Trdelník test finds big differences in hygiene, taste, and price across Czechia

A nationwide test of Czech trdelník stalls has found big differences in hygiene, freshness and price, with some pastries costing almost four times as much as others.

Czech news site iDNES.cz visited trdelník stands in several regions to test the popular tourist treat, looking at its quality, price and how it was prepared and served.

One of the clearest differences was how vendors handled food and money. At most of the locations visited, staff handled pastries and cash or payment terminals with the same bare hands.

Only one tested location, at the Zlaté Jablko shopping center in Zlín, consistently used gloves to separate food handling from payments.

Other vendors used tongs or a paper napkin to handle the finished pastries, but then touched cash registers or payment terminals.

The test also found considerable differences in freshness. At the Olympia shopping center in Teplice, testers received a cold, hardened trdelník costing CZK 129. At Safari Park in Dvůr Králové, meanwhile, the pastry was so hot that it burned testers’ fingers through the paper wrapper.

Prices varied just as dramatically. A basic cinnamon-and-sugar trdelník cost between CZK 79 and CZK 190 in the nationwide test, while Prague's Old Town offered an elaborate version with strawberries and Dubai chocolate for CZK 290.

And the humble pastry is becoming anything but humble. Prague's Good Food Coffee and Bakery on Karlova Street began filling trdelník with ice cream as early as 2016.

Today, the hollow pastry is being used as a cone for increasingly elaborate fillings and toppings, ranging from chocolate and hazelnut creams to bacon and cheddar.

The most elaborate and expensive version in the test combined strawberries with Dubai chocolate. The filling included milk chocolate, pistachio paste, and kadayif, a fine, thread-like pastry used in many Middle Eastern desserts. At CZK 290, it was the most expensive trdelník tested.

Hungary and Romania both claim trdelník as their own, but the sweet, hollow pastry has become a fixture of Czech tourism, and many visitors assume it is a Czech specialty.  In recent years, there has also been a growing push to celebrate more authentically Czech pastries, from koláče to buchty.

The verdict: Warm, dark and crispy, with a pleasant cinnamon-and-sugar aroma. Testers detected a faint smell from the wooden baking cylinder, and found the trdelník practically inedible the next day.

The verdict: Both the 120 Kč basic trdelník and the 200 Kč ice-cream version were tender, crispy and pleasantly warm. Testers liked the taste and found the surroundings clean, but noted that staff worked without hygienic gloves.

The verdict: Crunchy on the outside and soft inside, but disappointing in flavor. The cinnamon was barely noticeable, while yeast and risen-dough flavors dominated.