Best products from r/hungary

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> Famous, traditional dishes
>
> beef stew: what Hungarians call 'pörkölt', this is what's incorrectly known as 'goulash' abroad.
>
> beef and potato soup, aka. what Hungarians consider real 'goulash'.
>
> chicken paprikash: the chicken variation of the above stew, with added sour cream.
>
> The iconic side dish for Hungarian stews is egg noodle dumplings, called 'nokedli' or spaetzle in German-speaking areas. Specialty stores and shops throughout Central Europe sell spaetzle makers. A potato ricer with adjustable discs might work as well. Pick the one with the large holes and use a knife to cut them if they don't separate into small pieces on their own.
>
> If you don't have either, all you need is a teaspoon dipped in hot water, a pot and a fair amount of patience to individually spoon each noodle into the boiling salted water. They are done when they float to the top (do it in small batches).
>
> Somló trifle: a scrumptious walnut-chocolate sponge cake dessert, but very time consuming to make. Most Hungarians eat it at confectioneries because of this, but if you're a hardcore cook, prove they are wrong to do that!
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> Dobos torte: another labor intensive, but delicious and traditional cake of caramel, cocoa and walnuts.
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> Lesser-known dishes
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> catfish paprikash: another variety of the two recipes up top. Best served with dill-cottage cheese 'nokedli' (adjust the above recipe).
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> pork fillet Bakonyi-style: pork in creamy mushroom sauce
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> sirloin Temesvári-style: with yellow wax or green beans (yellow is preferable)
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> tripe stew: tastes great if you're an adventurous eater!
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> fruit soup: if you're not weirded out by tripe already, this is a sweet soup with whipping cream, fruits and cloves and it's not a dessert. Yes, we do eat and like it!
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> bean goulash: substituting the potatoes for pinto beans in the goulash recipes transforms it into a very different, but equally fantastic soup.
>
> drunkard's soup: the perfect hangover cure or something that warms you up in the winter - sauerkraut soup with root vegetables, pork and sausage.
>
> lecsó: pepper-heavy ratatouille, feel free to make it more filling with adding rice or beaten eggs. Use spicy Hungarian sausage (sub for chorizo or other air-dried, smoked, paprika-heavy sausage). Do not use bell peppers for this or any other Hungarian recipe ever, the sweetness will ruin it.
>
> főzelék, vegetable stew or pottage is also very traditional and simple, though in my experience the creamy consistency of some of the recipes can be off-putting for many foreigners (maybe don't start with the green pea one). However the spinach or lentil one will not be alien to the fans of Indian cuisine.
>
> sweet dumplings of different varieties are favorites of all children.
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> Cookbooks, recipes
>
> For a general Hungarian cookbook, use Zsuzsa's Cookbook. Written by a Hungarian grandma living in Canada, her recipes are already adjusted for what's available in North America. Her site is antiquated, click on the names of the categories, not the images. She also cooks a fair amount of non-Hungarian food, you can spot which is traditional by the Hungarian name written after the English ones.
>
> Zserbo.com's focus is lesser-known, but commonly eaten Hungarian dishes as well as regional specialties that even Hungarians can be unfamiliar with. Updates are infrequent, but there's a solid number of recipes up already.
>
> Among cookbooks this and this are solid, English-language cookbooks with both classics and everyday recipes.
>
> This one is a super and very traditional Jewish-Hungarian cookbook by a famous family of restaurateurs who also run the best traditional restaurant of the country. Also available as an e-book if you'd like to save on shipping fees.
>
> Cooking tips, ingredients
>
> Hungarian paprika is not the same as what's sold as that in North America (ground bell pepper). Ours is a much more flavorful pepper variety grown for exclusively spice use. You can order from here, they ship from Hungary and carry the real deal! Or if you'd prefer domestic shipping, this business with shops in Wisconsin and Illinois comes recommended.
>
> Most of the recipes suggest using oil to fry the onions. If you do that, make sure you're not doing it with some harsh olive oil, but sunflower, canola or something equally neutral tasting. However it's lard that really brings out the best flavours from the paprika, you should go for that. Make sure to only mix in the paprika powder when the pot is off the flame, otherwise it'll burn within 10-15 seconds and becomes bitter.
>
> Some of these recipes suggest bell pepper, which is odd as we never use it in Hungary. Use something mildly hot instead (Hungarian wax pepper or closest equivalent), it has moderate heat, so account for that and the guests' tastes as well.
>
> Celery root (celeriac) and kohlrabi are somewhat important and widely used ingredients in Hungarian soups, not sure if you have them available. Their roles are similar to bay leaf, rounding the other flavors out. They are put in whole (well, a quarter or a half to be precise depending on the size, you need maybe 150-200g sized bit each) and are removed after cooking. You can omit them if you don't have them available, but it's best to include them.

Both Zserbo.com and Zsuzsa's Cookbook have simple recipes along with averagely complicated ones, but obviously they assume typical kitchen skills. If you don't know what roux is, or how brown sauteed onions should look like, you should watch some basic tutorial videos on YouTube, there are plenty.

