Cuisine of Hungary

Hungarian cuisine could be described as heavy, hearty, soupy, but of all else they love their peppers. Peppers, which are called Paprika (same as the spice), are the base of most dishes. We had peppers stuffed with meat, peppers stewed with onions, peppers minced as hot sauce, peppers ground into soups, peppers added to sausage, and peppers as the base of the most well known Hungarian dish; Goulach. No peppers in dessert at least what we could tell. Hungarian desserts are big on plums, jams, and poppy seeds. These ingredients create mouthwatering sweets guaranteed to be your newest favorites. 

Everything we had was very flavorful and fresh. Common meats were pork, sausage, and chicken, with beef found but a bit more expensive. Duck is also common and Goose is served on certain holidays. Not surprisingly seafood was a bit less common being a land locked country, however fish are plentiful from lake Balaton which is southwest of Budapest the capital.

On the dairy side of life sour cream is a popular topper on many dishes as well, and cheese is used on occasion.

We were very fortunate that Dave's co-worker, András, invited us over to his home and his wife, Kinga, cooked us up a Hungarian meal fit for a king. Nothing beats a home cooked meal and the company of locals. We tried many traditional dishes and desserts. We really enjoyed the Beigli a traditional poppyseed cake usually served on holidays. We were lucky enough that Kinga, our hostess, made some for us, it was fabulous. We liked that and some of the other desserts so much we ended up eating some for breakfast as well with our coffee.

As with Hungarian hospitality we were sent home with lots of traditional food and snacks to try: sausage. a pepper and onion dish, paprika sauces, honey, chocolates, bread, and desserts. We gladly have been enjoying these throughout the rest of our trip.Read more