Czech Cuisine

Czech cuisine includes a variety of staples, dishes, beverages and snacks typical of the broader Central European region. Many dishes were shaped by historical shifts in the availability of ingredients, particularly during the communist era of Czechoslovakia, and the country's central location meant recipes were exchanged by ethnic minorities and settlers in border towns, leaving a cuisine with fluid borders. A meal typically has at least two courses, the first traditionally a soup and the second the main dish, with dessert or compote on festive occasions. Thick soups come with stewed vegetables and meats in gravies and cream sauces, and main courses are reputedly sweeter than those of neighbouring countries. Beer or wine often accompanies meals.