Slovak Cuisine

Slovak cuisine, like other European cuisines, has drawn influences from its neighbors, in this case primarily Czech cuisine, but also Hungarian, Austrian, Polish and Ukrainian. The flavors of Slovak cuisine are not among the most revered in the world. It is dominated by dishes based on meat, mainly pork, and potatoes. Various types of goat cheeses are also popular. A staple for a tourist staying in Slovakia is to try baked cheese. This dish is prepared in an extremely simple way. A special kind of yellow cheese is deep-fried in a coating, and the dish is served with French fries and tartar sauce. Recently, imported seafood has also become increasingly bold in Slovak cuisine. The most common fish is carp and trout, both of which are farmed in Slovakia. Carp is also an obligatory dish on the Christmas Eve menu: fried, breaded, with nuts, garlic or in beer batter. Trout is baked or stuffed with a filling of almonds, ham or cheese, and is also served boiled. A popular dish in Slovakia is strapachka (Bryndzove Halusky), which is also known in Hungary. And it is there that it is served as a dessert, even though it consists of potato haluszki (dumplings) with bryndza and pork fat served with sweet and sour cream. Some believe that Slovak cuisine differs from Czech cuisine in its richer use of spices, which makes it similar to the cuisine known in Hungary. An integral part of any dish is Slovak beer, the most popular of which in the country is Zlatý Bazant.