Hungarian cuisine

Priscilla wrote:

When living abroad, tasting the local cuisine is part of discovering the country.

Unless you are a vegetarian, like myself (of the ovo-lacto variety), in a culinary culture where most dishes have meat in them.

Fish soup, made with hot peppers, is a commonly found Hungarian specialty that my wife particularly enjoys (she is not vegetarian). There are even many fish soup making competitions in Hungary.

And when I say I am a vegetarian here, I am often offered fish (which is not considered "meat" here).

Sadly, my options as most restaurants in Hungary are limited to:

Fried mushrooms
Fried cheese
Fried cauliflower
Pizza

I once asked for a lentil soup without meat. After I had eaten it, at the bottom of a bowl I found a rind of pork fat. To be "fair" I did say "without meat", and I learned that day apparently not everyone here considers animal fat to be "meat".

However, there is one dish that I do like very much (but is seasonal and not commonly found in most restaurants), which is stinging nettles with tejföl wrapped in a thin crepe.

Tejföl is basically Hungarian sour cream, and commonly encountered part of many Hungarian dishes.

Pretty quiet topic. Lets kick start this discussion. I posted a short entry at my blog about Hungarian bográcsozás cooking. To see what that is, visit the link:

http://stcoemgen.com/2015/07/20/summer- … r-cooking/

And this one also, written by a friend of mine, comparing and giving recipes for Texas Chili and Hungarian Pörkölt.

http://stcoemgen.com/2013/02/14/texas-c … -capsicum/

Then come back and comment here about your experience with Hungarian cooking and food.

P.S. Yes, that white lump in the last photo is tejföl, which I mentioned above.

klsallee wrote:

Pretty quiet topic. Lets kick start this discussion. I posted a short entry at my blog about Hungarian bográcsozás cooking. .....

There's always gyulasleves (Goulash Soup) which is quite easy to make. Mrs Fluffy makes it all the time over a wood fire which gives it an interesting smokey flavour.

Hello everyone!

You have to try these special Hungarian dishes, such as "pörkölt", pancakes filled with meat, "lecsó", "lángos", "hurka" and "főzelék".

Cheers,
Daniel

I like just about all the Hungarian foods.
I was a non red meat eater for over 32 years but around 3 1/2 years back I had a serious craving for a steak with garlic. Gave in after 4 days, my family was visiting me in the US and perhaps that triggered some response.
Since then I have been eating red meat in small portions.
Now when I think of the years I went without trying many of the HU dishes I gringe, my MIL was a very good HU cook and I missed out on many of her big homemade meals.
I still will not eat a few items  sheep, horse meat, goat, donkey,tripe and rooster balls are not on my menu card.
I will try almost anything else, at least take a bite of it.
I do not understand it when people travel and will try try something new.My SIL came to the US from HU and refused Mexican ,eggplant, Japanese food, shrimp, it was hard to take her anywhere to eat.
I grew up eating international foods, my mother loved cooking different things but mostly we ate German and Polish/Russian style foods with a bit of English roasts on Sundays.
I know one of the first things my mother said after her shock of me telling her my new BF was from Hungary was that she said, well they are the best cooks in the world at least.
I try to avoid some of the super creamy and sugary treats here, can get addictive and I do not want to be forced to buy a few wardrobe due to over eating treats.
I now cook mostly Hungarian foods and even our Hungarian friends say I make it like their mother's used to do. My red cabbage is very good,soups are easy as well.
My Hungarian husband has become an expert in HU cooking since he retired,it is easy though because the ingredients are so fresh over here.

Traveler38 wrote:

....lángos....

Tends to be very oily and worse for oil than a donut. 

It's a shame they cannot do a kind of "baked"  lángos to cut the oil out. 

Hmmm...I might start experimenting....

My husband has started to experiment with making Langos at home, may not look as pretty as a pro makes but the taste is good and so much cheaper.Who want to pay 300 to 700 for one langos
For 700 fornits we can pig out on them at home and use cheese, sour cream, garlic and olive oil if we want to. Can made over a dozen of them for the price many vendors are now asking for just one.
Don't make them often, too fattening but nothing is better then a langos with some bean soup in the winter time.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Traveler38 wrote:

....lángos....

Tends to be very oily and worse for oil than a donut.

I thought that was the entire point of a good lángos...... 

Right, if you are not doubled over in pain it was not a proper langos!!Funny but true.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Right, if you are not doubled over in pain it was not a proper langos!!Funny but true.

Yes, that made me laugh.

I have had three of those grease bombs this year (topped with lots of cheese and garlic). They were really, really good. But that is enough to last me till summer 2016.

klsallee wrote:

I have had three of those grease bombs this year (topped with lots of cheese and garlic). They were really, really good. But that is enough to last me till summer 2016.

