Destination Guides

Top 5 European Cuisines You Never Knew About

Recently updated on January 25th, 2020 at 03:14 am

European food is some of the world’s most international, so much so, in fact, that few travellers can go far without encountering some twist on a European classic. Most people have heard of Italian tagliatelle, English fish and chips, French soufflé and German schnitzel, but what about those European cuisines that sit further under the radar? Here are the top five cuisines, from Croatian to Czech, that you might not have heard of. Proof that the most famous foods aren’t necessarily the best.

Croatian

European Cuisine

If you’ve ever seen stuffed cabbage leaves in Croatia, you’ve most likely seen the delicious sarma. Packed with everything from vegetables to minced meats, everybody has their favourite type. Much like čvarci, which is lard cut into little blocks and fried in pig’s fat, its buttery texture and intense pork flavour has long guaranteed popularity as a favourite local snack. More unusual menu items to be aware of include, gulas od puha, or dormouse goulash (a soup or stew of meat and vegetables), perhaps not to everyone’s tastes.

Finnish

European Cuisine

A favourite Finnish treat, pulla is a cardamom flavoured bun scattered with walnuts, vanilla icing and raisins, and commonly washed down with tea or coffee. If you fancy trying some more unusual dishes too, order a plate of mämmi. Made of black rye flour and molasses, but also heaped with layers of sugar and surrounded by cream, this sticky black island (that could pass for Christmas Pudding), is Finland’s ubiquitous Easter dessert. On the savoury side of the equation, make sure to sample leipäjuusto, a giant piece of baked or grilled cheese that comes drenched in jam and has a signature squeak when bitten into.

Icelandic

European Cuisine

The Scandinavians have a fun habit of burying food like treasure in their frozen lands. Perhaps the best example of this is hot spring rye bread. Placed underground in special wooden casks close to hot springs, people customise their rye burials with butters, cheeses or sweeter things in a sort of subterranean version of a marinade. Eaten on its own or slapped on a smorgasbord of smoked meats or salmon, the bread rarely plays second fiddle to its trimmings.

Scottish

European Cuisine

Scotland is the land of the square sausage (lorne); the deep-fried Mars Bar; and perhaps the most famous of them all is haggis. The savoury pudding is made of the liver, heart and lungs of a sheep and despite its gruesome ingredients most visitors love the dish. Scotland’s dessert menu offers some unusual items, too, including cranachan (made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight) and tablet, which is a big bar of sugary, milky, buttery sweetness that packs enough energy to fuel a small lighthouse.

Czech

European Cuisine

We’ve all heard of Czech classics like dumplings, but who’s familiar with Trdelník? A traditional pastry that’s been wrapped around a bar on an open flame and then dusted with sugar, nuts and cinnamon, this wintry sweet has become so popular that it’s now available all year round. Then there’s Olomoucké tvarůžky cheese, which is so smelly that it often comes accompanied by a toothbrush!

If some of these European cuisines have piqued your interest, why not sample them in person by booking a trip on Balkan Delight, Best of Finland, Russia & the Baltic States or Ultimate Iceland?

Image Credits: Goulash © iStock/Tuned_In. Traditional Easter Food © iStock/ElinaManninen. Fresh Rye Bread © iStock/Magone. Haggis © iStock/blackjake. Czech Cheese © iStock/PeteerS.

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