS • traditional at the beginning of every lunch • sometimes only soup and no main dish after • soups: potato, lentil, bean, peas, mushroom, onion, garlic, spinach and different vegetables and meat soups • the most traditional soup is cabbage soup: o its basis is sour cabbage o its preparation differs according to a region and a time of the year o it is cooked mostly during Christmas . as the part of Christmas dinner: this type contains in addition to cabbage also potatoes, mushrooms, small pasta (papcun) and sausages . or on 24th December during day so it does not include meat as it is still lent (post) • then we have also “privarok” which is a kind of more concentrated or dense soup eaten with bread as main course MAIN COURSES • Slovak cuisine is more oily than for ex. French or Spanish as lard (brav. mast) and oil are often used for preparation • the most typical meal is “bryndzove halusky” – kind of gnocchi with sheep cheese and roasted bacon o they are made of potato dough and cooked in boiling water o instead of sheep cheese they can be eaten also with cabbage / curd / cream cheese o bryndza originally comes from Romania – Wallachian colonization • “Pirohy” – are similar to pasties or small dumplings o they can be cooked / roasted / baked o they are made of potato-flour dough and filled with either salty ingredients like potatoes or sheep cheese or they are sweet filled with marmalade or curd o they are served with melted butter and sprinkled with breadcrumbs (struhanka) or poppy seeds • another traditional meals: o “lokše, haruľa” - potato pancakes, they are eaten as main dish and sometimes duck or goose is served with them o “fučka” – mashed potatoes eaten with roasted onion and sour milk o goulash – dense soup made of onion, beef, many spices, potatoes… o baked goose . goose feast Slovensky Grob . served with lokse or dumpling o abattoir specialties o steamed dumplings/buns o “živánska” – pork and potatoes baked in aluminium foil with another vegetables o pasta with poppy seeds DESSERTS • rolled cakes filled with poppy seeds, nuts or curd • swelled cakes • buns • strudel • apple pie • gingerbread • dumplings with poppy seeds • traditional dessert after Christmas dinner is “opekance/bobalky” – small spheres made of swelled dough and then baked slightly touching each other • “trdelnik” which comes from Skalica and looks like cylinder with hole in the middle COMPETITIONS • So if your grandmother does not cook this delicacies for some reason, try to visit one of 91 traditional chalets or restaurants (which I found on the Internet) • or visit one of food competitions • I will talk about two which are the most popular, but you will maybe find something nearer • The first is Halusky Fest in Turecka. This is Slovak and European championship of cooking and eating halusky. This year it is on 18th July and it is the 21st year of this competition, which is also connected with the exhibition of crafts and selling of food products • The second is Halusky Terchova which is the world championship in cooking and eating halusky. This year it is on 23th May.