Trdelník (; or rarely trdlo or trozkol) is a kind of

spit cake A spit cake is a European-styled cake made with layers of dough or Batter (cooking), batter deposited, one at a time, onto a tapered cylindrical rotating Spit (cooking aide), spit. The dough is baked by an open fire or a special oven, rotisserie ...

and variant of

Kürtőskalács (; sometimes improperly rendered as ''kurtosh kolach''; ; ) is a spit cake specific to Hungarians from Transylvania, more specifically the Székelys. Originally popular in the Székely Land, it became popular in both Hungary and Romania. The fi ...

. It is made from dough that is wrapped around a stick, then baked and topped with sugar and walnut mix.

Origin

Trdelník has its origins in the northern part of the historical

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. In the mid-19th century, it was known as a Slovak dish, and in the 20th century as a

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n dish. A similar pastry was also popular in the Hungarian-speaking part of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(in today's Romania), where it is called

kürtőskalács (; sometimes improperly rendered as ''kurtosh kolach''; ; ) is a spit cake specific to Hungarians from Transylvania, more specifically the Székelys. Originally popular in the Székely Land, it became popular in both Hungary and Romania. The fi ...

. The word ''trdelník'' is of Czech-Slovak origin. The root of this word, ''trdlo'', is the name of the wooden tool the cake ingredients are wrapped around during baking (which gives it its traditional hollow shape), and it can also mean "simpleton" in English (see '' trdlo''). In the 21st century, the confection became popular among tourists in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. A variation of ''trdelník'', with an ice-cream filling and toppings such as strawberries and chocolate, has been popularized by

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

cafés. The version from the Slovak town of

Skalica Skalica (, , Latin: ''Sakolcium'') is the largest town in Skalica District in western Slovakia in the Záhorie region. Located near the Czech Republic, Czech border, Skalica has a population of around 15,000. Etymology The name is derived from Slo ...

(''Skalický trdelník'') was registered in December 2007 as a

protected geographical indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...

by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Tourism in Prague

Although ''trdelník'' is usually presented as a "traditional Czech cake" or "old

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n pastry", and mentions of ''český trdelník'' ("Czech trdelník") can be found in 20th-century literature, the cake is mostly mentioned in literature as a Slovak or Moravian, not Bohemian dish, and the spread of this dessert in Prague is recognized to have started more recently.

Skalický trdelník

The production of ''trdelník'' has a long tradition in the Slovak town of

, near the border with the Moravian town

Hodonín Hodonín (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Geography Hodonín is located about southeast of Brno, on the border with Slovakia. It lies in a flat landscape of the Lower Morava Va ...

. The original recipe was owned at the end of the 18th century by the Transylvanian cook of poet , a retired Hungarian general and resident of Skalica.

References

External links

History of trdelník
on skalica.sk
The "Old Bohemian" Trdelník
– article published by

Czech Radio Czech Radio (, ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating continuously since 1923. It is the oldest national radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second-oldest in Europe after the BBC. Czech Radio was esta ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trdelnik Articles containing video clips Czech cuisine Hungarian cuisine Romanian cuisine Slovak desserts Spit cakes Skalica

Origin

Tourism in Prague

Skalický trdelník

See also

References

External links