{"id":10586,"date":"2023-02-22T15:43:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T14:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/?post_type=portfolio&p=10586"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:43:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:43:42","slug":"the-hungarian-cuisine","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/news\/the-hungarian-cuisine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hungarian cuisine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hungarian cuisine is well-known for paprika, black pepper, onion, and garlic. Although traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats and dairy products, the country offers a wide selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables throughout the year thanks to its excellent location. To discover the hidden culinary treasures of the country, let us invite you to a day of eating traditional Hungarian meals.<\/p>\n

A typical Hungarian breakfast starts with fresh white bread (popular alternatives are bread rolls called \u201czsemle\u201d, or the crescent moon-shaped \u201ckifli\u201d) top it with cold cut meats (\u201ckolb\u00e1sz\u201d or \u201cszal\u00e1mi\u201d) and adds fresh vegetables: tomatoes, onion, or pepper. Hungarians tend to like their breakfasts on the savoury side, but if you have a sweet tooth, you can also choose milk bread (\u201ckal\u00e1cs\u201d) with fresh fruits.<\/p>\n

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For lunch, which is the main meal of the day, get ready for a three-course menu: soup is usually followed by a main dish and a dessert. You may have heard of the famous Hungarian Guly\u00e1s soup that was accredited as a Hungaricum in 2017. Traditional Goulash is made from root vegetables and beef, but you can opt for a vegetarian version too. Another famous soup is fisherman’s soup (\u201chal\u00e1szl\u00e9\u201d): a velvety, paprika-infused broth with thick cuts of river fish in it. Since Hungary is rich in water resources as it has the river Tisza, river Danube and several lakes, it is easy to try particular types of local fish.<\/p>\n

As for the main dish, stews and meat cuts tend to dominate the traditional scene (such as Hungarian chicken stew, \u201crost\u00e9lyos\u201d or \u201cvadas\u201d) but vegetable stews called \u201cf\u0151zel\u00e9k\u201d are also widely served. Pasta dishes, both sweet (such as plum dumplings – \u201cszilv\u00e1s gomb\u00f3c\u201d) and savoury (such as cottage cheese – \u201ct\u00far\u00f3s t\u00e9szta\u201d) are a popular choice too.<\/p>\n

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Dinner is usually served cold, including meat cuts, fresh cheese, and dairy products (try the Hungarian cottage cheese \u201ct\u00far\u00f3\u201d, or sour cream \u201ctejf\u00f6l\u201d or the seasoned mixture of these two \u201ck\u00f6r\u00f6z\u00f6tt\u201d) with vegetables.<\/p>\n

If you feel like having a drink after a good meal, taste one of the exceptional Hungarian wines. Hungary has 22 wine regions, the most well-known among foreigners are the Tokaj, Vill\u00e1ny, Balaton Highland and Eger regions, but it is also worth visiting other regions for their special local wines. On the stronger side, two unique drinks to Hungary are Unicum (herb infusion) and P\u00e1linka (fruit brandy), often consumed as a digestive after a hearty meal.<\/p>\n

There are some more options which are not part of the main list, but we could not leave them out:<\/p>\n

Savoury must-trie<\/strong>s include \u201cl\u00e1ngos\u201d which is a plate-sized sheet of deep-fried dough, usually smothered with garlic, and sour cream and topped with grated cheese. Stuffed cabbage called \u201ct\u00f6lt\u00f6tt k\u00e1poszta\u201d is a popular dish too: large leaves of fermented cabbage, stuffed with meat and rice, cooked and then topped with sour cream; or the well-known \u201clecs\u00f3\u201d: the paprika-based vegetable stew of onions, tomatoes and peppers with variations including sausage and egg.<\/p>\n

Sweet must-tries:<\/strong> don\u2019t miss out on the Dobos cake, a chocolate buttercream-layered sponge cake, topped with crystallized caramel and covered with nuts on the edges, neither the chimney cake (\u201ck\u00fcrt\u0151s kal\u00e1cs\u201d) or the incredibly popular T\u00far\u00f3 Rudi, a dark chocolate bar filled with sweetened cottage cheese (\u201ct\u00far\u00f3\u201d), available in different flavours or with jam fillings as well. Desserts often contain different fruits or jams since Hungary has internationally famous vineyards and orchards full of apples, pears, plums and other fruits.<\/p>\n

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Special food options in Hungary: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n