Bryndzové Halušky

Background

Home: Slovakia

Pronunciation: [ˈbrɨn.d͡zoveː ˈɦaluʃkɪ] (brihnd-zoev-yuh huh-looosh-kee)

Relatives: Nokedli (Hungary), Gălușcă (Romania), Gnocchi (Italy), Käsespätzle (Germany), Kasnocken (Austria)

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History

Slovakia is a landlocked country in central Europe. It’s been populated since at least 5,000 BC, and Western Slavs began to settle the area in the 5th century AD. In the 7th century, they joined a tribal union called Samo’s Empire, which encapsulated parts of modern day Slovakia, Czechia and Austria. In the 9th century, they founded the smaller Principality of Nitra: this was then conquered by the Principality of Moravia, which merged with Nitra to form Great Moravia. The latter eventually disintegrated and its territories were incorporated into the Principality of Hungary, which emerged as a kingdom in 1000 AD. Hungary’s crown eventually merged with the Austrian Empire’s, and in 1867 the two polities were united as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or Dual Monarchy. The empire was disbanded at the end of World War One, and Slovakia gained its independence as part of Czechoslovakia. Slovakia seceded Czechoslovakia as a totalitarian state during World War II, but after the war ended Czechoslovakia reformed as a state under Soviet influence and control. This control ended in 1989 with Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, which was followed by the country’s dissolution into the Czech and Slovak republics.

Traditional Slovakian cuisine is full of potatoes, pork, beef, game, dumplings and dairy products. The popularity of such foodstuffs can be traced back to a time when Slovakia’s rural population required hearty, locally produced meals to make it through the region’s cold winters. Slovakian cuisine is also strongly influenced by the country’s neighbors- Czechia, Poland, Austria and Ukraine- whose cuisines have in turn been influenced by Slovakia’s cuisine.

Famous Slovakian foods include a soup called Kapustinica. This is made up of Sauerkraut, meat and mushrooms, and is served up in a hollowed out round bread loaf like Polish Żurek is. Popular meat dishes include Krvavničky, Schnitzel and Chicken Paprikash, and popular sweets include Buchteln, Žemľovka and Trdelnicky.

Bryndzové Halušky is Slovakia’s national dish. Its two primary ingredients are potatoes and Bryndza. The former were first popularized in the 18th century by Archduchess Maria Theresa, who issued written notices to Slovakian villages explaining how to eat potatoes so that villagers knew to only eat the root and to throw away the plant’s poisonous fruit. The archduchess hoped this would encourage more people to plant the crop, since it had a higher yield than many other cereals.

To make Halušky the potatoes are grated and mixed with flour and salt. These thick, soft dumplings are popular across central and eastern Europe, particularly in Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. Once the Halušky are cooked they are mixed with Slovakian Bryndza to make Bryndzové Halušky. 

Bryndza is Slovakian sheep’s cheese: it’s salty, sharp and crumbly, and is used in quite a few Slovakian dishes. It was introduced to the region in the late 14th century by Wallachian settlers- the word Bryndza derives from a Wallachian word meaning ‘salty.’ 

The modern version of Bryndza was developed by local manufacturers in Stará Turá (western Slovakia) at the end of the 18th century. These manufacturers were able to export Bryndza to other Habsburg polities. Today there are two main varieties of Bryndza in Slovakia: Slovenská Bryndza and Liptovská or Ovčia Bryndza. There is also Bryndza Podhalańska, a Polish variant. The particular variety of Bryndza depends on the proportion of sheep’s cheese used in production.

Halušky Fest is held annually every July in the village of Turecká, central Slovakia. Festival attendees celebrate Bryndzové Halušky by participating in two Halušky-based competitions. The first is a race to make and eat a plate of Halušky quicker than other contestants, and the second is a competition to make the highest quality Halušky.