Palacsinta, in case you don’t know, are a beloved Hungarian flat cake that can be stuffed with fillings both savory and sweet. It of course looks nothing like a pancake. While it has minor differences...
The quality of the produce and the diversity of food stands at the Lehel Market is exceptional, and we could have easily listed many more highlights.
Adventures in krumplis tészta (potatoes with pasta), with a recipe.
If you spend time in Hungary, sooner or later you’ll hear talk of ‘Hungarikums.’ As any traveler will quickly learn, Hungarians are proud (and fiercely protective) of their natural treasures, achievem...
Served throughout Hungary (as well as in Slovakia, Austria, and Northern Italy), körözött is a simple paprika-spiked cheese dip. It’s typically part of a Hungarian appetizer spread, offered with chunk...
In Hungary the most common types of cheese are young and fresh ones. In this category túró is definitely the most popular, accounting for half of all cheese consumed in the country.
You know it’s summer when you see jars of kovászos dill pickles fermenting in sunny window sills. That summery pickle flavor can also come in the form of a drink, concocted with the juice from the pic...
There's no better way to enjoy the summer's seasonal fruit bounty than in a cold fruit soup. There are lots of variations, but sour cherry soup (meggyleves) is perhaps the most popular. It's a tart so...
Szalonna is an essential food staple in Hungary. Its recipe is very simple—you add salt, smoke, and time to a piece of pork fat. But there are many different types (depending on the cut of meat, the s...
Pogácsa, which usually gets a loose translation as ‘scones’ or ‘biscuits,’ are everywhere in Hungary. Pogácsa, or ‘pogi’ for short, also seem to be compulsory for most organized social gatherings.
We hesitate to call zsemle beloved, they are definitely depended upon. More convenient than a kilo or half kilo of your standard Hungarian loaf of bread, not mass produced yet inexpensive enough to be...
Hekk is a curious fish to find in Hungary, as it is a sea fish, and Hungary is a landlocked country. How hekk became so popular locally is still a bit murky. WHat is not disputed is that the most Hung...
Főzelék is a lunchtime staple as much as any gulyás or paprikás. It is the unheralded anchor of any étkezdé’s (lunch canteen) menu. It’s popular with good reason, and taken very seriously.
In a country renowned for its beautiful baked goods, the glistening and golden-tinted Dobos torta is arguably Hungary’s most famous layer cake.
A good csontvelő (bone marrow) is worth a trip across town for, worth planning an evening around. You may have to, because it is not the easiest dish to find.
You can see why Jokai was so taken with the soup. Jókai bableves has a rich, nourishing flavor that intoxicates and demands to be overindulged in. The meal is hearty in the truest sense of the word. W...
The thing about frog legs is that you can’t dither. If you are fixing to get frog legs, you shouldn’t hesitate. For one thing, they are a very easy dish to talk yourself out of. For another, even plac...
Is there any commonly eaten food more divisive than liver? Loved and loathed in equal measures, it is also the cheapest cut at the market but the most expensive item on the menu. Banned, fetishized, r...
Túró Rudi is one of those acquired tastes, but once acquired, impossible to shake.
For Taste Hungary’s 10th birthday, I’ve looked back at some of the key moments of our first decade and some of the things I’m most grateful for … one for each year.
Due to its heaviness, lángos is a meal best eaten when it has been worked for in one way or another. Dough deep fried, brushed with minced garlic and topped with various other fatty delights like smok...
In a country where meat—be it beef, pork, turkey, or goose—is consumed with gusto, the rooster's family jewels are just another juicy delicacy served in a heady paprika broth.
The spicy condiment known as Erős Pista—a thick paprika paste—is so omnipresent in lunch canteens (étkezdék), Hungarian restaurants, and in home kitchens that there is little room for artisanal interl...
Gesztenyepüré is a beloved Hungarian dessert. While you can get it year round, chestnuts are seasonal, so its flavors resonate most in autumn. There is something of a nostalgic feel to the dessert, at...
Halászlé (fisherman’s soup) is an iconic paprika-spiked Hungarian dish, prepared for centuries by fishermen and their families along the banks of the Danube, Tisza rivers, and Lake Balaton (or whereve...
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...
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...
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.
More than fortification for the coming party, the midnight cabbage represents a kind refusal to give in.
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.
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.
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.
Gulyás is the one Hungarian dish that most people think they know. But their imagination of gulyás rarely resembled the real Hungarian thing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Those who grew up during the Communist era in Hungary will know these Hungarian sweets well (although some may never want to taste again).
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.
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!
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.
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 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).
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 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.
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.
Though making homemade pasta for a soup might sound very time-consuming, it’s actually quite quick and simple.
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....
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.
Best Contribution to Wine & Spirits Tourism
Best Wine Tour Operator Winner in 2017 & 2018
Certificate of Excellence Winner (2011-2019)
Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame
Global food tourism association
Fortified Travel