"How Texas Became an Unlikely Epicenter for Czech Pastries" Topic

"ALEXA LIM: SO, YOU KNOW when you're a kid, a lot of times it's the little things, the small things that make a big impression. And there's a lot of childhood foods that can do that, remind you of a certain time. Maybe it was getting a Slurpee on the way to the pool with your friends, or a certain snack that your mom always gave you after school. For me, there's this one pastry that always reminds me of road trips. I grew up in San Antonio, so my parents would pile us into the suburban, and there were usually two options: drive to Houston to visit family, or up through the hill country up to Austin. And the other thing that is also really true when you're a kid is that road trips are pretty much the worst activity out there. Like, four hours in a car? It's almost painful. So to break up the hours of driving, we'd usually stop off in these tiny towns along the way. And they had names like Moravia and Praha. There were meat shops and restaurants with names like Little Gretel. There was definitely an old-world vibe to these towns, like you had left the Texas countryside and were transported to Eastern Europe. And usually, there was also a bakery. And this is where you would find these pastries. The kolache. A kolache is a traditional Czech pastry, sweetened yeasty dough that's pillowy soft. And in Texas, they're filled with fruit, cheese, and sometimes sausage. My favorite flavor was blueberry. There are dozens and dozens of these tiny towns with bakeries selling kolaches. And they're scattered in this really specific area between the big cities of Texas, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. And they make up this sort of Kolache Triangle. Even as a kid, I was always curious about these towns and the story behind this Texas kolache…"

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Armand

As a native Texan, I can tell you that the Lone Star State has a very rich ethnic history involving culture, tradition, language and, of course, cuisine. The story of Texas would have never evolved to what it is today without these pioneers.

In addition to the Native American Indians who were already here, the prevalent "native" group were European Spanish, and later, Mexican since Texas was a part of the colony of New Spain which later was also a part of the new Mexican nation in 1821. There was also the possibility that citizens from the French colony of Louisiana (which was later purchased by the U.S.) emigrated to the future state.

The increase in migration to Texas began around the 1820s to 1830s with the arrival of the Germans. The majority of these families settled around San Antonio and between Austin and Houston. They were soon joined by the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Poles, the Irish, the Italians, and many, many others.

Very good article, Armand. Thank you for sharing it!

A votre service mon ami…

And many thanks for the info about your home … one of the few really good places I miss to visit…

Armand