Cuisine

Reminders of traditional culture and gastronomy can be found in every part of the Orava

region. The region evokes fascination not only with the beauty of its nature, but also traditions and gourmet culture. It is said that “Bread in Orava has always been hard because of its soil, which is not fertile.” Orava gastronomy is characterized by a rustic style. There are traditional restaurants and shepherd’s huts where the smell of bacon, cheese, potato pancakes and halušky and bryndza can be savoured. Pies, dumplings and cheese products such as korbáčiky or oštiepok simply must be tasted! Chefs use the gifts of Orava’s nature to keep the gastronomy of our ancestors alive and cook the traditional dishes created by our grandmothers.

Where to taste traditional gastronomy

Pension Koliba Dolný Kubín

The pension offers pleasant sitting in a traditional Orava shepherd’s hut. The stylish environment of the pension offers the opportunity to taste regional specialities in a pleasant atmosphere, enriched with live music every Friday evening.

Phone: +421 43 5863258
E-mail: kontakt@penzionkoliba.sk
Web: www.penzionkoliba.sk 

Koliba Ski Zábava Hruštín

The traditional shepherd’s hut Koliba u Kuba offers traditional Slovak and regional specialities. Koliba u Kuba is an accommodation complex in the traditional “Slovak village” style situated directly in the ski resort area of Ski Zábava in Hruštín.

Phone:  +421 905 653 766
E-mail:  info@skizabava.sk,
Web: www.skizabava.sk

Traditional Orava delicacies:

Sheep milk cheese

The real “bryndza” is made from lumpy cheese from unpasteurised sheep milk. 100% bryndza is very healthy and contains a lot of lactobacillus. Bryndza is a part of the Slovak gastronomy heritage.

Orava bacon

To produce the typical Orava bacon, one needs a deboned pork brisket. Bacon with bread was a favourite meal of hard-working people, mainly lumberjacks. Cooked bacon in the form of crackling is an inseparable side-dish to “halušky” dumplings. But be careful – it is a calorie bomb, consume in moderation!

Potatoes (“švábka”)

Thanks to the climate in Orava, the potatoes are very resilient and have a distinct taste. They were once considered the highest quality potatoes in all the kingdom of Hungary. They were usually eaten boiled alongside cabbage or with milk.

Cabbage

Nature has also left its mark on Orava cabbage: the heads were hard and retained sufficient water. Pressed in barrels, sour cabbage kept for a long time… until of course it was eaten!