Paying fat forward? More oil than Texas. How are your arteries?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Paying fat forward? More oil than Texas. How are your arteries?

Touché. And let us not forget it is deep fried. Is it possible to get any worse kind of fat?

I could not eat lángos, and maybe live longer.... or maybe it would just seem like I lived longer as life would be so dull.....

Seriously, other than my occasional dip into the oil slick, I also enjoy a good cigar from time to time, a glass of Hungarian wine, and the occasional scotch during the winter. All in moderation, which is the key to a balanced life (IMHO).

I have not examined my arteries directly lately, but my body fat is about 15%. Puts me into the "fit" category. And a BMI of about 19.5 (in the "healthiest, most likely to live the longest" category)

Of course, now that I "spoke" that out, given Murphy's law, I will get hit by a truck tomorrow on my bike.....

But getting back to Hungarian Cuisine.....

klsallee wrote:

a glass of Hungarian wine

Speaking of Wine.... Lets not forget Hungary's wine making tradition.

With 22 wine regions, Hungary produces wines ranging from the sweat dessert wines of Tokaj to full bodies reds of Villány, and everything in between: for pairing and enjoying with Hungarian cuisine.

klsallee wrote:

....sweet dessert wines of Tokaj to full bodies reds of Villány, and everything in between: for pairing and enjoying with Hungarian cuisine.

I will concede on the reds but I believe Tokaj to be an abomination culled into existence by the demonic forces of hell. Disgusting stuff. My father also said that Unicum was better suited to rubbing on your chest if you had a cold than drinking.

klsallee wrote:

.....
I have not examined my arteries directly lately, but my body fat is about 15%. Puts me into the "fit" category. And a BMI of about 19.5 (in the "healthiest, most likely to live the longest" category) ;...

I definitely fall outside of this category.  My Mother said my transofmration was directly related to my arrival in HU in 1994.

My current complaint about most HU food is the amount of salt in it.  Recently I had some HU cheese and it was fantastically salty. It was almost inedible.  Hungarians definitely overdo the salt and fat on nearly everything.  I am truly shocked at some of the appalling dietary habits of my HU in-laws.  It's as though they have never heard of hypertension, atherosclerosis, cholesterol etc.

Yes Hungarians overdo the salt and oil, we rather cook at home as we can control the salt and type of oils used.I have heard that Kosher salt is the best for health not sure where to find that over here.
We have tried several different salts, used to go to the salt cellar near the large market downtown. They have fresh mined salts and a dry salt room that is suppose to be good for the lungs.
I'll have to look them up and post their address. Small tiny shop that is entered from the st. and a long walk underground to the shop.
If you happen to notice although most younger people do not even notice older people, you can see there are more old ladies over here then old men.
We used to take our then 82 year old neighbor to the senior citizens dances all around Budapest. This was a couple years back, she is still living but can't kick up her heels these days .
Everyone was way too old for us but we took her because my husband for one wanted to do something nice for her so we escorted her to these dances where she used to hook up behind her daughters back with her 86 year old boyfriend.
It was all clandestant and a secert. Her daughter didn't like the guy, he drank too much and borrowed money from her mother. I have noticed many Hungarian are against their older parents having love affairs in their old age. Perhaps they are afraid they will marry and then kick off leaving everything to their new spouse.
Back to what I was on about, at these dances, there were only a few old men and at least 6 women for each man to dance with. My husband said the combo of hard work, too much drink and heavy foods kill off the men here early, much earlier then in some other countries.
So far in 5 years  4 of my husbands old friends have died here in HU. They were all a couple years younger too.
One had a stroke at home, he was 58, 3 others drank themselves to death.
2 that drank hard were divorced men living in HU and one lived in beautiful Hawaii, was married to a HU women but still drank to death in paradise. We went to his funeral here in HU, his wife brought his ashes over to lay with his parents.
The weird thing was the few really old men at these senior dances did nothing but drink like fish and all lived alone. guess some things either make you stronger or they kill you. I have seen really old men, one guy was 96 and dancing and drinking everyone under the table, hard to say why some people make it and others don't.
I was the "baby" at these dances but enjoyed just having some wine, watching the dancing and sharing snacks that people brought to soak up the booze. Really got to see how the older people party over here, they can party that's for sure.

