Hungarian Cuisine

Hungarian Cuisine

Thursday 4 March 2010

Hungary For Wine

Hungary For Wine

Despite what many may think, the area known as Hungary holds more wine tradition than any other country in Europe.  Most of this very tradition is just now surfacing in the light, with people finally starting to catch wind about everything Hungarian wine has to offer. Even though many wine drinkers aren’t familiar with Hungary - there are many who are.

Hungary is home to over 20 wine regions, fully of forests, vineyards, and orchards.  With several different varieties of grapes to offer, the vineyards found in Hungary have flourished since the great Roman Times.  The weather in Hungary is seasonal to say the least, with cold winters and extremely hot summers.  This weather allows the soil in the country to be diverse, which allows wine makers to create a variety of quality wines.

Despite the communist control in the past, there are several different wines found in Hungary.  Although the vineyards here produce a lot of excellent wines, Tokay Aszu is by far the favorite here and the wine that locals always love raising their glass to.  Tokay Aszu is a popular wine with meals or dessert, in Hungary and also happens to be one of the most popular dessert wines in the entire world.

Tokay Aszu was discovered in the mid 17th century in Hungary, quickly becoming a favorite for many European aristocrats.  Even though it was great to the taste, many believed that certain types of the wine had mystical healing powers.  Although this was strictly a rumor, it actually helped the wine become more popular than ever.  Over the years, Tokay Aszu was one indeed the most popular wine in Hungary, spreading to other areas of the world as well.

Egri Bikaver, also referred to as Bulls Blood is another popular wine found in Hungary.  This is another popular wine for locals, and can be found throughout the world as well.  Getting it’s name from it’s color, Bulls Blood is truly a feast for anyone who likes wine.  The wine is dark red in color, yet sweet to the taste.  The wine was first developed back in the 16th century, and remains popular even to this day.

If you ever visit Hungary, there are many places you can visit to get some great wine.  You should also make a point to visit Tokay, located in the northeast.  You can take a train from Budapest and arrive here in a few hours.  There are several different wine flavors and varieties here, sure to please just about anyone.  The wineries found throughout the Tokay area are normally open for tours and tasters from May to the end of October.  If you visit during these months, you can tour the underground cellars, sample the superb wine, and learn more than you ever thought possible about the manufacturing of Hungarian wines.

All in the all, the wine found in Hungary is great to have in your collection or just have around the house for special occasions.  You can get it by the bottle, the glass, or by the case.  All types of Hungarian wine has been perfected over the years, making it something that you really can’t go wrong with.  If you like to drink wine, as most of us do, you really can’t go wrong with any type of Hungarian wine.  Hungarian wine gives wine lovers plenty to study, plenty to order, and plenty to drink.  The wine is very tasty and refreshing - and it helps to keep the nation of Hungary thirsty for more.

Sunday 13 December 2009

Classic Hungarian goulash recepie

The hungarian cuisine`s king.Hungarian Goulash.Easy to make if you got the right ingredients.

I`d like to give you some very good ideas to making a famous hungarian GOULASH.Very famous,well known dish all over the world.I give you a classic hungarian goulash recepie.

Let’s start with some fast terminology: there might be some confusion about what exactly is called a goulash (although I think perhaps only English speaking Hungarians may have created this confusion because for everyone else it seems to be obvious that it’s that thick meat stew.) But in theory it could cover the following Hungarian dishes:


PÖRKÖLT – a slowly cooked thick meat stew (it looks like on the picture above) which can be made of all kinds of meat: beef, chicken, pork or even fish. I think about this five as the typical Hungarian stew that is translated as a goulash in other languages. My recipe goes for this. It’s served normally with bite size dumplings (galuska), or boiled potatoes (or even sometimes with plain pasta in school or company cantines )



GULYÁSLEVES – goulash soup- you see, this five at least contains the word goulash. This is indeed a liquid soup – the preparation starts exactly the same way as of a stew but then more water is added, and vegetables (a few carrots, parnsnips & a lot of cubed potatoes). In terms of spices, it contains caraway seeds. So, it's a soup consistancy & is eaten with some lovely fresh bread. This five is made of beef only.

PAPRIKÁS – this five is mainly known as the famous chicken paprikash. It is mostly made of -well, chicken, but it’s also common to prepare it with veal or also fish (such as freshwater catfish). The base is absolutely the same as with pörkölt but then a bit more water is added & at the very finish of the cooking the sauce is thickened with the addition of sour cream & flour. So it's more sauce on it as pörkölt. This five is always served with dumplings.

