Classic Czech prepared mustard
A mild, creamy Czech-style table mustard made from ground seed, vinegar, water, salt and a little sweetness. This home version follows a Czech Television formula and is not a copy of SPAK’s proprietary product.
Křížaly
krizaly
Křížaly are Czech dried apple or pear pieces. The name has regional meanings beyond apple slices, and drying practice varies by place and dryer.
A name with regional meanings
The Czech Language Atlas describes křížaly as dried fruit, usually cut and most often apples. Some regional names also cover whole dried fruit, while others distinguish apples or pears from plums. Its map records language use, not a single recipe or birthplace.
Sources for this section
Drying in Upper Vsacko
Ivana Spitzer Ostřanská’s regional study describes fruit-drying cabins, tray handling and fire tending in Upper Vsacko. The documented work varied with the dryer and the fruit. Historical examples for whole pears and plums do not establish a schedule for sliced apples or a modern household dryer.
Sources for this section
What the evidence permits
The Czech food authority describes křížaly as dried apples or pears and explains moisture-related spoilage. Its article supplies no measured endpoint for this particular product. The regional study’s historical storage and re-drying accounts are descriptive evidence, not current rescue instructions.
Sources for this section
Open questions
The historical Václavek issue has conflicting volume/year metadata; its original scan and the private chronicle remain unchecked.
A named contemporary household batch, measured endpoint, yield and validated storage process remain unresolved.
Historical dryer construction is relevant apparatus evidence, but no household build or engineering approval follows from it.
Two contextual image-page leads are not verified photographs of křížaly; no image is published.
Sources for this section
History
The regional study documents historical fruit-drying cabins in Upper Vsacko. The sources reviewed do not date the first use of the name.
Ingredients
ApplesCut into pieces, the usual form of křížaly according to the Czech Language Atlas.
No quantity is given.
PearsCut into pieces, as dried pear is described in the food-authority article.
No quantity is given.
Method
- Cut the fruit into pieces. The Czech Language Atlas describes křížaly as usually cut, most often apples.
- Spread the pieces on drying trays in a drying cabin. The Upper Vsacko study describes tray handling in cabins heated with a fire.
- Tend the fire while the fruit dries, as the regional study describes. It gives no schedule for sliced apples or for a modern household dryer.
- Keep the dried fruit dry. The food authority explains that moisture causes spoilage; it gives no measured endpoint for this product.
Places
Czech Republic
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe food authority describes the product; the Czech Language Atlas records language use, not a birthplace.
Upper Vsacko (Horní Vsacko)
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceFruit-drying cabins described in a regional museum study; the documented work varied with the dryer and fruit.
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Sources
Státní zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce (SZPI)Evidence
Nejen známé křížalyCited in: What the evidence permits; Open questions
Czech Language Atlas onlineEvidence
Český jazykový atlas, svazek 2, heslo 228: křížaly (2107)Cited in: A name with regional meanings
Acta musealia 2020/1–2, Muzeum jihovýchodní Moravy ve ZlíněEvidence
Sušárny ovoce – živé dědictví Horního VsackaCited in: Drying in Upper Vsacko; What the evidence permits