Czech Republic Comfort Food Recipe: Cooked Cheese With Caraway Seeds

The Czech Republic is home to wonderful cheeses which are enjoyed for their tastes and textures. Some of the country's distinctive cheeses include:

• Abertam: a farmhouse hard cheese, produced from sheep milk, and traditional to the spa town of  Karlovy Vary in western Bohemia;
• Hermelín: reminiscent of France's camembert cheese and traditional to Sedlčany in Příbram District, in Central Bohemia;
• Olomoucké syrečky, also known as orolomoucké tvarůžky: a pungent, ripened, soft, traditional cheese produced in the town of Loštice in the Olomouc Region in the Republic's eastern area.

One of the most popular cheese recipes in Czech cuisine is Cooked Cheese with Caraway Seeds (sýr vařený). A traditional favorite use of caraway-flavored cooked cheese is in its application as spreads on the sumptuous, hearty breads for which the Czech Republic is famous.

• A popular dense loaf is Šumava, namesake of Šumava Mountains in the Republic's southwestern region.
• Šumava bread is made of rye, peppered with caraway seeds.

1 pound cheese, Quark or farmer's, sliced lengthwise

1 Tablespoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces of butter (2 sticks)

1 medium egg

1. Layer cheese slices in a glass or china bowl, sprinkling each layer with seasonings (caraway seeds, paprika, salt).

2. Cover and keep in a cool place, but do not refrigerate, until cheese is slightly runny, about three days.

3. In a skillet, melt butter over low heat.

• When butter is half melted, carefully add cheese slices.
• Increase heat to low-to-medium; stir constantly until cheese melts.

4. Break egg into melted cheese and gently combine.

5. Pour into large bowl and set in refrigerator to chill.

Slice at serving time.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet. 

cooked cheese with caraway: Silar, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cooked_cheese_with_caraway,_by_Silar,_2010_Sanok.JPG

Bread spread with cooked cheese: Silar, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cooked_cheese,_Sanok_2010.jpg