Today’s program began with a cooking class at Ola Kala, a cooking studio that teaches Czech recipes to tourists. I found it to be an interesting small business concept, and fun to cook at little stations alongside the teaching chefs … like on TV! We made kulajda (mushroom potato cream soup), hovezi svickova (beef/tofu in vegetable cream sauce), karlovarsky knedlik (bread “dumpling”), and lokse (potato pancake with plum jam). I learned several fascinating things, about Czech cuisine and cooking in general:
Our guide, Jana, told us that mushroom picking is a prominent Czech summer activity. People go into forests, know how to recognize edible mushrooms, and pick them. We’re told there are Facebook groups in which people suggest mushroom-hunting places and show off their findings. Then, people dry the mushrooms to keep them throughout the year. Due to my casual enjoyment of eating mushrooms, I was intrigued and impressed that Czech families have such knowledge and drive concerning wild mushrooms.
We wrapped the bread dumplings with a special plastic wrap that could contain the individuals while being boiled in water.
I enjoyed seeing the transformation of vegetables, broth, and cream in a pot into a smooth sauce (with the help of an immersion blender).
Swanson School of Engineering 