Tokaji Aszú: The Story of The World’s Oldest Sweet Wine
A bottle of Tokaji aszú holds deep history, fascinating myths, much hard work, centuries of passion, and plenty of sheer luck.
Taste Hungary Blog
The Taste Hungary Blog is authored by a group of expat and local writers, intent on making sense of Hungary’s traditional foodways, its emerging wine industry, and Budapest’s food scene. We focus on telling the stories of the deliciously complex foods and wines of Hungary, the people and places that fascinate us, and all of the cultural details which make Hungary such a memorable place to visit (or live).
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A Comeback to Hanukkah
The way that celebrating Hanukkah shifted from being a big social event to an intimate family gathering, as it is today, shows how Jews regained their religious consciousness. The importance of food a...
The Humbling Experience of a Tokaji Aszú Harvest
In Tokaj the grapes are harvested several times, to make wines of varying levels of sweetness. If the noble rot has developed there will be an aszú harvest in which the berries are selected by hand, o...
Kékfrankos: A Much-Loved Grape of Many Names
Kékfrankos is planted in most Hungarian wine regions, and goes by many different names. When well made, the variety—with its crunchy red and black cherry fruit and spicy kick—is generally a crowd-plea...
Balkezes Sörfözde: Hungary’s Left-Handed Craft Beer Brewery
The craft beer scene in Hungary was slow to develop, but once it began to take off, it changed the face of beer drinking in Budapest. Tamás Nyaras of Balkezes Sörfözde, discusses the current local cra...
Juhfark: A Pharmacy in a Wine Glass
Juhfark is a little-known Hungarian grape variety that is attributed with extraordinary abilities.
Be Your Own Trip Advisor: How to Spot A Good Restaurant While Traveling
There is a lot to be said for going offline to walk around and follow your instincts when exploring a new culture’s culinary scene. It’s one of those micro-adventures that make travel so rewarding. Th...
Kadarka – Hungary’s Answer to Pinot Noir?
Vibrant and elegant or rustic and insipid? Little-known Kadarka certainly divides opinions when tasted for the first time, with those who love it praising its crunchy, bright red fruit and refreshing ...
Unicum: Hungarian History in a Glass
Unicum is a national institution in Hungary, and has a long history that in some ways mirrors the history of modern Hungary itself.
The Mátra Wine Region: These Hills Are Alive With Volcanic Vineyards, Boutique Cellars, and History
Hungary’s second largest winemaking region is blessed with an ancient winemaking heritage, volcanic soil, successful large wineries, and now a band of boutique wineries hoping to bring the region into...
Flódni: The Four Act Pastry
Flódni is a traditional Hungarian Jewish confection. With fillings of poppy, walnut, apple, and plum jam, separated by five layers of sweet pastry, its flavors of tart, bitter, and sweet meld together...
Olaszrizling—a Riesling in name only
Olaszrizling, Hungary’s most widely planted white grape variety, is an archetypical Central European variety which is capable of for more than it's usually given credit for.
How To Buy Homemade Pálinka (and Why You Should)
We’re not saying it’s a good idea to buy under-the-counter pálinka, but if that’s what you want, you should know how to go about getting it.
Bookish in Buda: Literary Cafés of Budapest
With cafés like Centrál and New York giving shelter and comfort to writers of the famous Nyugat movement of Hungarian writing, you can’t talk about a classic Hungarian café without mentioning the writ...
Land of Fire and Salt: Hungary’s Volcanic Wine Regions
Imagine a landscape with numerous giant volcanoes spewing out lava and ash and a receding, bubbling inland sea. This was Hungary ten or fifteen million years ago.
Elegy to Zsiros Kenyér: A Good-bye to Budapest’s Classic Pub Grub
In Budapest, some dishes go out of style, only to be re-introduced years later as more expensive ‘retro’ fare. It also happens that some dishes disappear not to be seen again.
Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage: The Wedding Gift You Didn’t Know You Wanted
More than fortification for the coming party, the midnight cabbage represents a kind refusal to give in.
Chomping at the Bit: a Hungarian Horse Sausage Primer
Though Hungarians’ fondness for horse meat is far from universal among the population, a demand for it persists and horse sausage is still commonly found at market halls around Budapest.
Dog Tongues and Ink: Historic Literary Coffeehouses in Budapest
If nostalgia had a taste, it would be that of a bitter, robust sip of coffee served at Centrál Café, or one of the other coffee houses in Budapest.
Lecsó as a Verb
Lecsó as a noun is known in flippant company as the Hungarian ratatouille, the dish that's not really a stew, not a soup, not exactly a side dish, but somehow takes characteristics of all these.
Szalonna: Call It Delicious, Just Don’t Call It Bacon
Every now and again a word gets mistranslated, and that mistranslation is picked up on and replicated until it’s been hopelessly absorbed into common usage.
Discovering Tokaj’s Sweet Secrets: At Home in Erdőbénye
Winemakers in Tokaj are singularly obsessed with a fungus called botrytis. And I had become fascinated by these winemakers who go to such lengths and expense to make this traditional wine.
Gulyás: The Ultimate Hungarian Soup (Recipe)
Gulyás is the one Hungarian dish that most people think they know. But their imagination of gulyás rarely resembled the real Hungarian thing.
