Category: Czechoslovakia

Food and Culture of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was born in October 1918, out of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. It would simplify our under-standing of the people and the region if we could say that the mother was Czech and the father Slovakian. But as in real life, it has not been that elemental. Until 1992, the Czech and Slovak republics lived in relative harmony as Czechoslovakia, but with ensuing difficulties between the two republics’ leaders, relations have plummeted. Increasing political differences between the two republics, with the Czechs’ democratic reforms standing in stark contrast to the continuing “authoritarian leadership” and “oppressive rule” of the Slovak Republic, seem to be further intensifying differences.

Although it may seem that the two republics will continue on divergent political paths, there are also differences in their historical and cultural development that distinguish Czechs from Slovaks.

The name Czech derives from the spoken language, and this most westerly branch of Slays make up 70 percent of the urban population of the region of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. Bohemia’s name is believed to have come from the early peoples who inhabited the area — the Boii. For 400 years, Bohemia was an Austrian province whose cuisine was strongly influenced by both Germany and Austria. Vienna was the spiritual capital of Bohemia and the people’s ethos was predominantly Teutonic in nature: disciplined and orderly.

The Slovaks, on the other hand, speak a different though related language and their cuisine and their culture carry strong influences from their neighbor, Hungary. Most Slovaks are engaged in rural pursuits such as farming, lumbering, and cattle raising. And they take great pride in their indigenous dress and traditional festivals.

Up to the 1300s there was considerable German immigration into Bohemia and Magyar immigration into Slovakia. The hopes for a peaceful way of life seemed futile. Up to the mid-1800s continuous strife between ethnic groups, oppressive taxation, and forcible Germanization made daily life uniformly severe. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy was sympathetic only to its own cause, with the result that the period up to the end of the First World War was a tug-of-war between Hungarian and German dominance.

The joy at Czechoslovakia^‘s birth in 1918 was short-lived. By 1939, Hitler had forced the surrender of Czechoslovakia to Germany and once more the people were torn and dispersed. Ruthenia went to Hungary, Bohemia and Moravia became German protectorates and Slovakia a pup-pet state. Forcible colonization, exploitation, and brutal oppression became routine again. In May 1945, with the end of the Second World War, a brief period of freedom was hungrily enjoyed as Soviets entered Prague from the east and Americans from the west. But by 1948, the Communists’ “bloodless takeover” occurred.

The food consumed in any land under stress bears little resemblance to the fare available under less burdensome conditions. Heavy exportation of food products and a frequent shortage of dairy products made the postwar diet predominantly carbohydrate, consisting mainly of bread, winter vegetables (cabbage and root vegetables), and potatoes. But strong in Czech memories are gravy-rich pork and veal dish-es, famous hot sausages of endless variety, dumplings that were served throughout a meal, and a large choice of some of the finest beers in Europe. The land satisfied these tastes in abundance: Bohemia, traditionally an area of well-balanced industry and agriculture; Moravia, long the center of animal husbandry, with rich yields of wheat, corn, barley, and sugar beets; Slovakia, always well supplied from her own natural resources.

Sooner or later, no matter where Czechs and Slovaks may be, conversation is bound to turn to nostalgic arguments regarding the choice of the finest of beers, the lightest of dumplings and, among parky (sausage) connoisseurs, which uzenazstvi (beer and sausage tavern) was the best of all.

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Sour cream, pot cheese, sour milk, and buttermilk are used widely in many dishes, but milk is seldom used as a beverage. Frequently, hot milk is added to the breakfast coffee. Occasionally, bryndza, a sheep’s milk cheese, finds its way to the table, and some-times the Slovakian peasant specialty of Liptovsky syr (Liptauer cheese), made with a soft blend of sheep’s milk cheese and seasonings, is heaped on rye bread, but for the most part, simple pot cheese is at the top of the list of favorites.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fruits and vegetables are used mostly in their cooked state. Fruits are served as compotes, fruit sauces, or fruit fillings for baked goods, and sometimes poached as a garnish for meat dishes. Vegetables are usually well cooked or served as pickles of many kinds. Berries and stone fruits are popular, but citrus fruits are seldom used. In public dining places, ascorbic acid has been added to salt to make up for this lack. Apples are widely enjoyed and used in compotes, fillings, and as sauces. The staple vegetables include potatoes, green and red and savoy cabbage, sauerkraut, wild mushrooms, rutabagas, cauliflower and kohlrabi, onions and garlic. Some fresh seasonal vegetables are also used sparingly, such as radish-es and cucumbers.

MEATS AND ALTERNATES

Pork is the favored meat and every part of the animal is used. Other meats used include beef and veal, hare, all offal, goose, duck, and chicken, smoked and cured meats, and a great variety of sausages, served hot. Fish and seafood are not popular and are seldom served. Although carp and herring are usually available, they are mostly served only on traditional Christmas Eve.

The preference is for meats to be cooked until tender and juicy, and always served with a thick rich gravy, often including sour cream. Any meats that are not suited to this type of cookery are used in sausages, dumplings, or as a base for soups.