One commonly used thickening ingredient in Hungarian recipes (mostly for soups and 'főzelék', which is a thick vegetable stew) is roux, either in itself or with paprika mixed in it. In the latter case, only mix in the paprika once the roux is nearly done, for the last 10-20 seconds or so, otherwise the spice will burn and turn bitter. And it should be done over low flame from the beginning.

Hungarian recipes greatly prefer lard over oil for cooking, so if you have that available, use that. If you don't, do search out sunflower or rapeseed oil, don't use olive.

As far as paprika brands go, almost everything pre-packaged will be crap, and I doubt the few good ones go for exports, because they are usually from smaller companies. However do go to a gourmet/import food deli for the best chances. If you fail, unsmoked Spanish paprika (pimentón dulce) is quite close in flavor and should be easier to find.

The most basic recipe I can think of is lecsó. But since it's not much more than (ideally flavorful) veggies cooked together, you will find it almost identical to peperonata. The only difference is that we use Hungarian wax peppers instead of the too sweet bell peppers, and which you can further flavor it by adding beaten eggs and/or sausages.

The second easiest ones are any of the soups. Goulash soup is quite easy, as are others, pick any one here.

Meat stews take a while to cook, especially if you're using pork or beef instead of chicken, but the cooking process itself is simple as well. Foreigners incorrectly believe 'goulash' is a meat stew, but we actually call that 'pörkölt'.

Good luck!

You will drink. A lot. Take it in stride.

Their hospitality can be... pushy, at times. For food/drinks I always at least take a token amount if offered because otherwise they would be disappointed. You shouldn't outright refuse everything offered at someone's house you're a guest in.

Nobody there is going to expect you to learn the language unless you will be there for a long time. They know it's extremely difficult for a foreigner to learn. You should learn common phrases and words to show that you're making an effort but don't worry about being fluent. They'll be impressed, trust me.

Learn the general history of the country. It will come up in conversation if you have hungarian friends. This is a good book that sums everything up well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0691119694

They say "hallo" or "szia" for both hello and good bye. It can be confusing. They also generally do a double cheek touch/kiss when meeting even if you've never met before. I'm not sure what the contempory ettiquette is for this, so you might want to just offer a handshake and then do the kiss if they lean in.

All my relatives have fairly cynical/pessimistic outlooks on everything. Not sure how universal it is but don't take constant complaining too seriously.

Always assume you will be pickpocketed in public areas with lots of people. Don't put valuables in your back pocket or open-top purse (I don't know your sex, sorry). Don't leave things in your car visible. Don't leave things outside your apartment/house.

Not sure how universal it is, but I'm American and everyone just assumed I was rich. My relatives also had exceedingly unrealistic or weird pictures of what america is like thanks to movies and tv.

There was another thread like this that would probably be useful: http://www.reddit.com/r/hungary/comments/1fjsbw/studyingabroad_in_hungary_highschool/

And finally: just enjoy yourself. Hungary is a fantastic country.

Well, there's that Jerusalem Post overview I've linked to our friend here. That's a very brief -and surprisingly objective- overview.

I've read a couple of books in English, since I have been trying to find relatively unbiased opinions; it's not easy. For some reason Hungary is not a very prominent topic in English language historical works. Go figure.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hungary-Unwilling-John-Flournoy-Montgomery/dp/1931313571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457954311&sr=8-1&keywords=hungary+montgomery

This book is NOT unbiased, however, it's a very fascinating first hand account from the US Ambassador of the time.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Will-Survive-History-Hungary/dp/1849041121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457954225&sr=8-1&keywords=hungary+history

This one I've just finished; it's a pretty good account, however, it's not written by a historian...


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Concise-History-Hungary-Cambridge-Histories/dp/0521667364/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1457954225&sr=8-4&keywords=hungary+history

This one I like, but the English is not very easy, and it's written by a Hungarian historian.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Hungary-Millennium-Central-Europe/dp/1403903174/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1457954225&sr=8-7&keywords=hungary+history

And this is what is on my next "to buy" list.

The thing is most books I've found that dedicated to the Holocaust in Hungary are written by Hungarian authors; so these books above will only contain a chapter or two on the issue. If you find a book on this topic written by a non-Hungarian author, I'd be really interested to read it.

Try to find books from Michael Vince, his books are the best in my opinion covering elementary to advanced english:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elementary-Language-Practice-SB-Key/dp/0230726968/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540239495&sr=1-10&refinements=p_27%3AMichael+Vince

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intermediate-Language-Practice-SB-Key/dp/0230727018/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540239495&sr=1-13&refinements=p_27%3AMichael+Vince

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Advanced-Language-Practice-Student-Book/dp/0230727069/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1540239561&sr=1-18&refinements=p_27%3AMichael+Vince

best regards,

My brother-in-law is from Scotland and he used that with a great success

http://www.amazon.ca/Yourself-Hungarian-Complete-Course-Package/dp/007141892X/

Definitely go for the all metal ones as the second link shows. For stability, the best would be the clamp ones. If you're concerned about possible damage to where you'd be clamping, use a piece of wood on the top and bottom of the grinder. My mother used an old cutting board to clamp it to the side and had very heavy items on the other end to balance it whenever the old kitchen counter was too full to do some nut or poppy seed grinding. I'd pay about that amount rather than some crappy ones that won't last.

