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About Hungarian Food
Hungarian cuisine is a combination of simple peasant food which originated many centuries ago when nomadic tribes rode the great plains of Hungary, some new ingredients which arrived with the Italians and Turks in the 15th and 16th centuries and the elegant, highly developed cuisine which came from the days of the Austro Hungarian Empire. The result is delicious, sometimes hearty, to help people withstand long cold winters and sometimes incredibly indulgent, especially when it comes to pastries, cakes and desserts.
The most loved spice of Hungary - paprika - was brought in by the Bulgarians and Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Turks also introduced filo pastry, tomatoes and sour cherries, which became essential ingredients to the Hungarian kitchen.
Probably the most famous dish to come from Hungary is the paprika laced meat stew known as gulyas (goulash) -the name actually means 'herdsmen' and came to be associated with the meat stew the herdsmen ate. Kettle gulys(Bogracs gulyas) evolved from being a shared hearty soup cooked in a kettle on the Great Plain, to later become an aristocratic specialty. Interestingly, two hundred years ago when Hungary took a stand to protect its language, culture and gastronomy, gulyas became a symbol of the proud nation and everyone ate it - rich and poor. They still do. And there are variations on the theme - dishes called paprikas, tokany and porkolt.
Sweets became elevated to an art form in the days of the Austro Hungarian Empire and exquisite confections were made - strudels filled with apple, sour or sweet cherries, cream cheese, poppy seeds and walnuts; elaborate layered cakes like the magnificent dobostorta with its mahogany toffee topping; kugelhoph, beigli and many more delights were created and celebrated.
As the Hungarians say: Jo etvagyat, barataim! (Enjoy your meals, my friends!)
Featured Food & Recipes
Hot Tips
Poffertjes pancake fillings
To make filled poffertjes, pour a small amount of batter in the poffertjes pan, add a teaspoon of jam, raisins, shredded apple or almond paste, and cover with a little more batter.
Glossary
Cinnamon
Cinnamon or Cassia Bark is harvested from the bark of the cinnamon tree. Cinnamon is much finer than cassia.