Eggs are used mostly as an ingredient for other dishes. Occasionally omelets are served, which incorporate bits of meats, vegetables, even potatoes, or pot cheese and sometimes fruits and fruit sauces. Legumes are of no importance in the diet and nuts are used only in bakery and desserts.

BREADS AND GRAINS

Wheat and rye predominate. Most breads are made with wholegrain flours, either wheat or rye, or a mixture of both, incorporated into a sourdough. Bread is never wasted. In fact, the Czech and Slovak use of slices or crumbs of stale bread vary greatly: in soups, in sauces, in cakes, and most often in dumplings. Wheat flour is consumed in bakery sweets. It must not be overlooked that the many types of dumplings are as much of a staple food as bread itself.

FATS

Preference is shown for butter and rendered pork or goose fats. More recently, use is made of margarines.

SWEETS AND SNACKS

Desserts and candies have always been available and are a very popular snack. Women consume the most sweets both in the form of candies to nibble and rich desserts to take with a coffee break. For the most part, men prefer a snack of beer and hot sausages.

SEASONINGS

Spices and herbs are used with a light touch, since the natural taste of quality fresh foods requires little seasoning. The classic seasonings include poppy seeds, caraway seeds, garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Dried or toasted bread and/or cake crumbs may also be used as a seasoning. It cannot be overlooked that much of the rich flavor and aroma of traditional cookery is derived from the rich and abundant use of fresh dairy products.

BEVERAGES

Beer is considered to be the national beverage and the particular favorite of the Czechs, who will heatedly discuss the quality and merit of one beer over another. Red and white wines are made locally but do not travel well so are not usually exported. Many wines are homemade, especially by the Slovaks, who prefer wine over beer.

Slivovitz is a clear, very potent brandy made from plums. It is taken straight with any tiny excuse, from use as an appetite stimulant to medicinal use.

Coffee or a coffee-flavored brew made from malt or chicory is enjoyed for breakfast hot and strong, often liberally laced with hot milk or even rum.

DOMESTIC LIFE

Postwar conditions of crowded housing and working parents, as well as the general scarcity of appliances, meant that the kitchens of Czechs and Slovaks contained the barest necessities. Food storage was not a consideration for most families because foods were usually purchased on a daily basis. More recently, with working parents, traditional home cooking is likely to be limited to weekends or holidays and further limited by what is available. Tiled ranges heated with locally mined coal have been the center of most Czech kitchens, complemented by handwoven table linens and brightly painted earthenware or fine china dishes. In better homes, the family’s treasured collection of fine Czechoslovakian crystal would be used to grace the table for special occasions.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS

Most Czechs and Slovaks are Roman Catholic, celebrating traditional feast and fast days, while only about 10 percent are Protestants of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches. Of the more than 350,000 Jews living in Czechoslovakia before the Second World War, few remain. Those who were not killed during the Nazi regime emigrated.

Traditional festive fare consists of roasted goose or duck served with steamed dumplings, gravy, and red cabbage. Trout or carp, especially the spectacular kapr na cerno (a whole baked carp served with black sauce made of beer, prunes, raisins, sugar, and vine-gar) may grace the festive table for Christmas Eve.

MEALS AND CUSTOMS

Traditionally, Czechs and Slovaks prefer all meals to be served hot. When a variety of food is not abundant, they are satisfied with coffee and breads for breakfast; a quick hot lunch may be based on sausages or a potato or vegetable dish; dinner may be a soup with a second course of meat and gravy and a small dessert of dumplings, or a quick meat sandwich with pickles and potato salad.

These three simple meals will he complemented by hot snacks of sausages and beer or assorted pastries with coffee. Gastronom counters and taverns as well as pastry shops and coffeehouses and the famed uzenazstvi are present everywhere in cities and towns.

Friday was traditionally a meatless day, not as much for religious reasons as for a way to economize on meats. Friday dinner would be a traditional “false” soup with fruit dumplings for dessert. A “false” soup is made with a meatless vegetable stock, often starting with browned onions to add a pseudo meat taste.

Even in difficult times the Sunday dinner is almost always the biggest hot meal of the week. A rich hearty soup is followed by a special dish of pork or beef (or roast fowl) floating in smooth thick gravy, garnished with poached fruit or a huge sliced dumpling. The meal is completed with light sweet fruit dumplings served hot.

FOODS COMMONLY USED

Traditional Czech and Slovak cuisine borrows heavily from both Austrian and Hungarian tastes and are rich and satisfying. Plain meats, fresh crisp vegetables, fresh fruits, or small servings have no place here. The rich production of dairy products are ingredients in many baked goods, creamy gravies, and smooth sauces. Both vegetables and fruits are preferred well cooked and probably well garnished with appropriate sauces and syrups. Sour-cream-smothered vegetable dishes and fruits cooked in syrup predominate. A great variety of grains and flours are used in many types of breads and rolls, cereal side dishes, and especially in the many dumplings that can be found in soups, beside sliced gravy-rich meats, or on a dessert plate graced with a sweet fruit sauce or whipped cream. Whether one turns to Austria or Hungary, there is never a lack of richly elegant desserts. Beer is considered the national beverage for Czechs, while the Slovaks prefer wines.

GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

Bramborove Knedliky: potato dumplings.

Briosky: brioches. A rich light yeast bread or roll made with cream and egg yolks, shaped with the characteristic round knob on top.

Bryndza: cheese made from sheep’s milk.

Buchty: sweet yeast buns baked with Povidla (thick plum jam) or apricot filling. Thin rolled squares of dough are dabbed with the preserves then pinched together so that the jam is sealed within, then baked.

Cevabcici: seasoned ground pork shaped into fingers, grilled, and eaten with onions and dark bread.

Chlebova Polevka: caraway-flavored soup thickened with stale rye bread crumbs and garnished with diced smoked meat or sliced sausages.

Dusene Zampiony: mushrooms sauteed with butter and caraway.

Falsche Polevka: an intriguing name, literally, “false soup,” suggesting that any soup not made with meat is unreal! Actually a soup made with a vegetable stock, but a browned roux, or butter or goose-fatbrowned onion helps to give the taste of meat.

Houskove Knedliky: one of the most popular dumplings made of flour, milk, and butter-browned bread cubes patted into a sausage shape and strung in a napkin for steaming. When cooked it is sliced with a strong thread and served with gravy by itself, or accompanying almost anything.

Husa: goose.

Jelita: blood sausage, served fried.

Jiternice: a sausage of lung and liver, served fried.

Kachna: duck.

Kapani: small drops of soft dough either poached or fried before adding to soups. Similar to the Austrian Spaetzli.

Kapr: carp.

Karbanatky: patties of ground meat, breaded and fried.

Kapr na Cerno: whole carp or steaks of carp served with the famed black sauce made from beer, sugar, vinegar, prunes, and raisins.

Klobasy: thick-skinned sausages that explode juicily when eaten.

Knedliky or Knedlicky: dumplings. The variety made is staggering. Anything that will form a stiff dough and can be steamed or poached seems to qualify — rice, potatoes, many vegetables alone or in combination, chopped or mashed, bread crumbs or cake crumbs, brains, liver, ham, smoked meat, mar-row — all combined with enough egg, milk, and flour or crumbs to be shaped. May be served alone with sour cream, cream, chopped nuts, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, gravy, fruit sauces, or served with meats, fish, or in soups.

Kolace: round flat yeast buns with a dimpled hollow that is filled with jams, usually Povidla.

Kynute Houscove Knedliky: yeast dumplings with sauteed bread cubes blended into the batter before steaming.

Kynute Knedliky: simple yeast dumplings poached in salted water. Sliced with a thread to serve. Leftovers are breaded and fried.

Kure: chicken.

Liptovsky Syr: known as Liptauer cheese, a specialty of the Slovakian peasant. A delicious soft blend of sheep’s milk cheese (sometimes cottage cheese) and seasonings. Served with dark bread and beer or wine.

Ovesna Kase Slana: a supper dish of oatmeal served with browned onions on top, eaten as a main dish.

Ovocne Knedliky: dessert dumplings filled with fresh or preserved fruit then boiled and served hot with sugar and butter or cottage cheese, sour cream, or buttered crumbs.

Parky: sausages. They are eaten at any meal and at any time as a snack, and people who live in Prague generally insist that all sausages, wieners, and frankfurters were invented there.

Pecena Husa: roasted goose, often accompanied with bread dumplings and red cabbage or sauerkraut. Traditional Christmas Day dinner.

Polevka: soup.

Polevka z Hovezi Ohanky: lightly spiced vegetable and oxtail soup. The meat is served separately.

Povidla: thick preserve of dark plums, usually simmered for two days. It is lightly spiced with cinnamon and anise.

Prazsky Salat (Prague Salad): julienne strips of meats, pickles, onions, and tart apples bound with mayonnaise. Other versions may include fresh or cooked vegetables lightly tossed with a vinegar and sugar dressing.

Pudink: pudding.

Raznici: thinly sliced ham or pork, grilled and served with chopped onion and dark bread, and eaten as a snack.

Slivovitz: clear potent plum brandy.

Smetane: sour cream.

Svacina: late afternoon snack of coffee and sweet breads.

Svickova: beef marinated in spices and vinegar then braised. The pan juices are blended with sour cream. Result: tender beef in sour, creamy sauce.

Uzenazstvi: beer taverns, where good beer and good talk is enjoyed.

Veprova Pecene se Zelim: roasted pork served with sauerkraut and flavored with caraway seeds.

Vursty: another name for sausages. Similar to the German Wurst.

Zajic na Cerno: cut-up braised hare simmered in a spiced sweet-and-sour sauce similar to the black sauce used on carp.

Zavin: stretched strudel dough.