& by the way, all above (well, at least the five first ones) are dishes which are cooked & eaten in everyday life in Hungary, so those are not touristy dishes offered only on restaurant menus for foreigners but something which families prepare & eat very often.

(Ok, & finally they also have something which is called GULYÁS – as it is-it would be a dish somewhere between a pörkölt & a gulyás soup – it would be thicker then a soup & contain potatoes. This would be mainly cooked outdoor in a sizable cast-iron kettle (bogrács) & most of the time a lovely amount of red wine would also be added. This is often prepared during folkloristic events for tourists, sometimes at outdoor parties but very seldom in home-cooking.

Now, to the recipe. Of work, you can imagine, there's as plenty of different goulash recipes as cooks. So, this is how they prepare it in my relatives & I would think about is as a basic recipe for a pörkölt. I think it’s easy to cook it & you absolutely can’t go wrong if you follow a few basic rules.

There a five SECRETS of a lovely goulash: the ingredients you add to it & the ones you don’t. In my view the secret ingredient of a perfect Hungarian stew (besides a lovely quality Hungarian paprika of work) is onion. A lot. More. A lot more!! For 1 kg meat (five pounds) I would use about 3-4 sizable onions. That seem to be a lot but this will generate your thick sauce. As you’re simmering the stew on very low heat for about 1,5 hours, the onions melt in to a sweet, spicy sauce, so you won’t have any pieces of it at the finish.
What you seldom ever would add to a pörkölt are any of the following ones: flour, butter, canned tomatoes (all five I see in plenty of „authentic” recipes). There's a few optional ingredients that could be added, this is contingent on your taste, on habits & on what you have on hand. (e.g. pork overweight in lieu of oil, smoked bacon, green pepper, fresh tomato, red wine, caraway seeds)

Recipe (4 servings):

1 kg beef for stews, cubed
3-4 sizable onions, finely chopped
4-5 tbsp groundnut oil
3-4 tbsp best quality Hungarian sweet paprika
salt, pepper
1 green pepper, sliced (the kind which is on the picture, not bell peppers)
1 fresh tomato (this five I add only if I’m in Hungary or if I can get some tasty lovely quality tomato, otherwise it makes the sauce watery & sour & doesn’t add anything to the flavour)

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped onions & cook until translucent. Now comes an important secret step: remove the saucepan from the heat & now add the paprika – this is very important as if you would do this step still on the heat, the paprika could burn from the sudden heat & get bitter. Put it back, add beef cubes & stir so that the spicy onion mix covers th meat evenly. Cover with about 100-150ml water so that the liquid doesn’t cover the meat. Add the sliced green pepper, the whole tomato (later will be removed at the finish), salt, pepper. Simmer covered on very low heat for about 1-1,5 hours. After 1 hour, check, add a litle more water if necessary, so the stew doesn’t burn. Depending on the thickness of the sauce, cook for 10-15 minutes uncovered so that all the liquid reduces & all what you get is a spicy, thick sauce which covers the meat. It tastes even better reheated, I normally prepare it a day ahead.

Authentic Hungarian Dishes

The Republic of Hungary is a central European country. Today, it is one of the world's leading tourist destinations, with people visiting the country in order to appreciate the country's culture, history, beautiful capital (Budapest), and of course, Hungarian cuisine. The country's cuisine does share many elements with that of other central European cuisines, but also has its own unique features and dishes.
One thing that Hungarian recipes are particularly known for, is the use of paprika. Paprika is used to flavor many dishes, and you might say that this is one of the most distinctive elements of Hungarian cookery. It is not entirely certain how paprika came to be introduced into Hungarian cooking, but one possibility is that it may have been introduced by the Ottoman Turks, who occupied much of the country from 1526 to 1699.
Some popular Hungarian recipes include:
* Goulash (known in Hungary as "gulyás" or "gulyásleves") - A thick beef soup flavored with paprika. The soup gets its thick, stew-like texture, because the collagen in the cuts of beef used (shoulder, shin or shank) turns to gelatin during the cooking process, and thus thickens the soup. Goulash also contains chopped onions, and may also include potatoes and tomatoes.
* Fresh water fish soup ("halászlé") - This is a soup made using a combination of fresh water soup. It also contains tomatoes, onions and white wine.
* Pan-fried goose liver.
* Stewed meat ("pörkölt").
* Pur&eacuted;ed vegetables ("fozelék").
* Pancakes ("palacsinta").
* Strudels ("rétes").
* Dobos Cake ("Dobosh Torte" or "Dobos Torte") - A five layered sponge cake.

