It’s served cold, sliced and eaten by itself or often as part of a ham or kielbasi sandwich made on Paska bread that’s slathered with cwikla (red beet horseradish).

Generations of tradition

For many of us in the Coal Region who have Eastern European roots, the making of hrudka is among our favorite traditions of the Easter season. Hrudka is often included in a basket of food taken to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday.

This Catholic ritual of blessing the baskets has been cherished for generations among many Coal Region area families. The roots of this tradition date back to the 12th century early history of Poland, however, the Eastern Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, including Czechs, Croatians, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Russians, Slovaks and Ukrainians, also participate in this holy ritual. The blessed food is not eaten until after mass on Easter Sunday.

The basic process for making hrudka is simple: it starts with mixing eggs and milk, adding salt, and cooking it while continually stirring until curds form. Once the ingredients are cooked, the contents of the pot are poured into a strainer that is lined with cheesecloth or a porous towel. When the liquid drains, the cheesecloth is gathered and the remaining liquid is squeezed out by hand to form a ball. The cheesecloth is tied to keep the ball shape, then hung over a container or the sink to allow remaining liquid to drain for a few hours or overnight.

The stove-top cooking method

Sweet or savory

Families have their favorite version of hrudka and many include sugar and vanilla in their recipes for a sweet rather than savory cheese. Memories of draining balls of hrudka in family kitchens are embedded in many a Coalcracker’s mind; stories of hrudka tied to cabinet door knobs or to a wooden spoon left to drip into a strategically placed bowl or pan set underneath or, even hanging from the kitchen sink faucet, abound.

The easy modern cooking method

Hrudka has a reputation for scorching while cooking. Although our grandmothers might not approve, many of today’s cooks prefer to prepare hrudka in the (gasp!) microwave. Don’t brush this method off…it is easy, shortens cooking time, and yields great results! All you need in equipment is a heat-safe bowl and a fork to “fluff” the mixture throughput cooking. Microwave instructions are included in my recipe.

The hrudka is stored in a refrigerator for the Easter feast. Some use the leftover liquid from straining in other recipes, such as paska bread.