Karen is one of my frequent commentators, a very pleasant American lady who currently lives in Prague. She has a blog called The Empty Nest Expat and writes bunch of interesting articles about her observations. One of her recent posts is contemplating about the Czech – still rather unhealthy – cuisine. Read her thoughts in a post called “Who will be the Czech Jamie Oliver?”.
CZ: Karen je jedna ze ctenarek Czechmate Diary, ktera se sama zabyva blogovanim, ale z opacne strany nez ja. Je totiz Americanka zijici v Praze a popisuje sve zazitky a postrehy v blogu zvanem Empty Nest Expat. Clanek, ktery me tentokrat zaujal se pozastavuje nad – bohuzel stale jeste – dosti nezdravou ceskou kuchyni. Kdo Cechy vykoupi ze zaklete zeme brambor, knedliku a veproveho? To se muzete docist v Karenine clanku zvanem “Who will be the Czech Jamie Oliver?”
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I strongly disagree. Czech cuisine is exquisite. “Updating” will only lead to the loss of the cultural heritage. Moreover, unhealthy is a subjective term – how is it that the Czech population is in aggregate healthier and slimmer(!) than the American one – one that would never ever feast on a pork shoulder! Watch the Anthony Bourdain show – he knows how to appreciate good food! http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Episodes_Travel_Guides/Episode_Prague
I think the reason the Czechs are slimmer is because they walk so much. They have also one of the highest colon cancer cases in the world – which suggest that healthy diet is not one of our strongest points. It is tasty though!
PS: Thank you for attaching the link to Bordain’s video!
Loosing Czech cuisine is like loosing half of the Czech culture. You don’t have to eat the food everyday. I am sure nobody eats McDonalds every day. When you go to restaurant it is to get good food. Honestly, how many people would order steamed vegetables with no oil, salt, or butter when they are eating out? I have to go now, time to make dumplings with my beef goulash.
Pork is one of the healthiest meats in U.S. they give those pigs very healthy food (no joke)
Tanja, I disaggree thatthe reason Czechs are slimmer because they walk more. I used to live in other European countries, I drove care all over the places and I was slim. Within several month after arrival to USA, I became overwight. The reason for that is a very unhealthy food you are being offered in supermarkets. Try to watch a movie”Food Inc” and you will be afraid to touch any food 😉
Though, I aggree regarding the colon cancer. It is very sad and it is true.
Preklad titulku z cestiny do anglictiny nejak nesedi …Jak bysme tedy prelozili, ze za komousu nekteri komousi jedli velice dobre?
Jinak nejzdravejsi maso v USA je skopove, pak veprove a pak divoka zver…. Hovezi se ji jen kdyz mate samovrazednou naladu …..
Vlastimile,
Co je spatneho s hovezim masem? To me trochu vystrasilo co jsi napsal.
Sorry for my typos…I was socially tired..
Právě teď dělali výzkum o prvenství rakoviny tlustého střeva u Čechů a zjistili, že náchylnost k této rakovině mají Češi v genech. Takže kdyby se celý národ teď rozhodl jíst zdravě, tak potrvá asi tři generace než se takzvaný senzitivní genom dá na úroveň ostatních národů.
To znamená, že člověku, který se jí bojí, přitom nepomůže ani přestěhování na druhý konec planety a radikální změna jídelníčku. Ukázala to čísla ze Spojených států, kde chorobu lékaři zaznamenali ve velké míře tam, kam se přestěhovali Češi.
Tanja, thanks so much for the link to my blog! I was going to come back and tell you your readers (who are legion – my stats went way up) are a quiet bunch. They didn’t leave me hardly any comments. Aha! I see the comments are all here. But some are in Czech – how can I know what Vlastimil and others are saying? Thanks again, it was fun to come to your blog and see mine!
Karen, whatever I write in Czech is not really of world significance 😉 😉
I think that Czech food is naturally bad. Most of food sold in American food stores is artificially bad. I prefer the natural badness .
Touche Vlastimil! You are too funny. And it’s soooooo true too. Will you leave this comment on my blog because you made me laugh out loud.
Everything is bad if consumed without limits. One day we read this is bad, another day it’s something else. How can you ever know what it is that is actually really really good? I usually eat based on taste and I like Czech food a lot. Some people call it bland, using mostly salt and few mild spices, I embrace the blandness and actually loving that my taste buds are not burned away like when I am eating (trying everything once) other ethnic food. Gimme some knedloveprozelo!!!!
Karen, where should I enter it? Your blog is great, it feels like a mall , hard to decide where to go…
Jedu navstivit dcweu v North Carolina a udelam ji knedliky…..ona je zboznuje …nastesti jine nez moje nezna 🙂
dcweu = dceru
Vlastimil, my Jamie Oliver post is dated February 1, 2010. Enter it there if you are so inclined. And thanks for reading!
Actually I would like to mention that Czech cuisine is wonderful, but recently my father obtained for us one of the first Czech cookbooks, by Magdalena Dobromila Rettigova. Reading through it and the recipes, my mother has noticed that what we call Czech traditional meals was not the case pre-communism. Actually, we hardly would ever eat fatty foods such as pork, because the pig was fed year round to be so fat, and they were slaughtered during the coldest months to be fed since there would be no harvest. Otherwise the usual meals were mostly game animals, venison, fish, and reasonably less fatty food other than pork and beef.
But, I do agree, Czechs are skinnier because they walk a lot more, but I also think it’s because they portion their meals very well. If you go to an American restaurant, you are given an enormous meal, which is difficult to ever finish and you generally have to take it home. If you go into a Czech restaurant and order a meal, the meal will be the perfect size to be finished in one sitting and you will be able to fit dessert afterward and have had soup prior.