Kolache is a Texan delicacy made of yeast dough and usually filled with fruit. (Courtesy: NPR)
(Wynne Davis, NPR) – Ask any displaced Texan what they miss from home and they’ll likely list a few items: brisket, football, higher speed limits, tacos and kolaches.
Now, if you’re lucky enough to have had a kolache, you know it’s a Texas staple, but if you haven’t had one, you’re probably still trying to figure out how to pronounce the word. It’s “ko-lah-chee.”
Kolaches are Czech pastries made of a yeast dough and usually filled with fruit, but sometimes cheese. The ultra-traditional flavors — such as poppy seed, apricot, prune and a sweet-but-simple farmer’s cheese — can be traced back to the pastry’s Eastern European origin.
As Czech immigrants founded communities during the 1880s in rural Texas, later known as the Texas Czech Belt, the flavors and fillings evolved. Pineapple, blueberry, strawberry and cream cheese are just a sampling of flavors available today.