At  the first Senior citizen dance we went to, we were greeted on entry with a choice of either a shot of Palinka or a shot of Unicum. My kind of party!!
I wonder what sort of buzz some of these older folks got mixing either with their med's?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Hungarians definitely overdo the salt and fat on nearly everything

Yes, I agree.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I believe Tokaj to be an abomination

Everyone has different tastes of course. I will be more PC about it and just say I do not like sweet dessert wines in general.

klsallee wrote:

.... I will be more PC about it and just say I do not like sweet dessert wines in general.

That's my position too but with extra turbocharging. Just the thought of it turns my stomach.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

.... I will be more PC about it and just say I do not like sweet dessert wines in general.

That's my position too but with extra turbocharging. Just the thought of it turns my stomach.

The sweet Aszú wines from the Takaj wine region do certainly get all the press. But there are actually also non-sweet Tokaji wines that a lot of people do not even know about. Hárslevelű, for example, can produce a full bodied varietal dry white wine (if done well by the cellar master). We have some Hárslevelű in one of our vineyards.

I had some thoughts on all this at my blog post There is More to Hungarian Wine Than Tokaji.

klsallee wrote:

..... Hárslevelű, for example, can produce a full bodied varietal dry white wine (if done well by the cellar master). We have some Hárslevelű in one of our vineyards.

I had some thoughts on all this at my blog post There is More to Hungarian Wine Than Tokaji.

I read your blog. I certainly agree, there's more to sweeter wines than Tokaji which is criminally hyped beyond belief. 

I quite like Israi Olivér and Cserszegi Fûszeres which are very easy to get hold of.  I am not keen on the sweeter ones at all but I have found these other two are quite good for cooking. I know that might seem like the wrong thing to say but really, they are much better than say Soave in your casseroles.

I'd like to see more interesting varieties being grown in Hungary.  There only seems to be about 10 types of grapes used in HU - everything is Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon etc.

What I have heard is that the Napa type grapes are derived from a Croatian varieties and these are much less likely to give bad effects from having fewer congeners.  Not sure of the truth of this.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I'd like to see more interesting varieties being grown in Hungary.  There only seems to be about 10 types of grapes used in HU - everything is Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon etc.

Commercially, yes only a handful of varieties are marketed. But there are many, many more actually grown. But you often have to go the the smaller wineries to get those. They are a niche product. They will not appear much in stores. Even so called "wine stores" or wine bars may only offer a limited selection of wines. The larger, and "well connected" wineries dominate the local market, which is a pity.

fluffy2560 wrote:

What I have heard is that the Napa type grapes are derived from a Croatian varieties

That would be the Zinfandel grape. I believe about 10% of California vineyards are currently planted in Zinfandel.

California wine can get pretty "trendy". Grüner Veltliner I have heard is one new planting trend.

klsallee wrote:

.... But there are many, many more actually grown. But you often have to go the the smaller wineries to get those. They are a niche product. They will not appear much in stores. Even so called "wine stores" or wine bars may only offer a limited selection of wines. The larger, and "well connected" wineries dominate the local market, which is a pity.

I never see them, you are right.  We buy "artisnal" wine around Balaton and the quality is usually good.  But they still use the same old varieties.  I'd like to see some more unusual ones.

klsallee wrote:

That would be the Zinfandel grape. I believe about 10% of California vineyards are currently planted in Zinfandel.

Yes, i think that's the one.  It's actually pretty nice and very dirinkable indeed. I think probably the other 90% is Chardonnay.

klsallee wrote:

Grüner Veltliner I have heard is one new planting trend.

That's pretty popular in Austria.  Bit sweet but not too bad.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I never see them, you are right.  We buy "artisnal" wine around Balaton and the quality is usually good.  But they still use the same old varieties.  I'd like to see some more unusual ones.

Every region has a limited number of allowed varieties that can be planted for resale (the whole designated appellation/terroir thing). To purchase some different varieties at local wineries one must go to different regions.

However, some grow "other" varieties within an designated appellation, but that wine technically can not be bottled and labeled as a regional wine. For example, I currently have some Turán vines. That is for personal consumption, as Turán is not on the list of regional wines. It is also not quite the right region for Turán, and I toy with the idea of removing them and planting a variety that is better suited for the local climate and geography.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Yes, i think that's the one.  It's actually pretty nice and very dirinkable indeed. I think probably the other 90% is Chardonnay.

Given the amount of Chardonnay that comes out of California one may get that impression.

But over a hundred grape varieties are grown in California.

klsallee wrote:

Every region has a limited number of allowed varieties that can be planted for resale (the whole designated appellation/terroir thing). To purchase some different varieties at local wineries one must go to different regions......as Turán is not on the list of regional wines. It is also not quite the right region for Turán, and I toy with the idea of removing them and planting a variety that is better suited for the local climate and geography.

Never knew that.

Is there a "wine map" showing where each variety is planted or supposed to be planted?

