by Emese Tuza

Created on: February 23, 2009

Doesn't EVERYONE think that their heritage has the best food? Whether your roots take you back to Mexico, France, Germany, or in my case, Hungary, in my opinion, everyone thinks that their food beats all others.

Hungarian food is delicious. Ok, perhaps I'm a little biased, but the harmony if flavors that can be found in Hungarian dishes is truly remarkable.

There are two dishes from Hungary that everyone is familar with. Though frequently mispronounced, Gulyas (goulash in the US) is a beef stew that is true comfort food. Another dish that a lot of people are familiar with, thanks to the movie When Harry Met Sally, is Chicken Paprikash, a simple chicken and noodle dish that is very tasty.

At the heart of Hungarian cooking you find a very special spice, Paprika. Paprika literally means "pepper" in Hungarian, as the spice is made from the ground up meat and seeds of very special Hungarian pepper. Grown in the South of Hungary, the two most famous paprikas come from the regions of Szeged and Kalocsa. Once picked and dried, it is magically turned into paprika in two varieties, sweet (mild) and hot.

A lot of Hungarian dishes start out the same way, you sautee onions in oil or butter, add paprika and go from there. Dishes that start out this way are hearty and easy to cook. Not necesseraly the healthiest of all foods, Hungarians love to douse their dishes in sour cream, perhaps to stifle the spicy paprika flavor.

Most dishes are served with potatoes, rice or small noodles that are known here as spatzle. Hungarians mainly eat chicken and pork dishes, beef is rarely consumed and is not of good quality. Pickled accompaniments are common, peppers stuffed with cabbage, pickled beets and small gherkins are delicious. Crusty bread is great with dishes that have sauce.

The main meal in Hungary, and most of Europe, is lunch. It is usually a 3-course meal, even during weekdays. Every lunch begins with soup, sometimes lighter broth, sometimes heavier bean soup, or even a chilled sour-cherry soup in the summer. Soup is followed by the main dish, such as pork cutlets with potatoes, chicken paprikash with spatzle, or a selection of sausages with fried potatoes and red cabbage! Doesn't that sound delicious?

A third course is dessert. Hungarians are famous for their delicious desserts, such as a decadent Sacher torte, or a layered cake with a hard sugar top, called Dobos. Coffee houses and bakeries are abundant and always full of Hungarians enjoying an espresso and a slice of delicious dessert.

A lot of socializing in Hungary involve eating and it is considered polite to at least try what is offered. Memories are created around the dinner table and many Hungarian parties start and end in the kitchen. If you have a chance, be sure to sample some Hungarian food, you will be glad you did!

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