Trdelník

Trdelni on the stick on which they are baked

Trdelník has an origin in the northern part of historical Kingdom of Hungary. In the mid-19th century it was known as a Slovak dish,[1] and in the 20th century as a Moravian dish.[2][3] A similar pastry was also popular in the Hungarian speaking part of Transylvania (in today's 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 tool the cake ingredients are wrapped around during cooking (which gives it its traditional hollow shape), and can also mean "simpleton" in English (see trdlo).

In the 21st century it became popular among tourists in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Nowadays, trdelník is very popular among tourists as a sweet pastry in many countries, mostly in the Czech Republic. A variation of trdelník with an ice cream filling was popularized by Prague cafés.[4]

The version from the Slovak town of Skalica (Skalický trdelník) was registered in December 2007 as a PGI (protected geographical indication) in the European Union.[5] The registration application with the detailed description of the product was published in April 2007 in the Official Journal of the European Union.[6] In 2015 it's become a traditional Hungarian dish.

Although 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,[7] trdelník is mostly mentioned in literature as a Slovak or Moravian, not Bohemian dish, and the mass spread of this dessert in Prague is recognized to have started more recently.

The production of trdelník has a long tradition in the Slovak town of Skalica near the border with the Moravian town Hodonín. The original recipe was owned at the end of the 18th century by the cook of poet József Gvadányi, a retired Hungarian general and resident of Skalica. He employed a cook from Transylvania and brought a recipe for “trdelník“. [8]

The society Skalický trdelník was founded in 2004 with the goal of keeping the tradition of the original open fire Trdelník production.

• List of spit-roasted foods

• History of trdelník
• Jůn, Dominik (August 23, 2014). "The 'Old Bohemian' Trdelník". Czech Radio 7, Radio Prague.