Even those who are not a supporter of gastronomic tourism, it is worth including in the program of a trip to Hungary a close acquaintance with the cuisine of this country. Hungarian cuisine from other European is distinguished by a huge variety of products used.
Products
If we talk about meat dishes, they can be cooked from pork, pigs, beef, veal, game, poultry. Some dishes use different kinds of meat or meat, processed in different ways. The rivers and lakes of the country are rich in fish of different types, so an important place in the national cuisine is occupied by dishes from the Danube catfish, the Tissa sterlet, and the Balaton pike perch. Various vegetables are also used: aubergines, zucchini, tomatoes, various cabbages and - as the most important ingredients of many dishes - onions and sweet peppers.
For the preparation of seasonings, sour cream is often used in combination with the most unexpected ingredients .It is impossible not to say that traditionally Hungarian flour is used for the preparation of flour products .Its feature is the high content of gluten, which makes it possible to roll the dough very thinly and make pastries, which have no analogues in the kitchens of other countries..Often, from the flour mixed with eggs, dough for tarkhoni is prepared - small dried balls, which are used either independently or in the form of a side dish or filler for stuffed vegetables .
Ways of cooking
The main ways of processing products - cooking, stewing, frying .It does not look as picturesque as cooking on the grill, but the taste of the ready dishes is excellent! Of course, every cook has his own secrets and technological tricks, which make it possible to prepare a delicious and beautiful dish..But there are also common moments, which, in fact, create the unique taste that is inherent in Hungarian cuisine..One such feature is the widespread use of lard fat .It is an important component of most dishes, sometimes it is fried with flour and spices, which are part of the recipe - it gives the food the necessary density and sharpness .Hungarian butter cooks consider the product to be dietary and use very rarely in their recipes .Even less commonly used vegetable oil, even in vegetable salads it is usually replaced by melted goose fat .
The second important feature is the use of spices and seasonings .Especially popular are onions, garlic, cinnamon, celery, dill, black and red pepper, marjoram, thyme, cumin and, of course, red pepper - paprika .There are a lot of varieties, degrees of maturity and ways of applying paprika .Fruits can be used mature, semi-ripe, fresh, dried, pounded ... To this must be added a rich color range: green, light yellow, pink, light red, maroon pepper pods also perform table decorations .Variety is also added to the flavors of onions, which is used very widely, and after different heat treatments .It is interesting that for some dishes it should be lightly browned in a frying pan, and for others it is fried very much .
What to try
Separately, I must say about the names of dishes. Here there is some confusion: the second dish, which in Russia is called goulash, is called maslyash in Hungary, and gulash is a very thick spicy soup of meat and mashed vegetables, prepared with lots of flour and paprika. And the first name that comes to mind when mentioning Hungarian cuisine is paprikas. This funny word is called almost any dish, seasoned with sour cream sauce with paprika.
Perekelt - ragout - differs from other dishes with a large amount of onions, is prepared from beef, veal, pork, mutton, poultry and giblets. The cloth is reminiscent of perekelts and goulash, but the meat is put into this dish less than in goulash, but they add mushrooms, green peas and greens. Separately, I must say about flour dishes. Noodles with cottage cheese, various rolls, sweet and not sweet, famous Hungarian cheesecakes - the variety is very large.
Hungarian Wines
Speaking of Hungarian wines, we can not fail to mention the wine about which Voltaire said: "Tokai's amber blessed tickles the brain and gives thoughts to the fire necessary for wits as bright as a drunk drink ..." It is unlikely that someone will come up with a great philosopher - an enlightener, but try Tokay, wine of kings, it is simply necessary. By the way, it can be the best gift from a wonderful country with amazing cuisine.
Features
The main task when ordering a dinner in a Hungarian restaurant is not so much memorizing the names of dishes and their characteristics as the correct distribution of the possibilities of a particular individual to the absorption of food: everything is very tasty, everything is very beautiful, everything is very fragrant, but to try everything not humanly possible. br>.Well, if getting acquainted with Hungarian cuisine went beyond multiple tastings of various dishes and went on to systematically use them, which led to undesirable consequences like overweight, there's nothing wrong: there are enough places in Budapest where you can stuff your wardrobe with things of any size..