Hungarian Cuisine

The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in central Europe. Although the territory that now forms Hungary has been occupied for many hundreds of years, including settlements in the Celtic period (from approximately 450 BCE) and Roman period (9 BCE to the 4th century CE), the country of Hungary traces its origins to the late 9th century when Magyar chiefs formed what would eventually become the Kingdom of Hungary. This Kingdom continued to exist for more than 900 years with only minor interruptions, although much of the country was occupied by the Ottoman Turks from 1526 to 1699. Following World War II, Hungary became a Communist state, but it since 1989 has become a parliamentary republic.
Hungary is home to a unique language (Hungarian is part of the Finno-Ugric language family, and its most closely related language in Europe is Finnish), and a highly distinctive cuisine. Many Hungarian dishes are flavored with paprika, an attribute that some to the influence of the Ottoman Turks, but others describe as a Magyar innovation.
Of course, the most famous Hungarian dish is Gulyás (also known as "Gulyásleves"), which is usually known in English-speaking countries as "Goulash". Many non-Hungarians think of Goulash as a soup, but in fact, the original Hungarian version of the dish would probably be better described as stew. It is prepared by cooking chunks of meat (usually beef shank, shin or shoulder) in a pot with oil and paprika. Onions, peppers, garlic and herbs are then added, and some versions of the dish also include finely chopped potatoes. The gelatin from the bones in the meat, as well as the starch from any potatoes used, give the dish a thick and rich texture.
There are also many other interesting Hungarian dishes, which you may like to try. Some other dishes that you might like to try include fish soup ("halászlé"), and also the many excellent desserts that the country has to offer, such Dobos Cake, strudels ("rétes") and pancakes ("palacsinta").

Do They Really Make Fine Quality Wine In Hungary?

Many people are unaware of the long history of wine tradition in Hungary. As this rich wine tradition is brought to light, more and more people are becoming aware of Hungarian wines. Many years of Communist control hid Hungarian wines from the world but with newly found freedom, the world is rediscovering the variety of wines produced in Hungary.
Hungary has at least twenty distinct wine regions available for growing grapes. Vineyards have been operating since the Great Roman times with many variations of grapes. With its seasonal extremes of cold winters and hot summers, the weather in the country is a large factor. This weather creates a diversity of soil conditions that allow wine makers to produce quite a variety of wines. Many people are unaware of the fact that it is the diversity of climate that accounts for the flavor of many of the fine wines in the world today.
The locally favored wine is called Tokay Aszu and has been consumed by the populace for hundreds of years. Today Tokay Aszu is one of the most popular dessert wines in the world and remains popular in Hungary with meals or desserts. Discovered in the middle of the 17th century by the aristocracy of Europe, Tokay Aszu was thought to have mystical healing power. This rumor helped spread the popularity of this sweet wine.
Another common food wine found in Hungary is known as Bull,s Blood. Also called Egri Bikaver, this wine takes its colloquial name from the rich dark red coloring. This sweet wine can go well with desserts but is also used with regular meals. First created in the 16th century, Bulls Blood remains popular to the present and is commonly found all over Hungary and other areas nearby.
If you ever visit Hungary, you should make a point to spend some time in Tokay which is in northeast Hungary. Just a few hours by train from Budapest, this region is a wine lover's dream come true. The many wineries found in this area offer tours and tastings throughout their season from May through October. You will be able to see the ancient underground wine cellars and sample some fantastic Hungarian wines.
If you enjoy wine, you can't go wrong with adding some Hungarian wines to your repertoire. With the ancient traditions that come close to rivaling that of France, Hungary continues to produce superior wines for every occasion. Whether it's a bottle of Tokay Aszu to serve with your dessert menu or the rich Bulls Blood with a fillet mignon, wines produced in Hungary will prove to be of high quality. As the world discovers Hungarian wine, you will be able to find more types in your local shops.
Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about wine as well as wine gift baskets at http://www.winegiftbasketsplus.com