Slovak cuisine — bryndzové halušky, sauerkraut soup, sausages. Carpathian tradition, Hungarian, Austrian, Czech, Ukrainian influences. Hearty, rural, shepherd.
National Dishes
Bryndzové halušky — national dish (potato dough + sheep bryndza cheese + bacon). Kapustnica (cabbage soup with smoked meat and mushrooms — Christmas Eve dinner). Pirohy with curd. Lokše (potato pancakes). Sour soup.
Bryndza
Bryndza — sheep cheese (UNESCO as part of Slovak way of life). Salaš tradition — shepherds in Carpathians. Bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy, bryndzové strapačky. Oštiepok UNESCO — smoked sheep cheese in spindle shape.
Soups
Soup is essential — mandatory at lunch. Kapustnica (Christmas), bean soup, sour with sausage, mushroom, demikát (bryndza + water + onion + bread), tripe.
Sausages
Slovak sausages — Liptovská, Spišská, Oravská. Bacon, smoked ham, blood sausages. Oštiepok UNESCO. Smoked sheep cheeses. Slovak salami — Súpel.
Sweets
Trdelník (UNESCO — originally Hungarian but Slovak favorite), gingerbread, poppy seed roll, poppy strudel, curd cakes, pancakes. Kapustnica + poppy roll — Christmas.
Alcohol
Borovička — juniper distillate, national drink. Slivovica (plum). Beers — Zlatý Bažant, Šariš, Topvar. Tokay wine (part Slovak, part Hungarian, UNESCO).
Traditions
Christmas Eve Dec 24: oplátky wafers with honey + garlic, kapustnica, pirohy with curd, fish with potato salad. Easter — ham, eggs, mazanec. Carpathian feasts — bryndzové halušky festival Turecká.