Crackling pogácsa (shkvarkovi pohachi)

What it is

Crackling pogácsa (Hungarian: tepertős pogácsa) are round salty rolls the size of cookies, into which finely chopped or crushed cracklings are mixed. The dough is rolled out and folded several times, resulting in flaky pogácsa, which are then scored on top in a lattice pattern and brushed with egg. In Transcarpathia, caraway seeds are often added.

This hearty snack pairs well with wine or beer, with soup, or simply for the road. In Hungarian families of the region, pogácsa were primarily baked after the winter pig slaughter when there was an abundance of fresh cracklings at home, and later throughout the year.

Researchers of Transcarpathian gastronomic heritage mention crackling pogácsa among the products described in the publication 'Ark of Taste. Ukraine' (R. Siukkand, A. Pieroni, 2022), and 'crackling rolls with caraway' from the Hungarian minority were included in the nominations for the Ukrainian atlas 'Ark of Taste.'

History and name

Pogácsa is an ancient type of flat pastry. The name traces back to the Latin focus — 'hearth' (from which the Italian focaccia derives), and it entered the Hungarian language from South Slavic (Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian pogača). In Hungary, dozens of varieties have spread — potato, cheese, sour cream, and with cracklings.

Hungarian peasants began baking crackling pogácsa when lard and cracklings became common in peasant cuisine (approximately from the mid-19th century), and in many areas — only in the 20th century. It became a typical rural snack and a companion to wine. In 2013, the European Union registered 'Tepertős pogácsa' as a guaranteed traditional specialty (TSG).

Ingredients and allergens

Wheat flourbase of the doughFor the dough of varenyky, palačinky, bobalyok, and pasky.Contains allergens: gluten

Pork cracklingscrushed, generous amountRendered pieces of fat — a classic accompaniment to banosh, kulesha, and pies.

Sour creamor milkThick homemade sour cream is the base for banosh and machanka, a common dressing for Carpathian dishes.Contains allergens: milk

Also: eggs (for the dough and brushing), lard (for layering, optional), yeast (a little), salt (to taste), caraway (to taste, optional), black pepper (to taste, optional)

Contains allergens: gluten, milk, eggs

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is made

Yeast dough made with sour cream or milk is mixed with chopped or ground cracklings, salt, and pepper, sometimes with caraway seeds. The dough is rolled out and folded like an envelope several times, allowing it to rest — this makes the pogácsa flaky.

Then the dough is rolled out to a finger's thickness, small circles are cut out, the surface is scored in a lattice pattern, brushed with beaten egg, and baked until golden brown. In the past, crackling pogácsa were made from leftover bread dough, mixing in cracklings — while bread was baked at home.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

Hungarian communities in Transcarpathia, mainly in the lowland and foothill parts of the region (Berehove, Vynohradiv, Uzhhorod). Specific villages are not mentioned in the sources.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Winter pig slaughter · Everyday food

In tradition

Crackling pogácsa are a fresh meat pastry: they were baked when lard was rendered and cracklings were left after butchering a pig.

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