That’ll Do Pig: The Marvelous Rise of Mangalica
If you haven’t heard of Mangalica, don’t feel left out. The fact that there is any of it at all is a small miracle.
The Ever-Popular Old School Fröccs
When the weather gets hot in Hungary, fröccs season is on. A refreshing mixture of soda water and wine, it's the ultimate summer go-to drink.
Furmint Forever
There’s no other grape that can make such complex sweet wines, consistently delicious easy-drinking dry wines, and full-bodied single vineyard terroir-driven wines.
Meggyes Leppény (Sour Cherry Cake) Recipe
My first ever trip to Hungary coincided with cherry season. Ever since, when I think cherries, I crave this cherry cake that Gábor’s mother bakes throughout the summer.
The Hungarian Cold Plate (Hidegtál)
A Hungarian cold plate (“hidegtál”) is a classic way to showcase the wide variety of charcuterie which butcher shops, market stalls, and kitchen pantries are brimming with.
Budapest’s Nagy Vásárcsarnok (Central Market Hall)
With its cavernous interior, the vast three-level Central Market Hall should be a spot of pilgrimage for any food-lover coming to Budapest, where you can spend hours shopping and snacking.
The 1956 Tokaj Aszú: A Wine With A Long Finish
The 1956 vintage was a good one in Tokaj. But 1956 didn’t go down in the history books for the great quality of botrytis in Tokaj, rather because of the revolution that began on October 23rd.
Hungarian Paprika: The Essential Red Spice
If there is one ingredient that Hungary is undeniably associated with, it's paprika. It symbolizes Hungarian cuisine and is an essential component of some of the best-known Hungarian dishes.
The Lost World of The Jewish Wine Trade in Hungary (and The Old Habsburg Empire) Part I.
This story of how the Hungarian (and Central European) wine trade functioned before the two world wars and communism is not a well-known one.
Old-School Hungarian Sweets
Those who grew up during the Communist era in Hungary will know these Hungarian sweets well (although some may never want to taste again).
Sólet at Rosenstein, A Budapest Experience Worthy of a Pilgrimage
At Rosenstein, solét is a hearty, wonderfully-prepared meal that not only deserves a pilgrimage but also clearly underlines the restaurant's motto: everything is kosher that tastes good.
Taste Hungary’s 100 Essentials List
We've compiled what we think are the most essential (and tastiest) food, drinks, and experiences that just cannot be missed. We hope you can check all of them off!
Birsalma Sajt (Quince Jelly) Recipe
The knobby quince has never been one of the most popular fruits. But come autumn, this humble and rather unattractive fruit is transformed into an anticipated seasonal delicacy.
Kovászos Uborka (Fermented Cucumber) Recipe
In Hungary, this hot stretch of summer in which the city empties and not much happens is known as cucumber season. The markets, of course, are also full of small, bumpy cucumbers.
Paprikás Csirke (Paprika Chicken) Recipe
Paprikás csirke is a staple of home-cooking and at étkezdes (lunch-rooms), yet it is an elegant dish (but much simpler to prepare than its thick, complex, flavorful sauce suggests).
Budapest’s Kórház Utcai Market
Lying low at the foot of the Árpád híd, Kórház utcai Market is a vital and yet lesser-known part of Budapest's ingrained market culture.
Galuska (Dumplings) Recipe
Galuska are the preferred accompaniment for pörkölt and paprikás, and are also often served with eggs and lettuce for a super-simple lunch at the étkezde.
Kocsonya (Meat Jelly/Aspic) Recipe
If your grandmother made this dish for the holidays, you either loved it or hated it. There's pretty much no middle-ground, and there's no denying the lingering memory of this shimmering meat jelly.
Csipetke (Pinched Pasta) Recipe
Though making homemade pasta for a soup might sound very time-consuming, it’s actually quite quick and simple.
Third Wave Coffee in Budapest
Hungary's love of coffee is grounded in history. And gourmet java lovers have plenty of cafes where they gather to sip their favorite bitter brew.
Christmas in Hungary
You can tell Christmas is coming in Hungary when cukrászdas begin stockpiling bejglis. Whether filled with poppyseed or walnuts, these cylindrical shaped cakes are the essence of Hungarian Christmas.
Sunday Lunch in Hungary
Sunday lunch is practically a sacred ritual in Hungary. This I learned when I found myself sitting at a table set under towering chestnut trees, eating the kind of meal I usually only ate on holidays....
Taste Hungary Playlists
Here are some of our favorite Hungarian tunes—an eclectic mix of everything from folk, jazz, and Jewish to rap, pop, and Gypsy music—to get you in the Hungarian spirit!
Hungarian-English Culinary Dictionary
Get your kitchen Magyarul in gear with this useful culinary dictionary.
English-Hungarian Culinary Dictionary
Get your kitchen Magyarul in gear with this useful culinary dictionary.
Pogácsa at Daubner
Homemade, flaky pogácsa is the quintessential Hungarian snack, eaten at all times of the day and on any occasion.For the best, many Budapesters swear by Daubner Cukrászda.
The Lost World of The Jewish Wine Trade in Hungary (and The Old Habsburg Empire), Part II.
What happened before the takeover of the state-owned coops in Hungary, which lasted more than forty years (and devastated Hungarian wine)?
