Trdelník

Origin

Trdelník has its origins in the northern part of the historical Kingdom of Hungary. 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 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 baking (which gives it its traditional hollow shape), and it can also mean "simpleton" in English.

In the 21st century, the confection became popular among tourists in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. A variation of trdelník, with ice cream and toppings such as strawberries and chocolate, has been popularized by Prague cafés.

Tourism in Prague

Although trdelník is usually presented as a "traditional Czech cake" or "old Bohemian pastry", and mentions of český trdelník ("Czech trdelník") can be found in 20th-century literature, the confection 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. Trdelník vendors, who have proliferated in Prague since the early 2000s, have been criticised by some locals, including journalist Janek Rubeš, as tourist traps that misleadingly present the dish as traditional.

Skalický trdelník

The production of trdelník has a long tradition in the Slovak town of Skalica, near the border with the Moravian town of Hodonín. According to local tradition, the recipe was introduced there by the Transylvanian chef, count, and poet József Gvadányi, a retired Hungarian general who lived in the town from 1783 to 1801. The earliest surviving written reference to the pastry appears in a manuscript by Hungarian poet Gyula Juhász, who served as a professor at Skalica's gymnasium.

Skalický trdelník was registered in December 2007 as a protected geographical indication by the European Commission.

References

References

1. (1848). "Časopis Českého Musea. XXII/2". České Museum Prague.
2. (1983). "Moravské národní pohádky a pověsti".
3. (1991). "Církevní rok a lidové obyčeje". Nakladatelství DONA.
4. Tennent, James. (1 March 2016). "Chimney cake: The doughnut ice cream foodporn oozing over your Instagram".
5. DW Food. (31 May 2025). "Trdelnik: Why tourists love it and locals hate it".
6. (1930). "Zvon: týdenník beletristický a literární".
7. (2 June 2010). "Valašský trdelník se na trhu objevil před šesti lety".
8. (2 March 2016). "Nový hit světových sítí. Horečku vyvolal pražský trdelník se zmrzlinou". iDNES.cz.
9. Fodor, Anna. (23 August 2014). "Video highlighting fake Czech "trdelník" tradition draws attention to Prague tourist blight". [[Radio Prague International]].
10. Farley, David. (15 October 2024). "Trdelník: The Czech food that's not Czech". [[BBC News]].
11. "Skalický trdelník – Špecifikácia výrobku". Úrad priemyselného vlastníctva Slovenskej republiky.
12. "EUR-Lex – 32007R1485". EUR-Lex.
13. "EUR-Lex – 52007XC0421(02)". EUR-Lex.