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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Karlovy Vary
Thermal wafers from Karlovy Vary: two thin, round sheets joined by a layer of sweet filling. They are made with water from the town’s springs and have protected geographical indication from the European Union since 2011.
Traditional sweet from Karlovy Vary, Karlovy Vary
Also known as: Karlovarská oplatka, lázeňské oplatky, Karlsbader Oblaten, wafers de Karlovy Vary
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Karlovarské oplatky — Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic
Karlovarské oplatky are the sweet most associated with the spa towns of western Bohemia. Each wafer has two very thin, crisp, round sheets decorated in relief, with a thin layer of sweet filling between them. They are sold in packages with several wafers, and also in different flavored versions.
The tradition links the wafers to spa visitors. Production in Karlovy Vary is documented since the mid-18th century; a spa guide from 1788 records that local women offered thin wafers to visitors to accompany tea. They were baked over the fire in two-plate iron molds with a handle.
According to the rules of the geographical indication, wafers bearing the name are made in Karlovy Vary with water from the town’s thermal springs. Mariánské Lázně, another spa town in the region, has its own protected wafers; commercial production there began about a decade before Karlovy Vary’s.
The Czech Republic requested name protection in 2004, shortly after joining the European Union. Germany and Austria contested it because of the German form of the name, Karlsbader Oblaten, and the registration was only granted in 2011, together with that of Karlovarské trojhránky, triangular wafers from the same tradition.
In Karlovy Vary, the wafers are sold in shops and kiosks along the colonnades, and many visitors eat them while walking between the springs.
Karlovy Vary , Karlovy Vary
Protected geographical indication of Karlovy Vary; made with water from the town’s thermal springs.
Wheat flour, sugar, fat and water from Karlovy Vary’s thermal springs in the sheets; sweet filling in flavors such as hazelnut, chocolate, vanilla or cinnamon.
Plain, as a sweet, or with coffee and tea. They can be eaten cold or lightly warmed, which softens the filling.
Year-round, especially on walks through the spa colonnades. They are a traditional souvenir for visitors to Karlovy Vary.
Your questions
Thin, round wafers from Karlovy Vary, with two sheets joined by sweet filling, made with water from the town’s thermal springs.
Yes. Since 2011, Karlovarské oplatky is a protected geographical indication of the European Union.
They come from the same spa tradition, but each town has its own geographical indication and local producers.
Flavors of the Czech Republic
Marinated beef roasted with root vegetables, served in slices with a creamy sauce made from those roots and heavy cream. It’s accompanied by bread knedlíky, whipped cream, cranberry jam and a slice of lemon. It’s the celebratory dish most associated with Czech cuisine.
Roast pork from the oven, served with slices of knedlík, sweet-and-sour cabbage and the pan juices. The name combines, in popular usage, the three words of the dish: pork, knedlík and cabbage. It appears on the menu of inns throughout the country.
Lager beer from České Budějovice, in South Bohemia, with a protected geographical indication from the European Union: only beer brewed in the town may use the name. It is produced by two local breweries, Budějovický Budvar and Samson, and is at the center of a long dispute over the name Budweiser.
Bitter herbal liqueur from Karlovy Vary, sold since 1807 by merchant Josef Vitus Becher. The recipe is kept secret, and the drink is still made in the spa town.
Honey cake with spices from Pardubice, hand-filled or hand-decorated with icing. It has been a local tradition since the 16th century and has been a European Union protected geographical indication since 2008.
A pale bottom-fermented lager brewed in Pilsen since 1842, when Bavarian brewer Josef Groll made the first batch at the town’s new brewery. It is considered the world’s first pale lager and gave its name to the pilsner style.
Large round pie made from leavened dough from Chodsko, the region around Domažlice in the Plzeň region. It is decorated with stripes of fresh cheese, plum jam and poppy seed, with almonds and raisins.
Cones of gingerbread-like dough spiced and rolled into an ear shape, made in Štramberk, Moravia. They were the first Czech food product to receive European Union protected geographical indication and are linked to a legend about the Tatar invasion of 1241.
Plum brandy from Moravia, associated especially with Moravian Wallachia and Moravian Slovakia in the Zlín region. Made from fermented and distilled plums, it generally ranges from 40 to 55% alcohol and is part of local festivals and hospitality.
A large, thin round cake made from leavened dough from Moravian Wallachia, topped with fruit filling, poppy-seed filling or fresh cheese. It has a protected geographical indication from the European Union since 2013.
