Trdelník or also called trdlo or trozkol is, you might think, a typical Czech delicacy, but is this really the case? You would really think so because if you look around you in Prague in the middle of the city, you will always see a stand or shop that sells them. Trdelnik is made from rolled dough wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with a mixture of sugar and walnuts.
Trdelník has several origins. In the mid-19th century it was known as a Slovak dish and in the 20th century as a Moravian dish. A similar pastry was also popular in the Hungarian-speaking part of Transylvania (in present-day Romania), where it is called kürtőskalács. The word trdelník is of Czech-Slovak origin; the root of this word, trdlo, is the name of the wooden utensil that the cake ingredients are wrapped around during cooking (giving it its traditional hollow shape), and can also mean "silly" in Dutch.
In the 21st century, it became popular among tourists in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Today, trdelník is very popular among tourists as a sweet pastry in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic. A variant of trdelník with an ice cream filling was popularized by Prague cafes.
The version from the Slovak town of Skalica (Skalický trdelník) was registered as a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) in the European Union in December 2007. The registration application with the detailed description of the product was published in April 2007 in the Official Journal of the European Union. In 2015 it has become a traditional Hungarian dish.
Tourism in Prague
While trdelník is usually presented as "a traditional Czech cake" or "the old Bohemian pastry", and mentions of "český trdelník" can be found in 20th century literature, trdelník is usually referred to in literature as a Slovak or Moravian dishes not like a bohemian dish. In addition, it is recognized that the mass distribution of this dessert in Prague started more recently. Czech reporter Janek Rubeš of The Honest Guide states that trdelník is made only for tourists and that even the hamburger is more traditional in the Czech Republic.
Skalický trdelník
The production of trdelník has a long tradition in the Slovak town of Skalica near the border with the Czech town of Hodonín. The original recipe belonged to the cook of poet József Gvadányi, a retired Hungarian general and resident of Skalica, in the late 18th century. The original recipe was then improved by the people of Skalica into its final form which is now known as Skalický trdelník.
The Skalický trdelník association was founded in 2004 with the aim of preserving the tradition of the original Trdelník production on open fire.
The conclusion of this story is that we do not know exactly whether the Trdelnik officially comes from the Czech Republic. What we do know for sure is that he is very sweet.
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