A veggie of the day
Product of a day
Interesting facts
Hungarian cuisine
Hungarian cuisine is undoubtedly not the lightest, or mildest, but despite that fact, it has many devotees all over the world. Peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes – these are just a few of the essential ingredients that make this cuisine so specific and large quantities of ground paprika are lovingly used as a seasoning in most dishes.
Vegetables most of all
Various types of peppers, varieties of cabbages, tomatoes, onions and potatoes are both characteristic and essential ingredients in Hungarian dishes. Hearty soups need to contain all of the vegetables mentioned above, and they are considered a necessary introduction to the main courses, because they speed up the digestion and enhance the metabolism.

Peppers - so popular today - haven’t always been so highly valued by the Hungarians. The cookbooks of the 19th century don’t mention this spice. The Turkish occupation made the growing of peppers and their utilisation very popular in Hungary. Peppers initially were used as a substitute for powdered pepper, which was so difficult to get in those times. Nowadays hot and sweet peppers are very popular in cooking. There are all kinds of colourful and diverse types of peppers, each with own different fragrances.

Soups for the well-being
Among Hungarian soups, the ones which have conquered the hearts and palettes of gourmets of many different countries are bográcsgulyás – goulash soup and halászlé – fish soup.
Goulash soup can be prepared at home – gulyásleves in a special pot hanging over the fire - bográcsgulyás. This famous dish has its origin in Hungarian bogrács meaning ‘a pot for making dishes over the fire’.The soup historically goes back to folk traditions, when wandering shepherds that stayed away from their homes would have to prepare nutritious meals in quite unfriendly conditions. Bogracs is a kind of meat and vegetable stew. In various regions of Hungary it’s prepared differently with a unique flavour. The sequence of adding ingredients to the soup, as well as the way we chop and separate them is crucial. The pots are still commonly used by Hungarians and each cook keeps the secret of preparing the dish to himself.
Dishes from the Hungarian menu
Other characteristic dishes are lecsó – steamed vegetables served as a side dish with meat, csipetke dumplings, also used in goulash and soups, or Lángos – a potato pancake fried in oil, served with cream, garlic or cheese. Bread is essential too, mainly wheat based. Wheat bread ‘kenyér’ or ‘zsemle’ rolls are usually served with the soup or goulash. Besides pancakes for dessert Hungarians serve fruit rétes, cheese, a poppy seed or nut strudel.












