Czech Cuisine

Czech Cuisine is very heavy and rustic and still emphasizes emphasizes meat and carbohydrates. Roast pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings are common parts of the Czech diet. Vegetables are not eaten very often. Saltwater fish also play only a very minor role in the Czech Cuisine. However, several rivers and reservoirs offer a variety of freshwater fish which are offered in the regions around the waters like Pstruh Smažený (breaded trout).

Czech soups, appetizers and starters

Czech first courses usually consist of a soup such as the Czech garlic soup or sauerkraut-soup. In good restaurants, the soups are usually served with small cubes of bread and cheese which are then placed into the soup. Next to the soups, there are several hot and cold appetizers like codfish liver, rolled ham or cheese platters.

Czech main courses

As we have already mentioned, a Czech main course usually consists of meat and gravy. The meat is either cooked or roasted and often coated with breadcrumbs. A Czech speciality is venison of which there is plenty in the Czech Republic. As a side dish there are usually dumplings, made of potatoes or bread but croquettes, fried potatoes, french fries or rice can also be found as side dishes. Cooked vegetables can hardly ever be found on a Czech table. Sometimes there are salads with uncooked vegetables.

Czech desserts

The typical Czech dessert is the Palacinka, a pancake, served with various sauces. There are also sweet dumplings, filled with fruits or jam.

Czech beer and other alcoholic beverages

The Czech Republic is famous for its beer. In the town of Plzen (Pilzen) the famous Pilsener beer (Pilsner Urquell) was invented. Czech Republic is also home of Budweiser (Budvar) beer, which in its home country is called "Czechvar". Other famous and popular Czech breweries are Lev and Hradec Kralove which both brew tasty traditional beers.

The Czech variant of the Eastern European plum brandy is the 'Slivovice', a delicious but very strong spirit. There are also several other tasty liqueurs, brandies and vodkas produced in the Czech Republic.