I have grapes in my garden but no idea what they are.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Is there a "wine map" showing where each variety is planted or supposed to be planted?

I tried to look this up online some time ago, but e-information in Hungary is still not very good. If you would find it anywhere, it may be at:

https://www.nebih.gov.hu/szakteruletek/ … uletek/obi

Each region has sub-communities that each wine grower must belong to (and pay a fee of course). I asked this local community in my region what where the allowed types. Which were at the time:

Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc, Olaszrizling/Italian Risling, Pinot noir, Szürkebarát/Pinot Gris, Tramini, Ottonel Muskotály, Rajnai rizling/Rhone Risling, Kéknyelű (I think Syrah has been added recently).

Note: those are the appellation allowed types. The terroir types, in my opinion, are more limited -- red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon really do not grow their best here.

It is a pity that this information is not more public and more widely advertised, at it does have an effect on local dining and cuisine, especially for tourists.

For example, in a local larger "town" nearby where I live, there is a "wine tasting bar". I went there thinking to try the different wines from my own region from many different wine growers. I was wrong. There were only two wineries available to taste (i.e. purchase by the glass) (two of the largest producers in the region by the way) and only about 5 varieties. Very disappointing (especially since those two producers really don't have very good wine in my opinion).

Tokaj wines - my favorite, but I can only drink them in small doses, because of the sweetness.  So I usually take them places to share with people, most of whom are not as excited about it as I am.

try the tokaji furmint,it's dry with lots of body

klsallee wrote:

...
For example, in a local larger "town" nearby where I live, there is a "wine tasting bar". I went there thinking to try the different wines from my own region from many different wine growers. I was wrong. There were only two wineries available to taste (i.e. purchase by the glass) (two of the largest producers in the region by the way) and only about 5 varieties. Very disappointing (especially since those two producers really don't have very good wine in my opinion).

Sounds like an opportunity.

In Zagreb there's a wine tasting bar you can buy glasses using kind of vending machine. They have 10s or maybe 100s of wines available in chilled coolers (bottles upside down) dotted around the place. If I remember rightly, you buy tokens and then insert the right number of tokens into the machine to get your drink (I wasn't drinking wine myself).  It seems a bit of a novel approach to me. It's quite odd as it's restaurant as well so you can just choose your wine yourself after ordering the food.

My grape vines have taken a battering.  The builders/kontars are fixing the place and they've dug a load of them up to build some foundations.  Mrs Fluffy says there were terrible vines so best to start again with a clean slate. I tried to move some of them - mainly unsuccessfuly I might add.  I might well  replace them all - hence the idea of knowing what's best locally.  Best to have fewer vines of considerably higher quality than lots of mediocre quality. 

Probably I should go for eating grapes, rather than wine, or perhaps ones that are good enough for both.  Any thoughts on varieties?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Sounds like an opportunity.

Opportunities here often run smack into a bureaucracy. 

fluffy2560 wrote:

Probably I should go for eating grapes, rather than wine, or perhaps ones that are good enough for both.  Any thoughts on varieties?

Oh... careful. I can go on for pages and pages when asked this.....

I will try to be brief.

First, a few things to consider: What can be grown there in your local micro-climate and soils, and what would be easiest to grow. Also need to consider, any wine grape can be eaten as an eating grape, but designated eating grapes do not normally produce good wine.

Most grapes (and all wine grapes) will require fungicide spraying (if you don't in some wet years you will see many, maybe most, of the vine leaves affected, turn brown or yellow, fall off and the fruit rots). Some vine types are more fungus resistant (especially hybrids) than others and will need less spraying. So I would suggest a hybrid for simplicity since they are more forgiving if you under (or neglect to) spray.

For a hobby wine and fall-back eating grape, I would suggest Victória Gyöngye (Pearl of Victoria) or Csillám for white and Medina for red. Both are very resistant to the major fungal diseases (downy mildew, powdery mildew and gray rot). Pearl of Victoria is grown near Budapest so it may be right for your region. It also produces a lot of grapes (up to 17 tons per hectare -- compare to "just" 9 tons per hectare for Chardonnay).

For just eating grapes, I might suggest Nero (a red grape) which is also fungus resistant.

Red grapes are more fun to grow. It is nice to watch the grape color change in late summer. Making red wine is more complicated than white wine, but any red wine can be made as a Rosé which is as easy to make as a white.

Planted 1 meter apart, expect from 400ml to 700ml (one bottle is 750ml) of final wine per vine depending on variety.

Also, grapes have many uses. Don't forget to make some great home made jelly:

http://stcoemgen.com/2013/11/04/grape-jelly/