Alternatively, if you're not using too much nuts, you could go for one of those small coffee grinders if you don't need that large of a quantity and would only reserve it for nut grinding. Also, I saw this as a quick search on Amazon so with my significant other and I, this may be something inexpensive I could get to use once in a while. http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-V-GRD-Endurance%C2%AE-Vintage-Nutgrinder/dp/B00HUV6ETI/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1410109382&sr=8-10&keywords=nut+grinder+hand+crank


Oh, with your second link, that looks like a nice nokedli slider farther down.

I will probably wait for my mother to pass down her original grinder and nokedli slider to me.

I use Colloquial Hungarian and it's my go-to book for recommendations. I love it.

However, it is "The Complete Course For Beginners," so depending on how well you already speak it may or may not be the best choice for you.

I really haven't found that much media so my best practice has been simply reading the Wikipedia page on Hungary. I've already read the first paragraph and it's only been a week! I also occasionally write things in /r/hungarian or in /r/languagelearning's Babylonian Chaos.

Amazonasi erdoeges iden alig lepi at a 15 eves atlagot egy NASA jelentes szerint. Miert kezdett el az elmult par napban mindenhonnan ez a hir omleni, mig az elozo 2-3 evbol nem emlekszem ilyen merteku hir dompingre? Engem ez a kerdes majdnem annyira erdekel mint a felso.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145464/fires-in-brazil

https://twitter.com/filgmartin/status/1164521950842163200?s=21

Most nem azért a húsz fillérért amellett hogy igen viccesen néz ki, nincs ezzel semmi baj szerintem, ha megfelelő kábellel csinálja a kolléga. Itt hivatalos népek csináltak hasonlót amikor a házfalat javították, utánanéztem, hát olyan 500 dollár az ilyen hosszabbító, úgy néz kb. mint az öntözőcső. https://www.amazon.com/Parkworld-60110-Extension-Receptacle-Lighted/dp/B07GKXL66K Európában mennyivel olcsóbb, mert alacsonyabb áramerősség kell: https://azwebaruhaz.hu/emos-25m-3-fázisú-gumi-hosszabbító-(32a-max)-fekete-PM1005

Persze ha valaki ezt a kerti lámpához kitalált legjobb minőségű chinesiumból készült kábellel addja elő, az más.

>Ehhez képest a legfrissebb német statok szerint: "A statisztikák szerint a nem németek által elkövetett bűncselekmények száma 736 ezer, ami egy év alatt 22,8 százalékos csökkenést jelent."

Fura, mert az osszes forras, amit google-on talalsz, epp az ellenkezojerol beszel. Mint ahogy azok is, amiket feltettem.

Erdekes.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/25/migrant-crime-germany-rises-50-per-cent-new-figures-show/

>“This is not something to gloss over,” Thomas de Maiziere, the interior minister, said as he presented the figures. “Those who commit serious offences here forfeit their right to stay here.”

>Crimes by migrants had “increased disproportionately” even when the huge influx into Germany under Angela Merkel’s “open-door” refugee policy was taken into account, he said.

Ja igen. Valaki hazudik. Es az te vagy. Vagy a nemet belugyminiszter. Vajon melyik a kettotok kozul?

>Ehhez képest, ha nem vakítana el a düh és végigkattintanád az általad is linkelt ourworldindata oldalt a 7-ik oldalig, akkor te is látnád hogy amit írtál tényszerűen NEM IGAZ!

Masodik slide, share of violent deaths, Europe 1900-1960.

Ennyire vak vagy?

De ha kepes vagy olvasni, akkor van errol konyv is. Sok-sok statisztikaval. Nagyon vastag, es nincsenek benne szines kepek.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Better-Angels-Our-Nature-Violence/dp/0141034645

I enjoy Colloquial Hungarian

It's not my field of expertise and I haven't these books:


Financial Market Imperfections and Corporate Decisions: Lessons from the Transition Process in Hungary (Contributions to Economics)

Amazon

Download

Hungary: The Politics of Transition (Postcommunist States & Nations)

Amazon

Download

The Politics of Pact-Making: Hungary’s Negotiated Transition to Democracy in Comparative Perspective

Download


(Mods, is it ok to post download links? The rules don't seem to prohibit them)

I found Kosztolanyi's Skylark a beautiful but really sad story and Karinthy's Metropole is an interesting sci-fi with the feeling of being lost in the world in a dystopian society. In movies I like Kontroll and The Notebook. I think they are both showing a bleak existence. The Notebook is not just a movie it is also a book.

I really like this book, helped me a lot

http://www.amazon.com/Yourself-Hungarian-Complete-Course-Audiopack/dp/007141892X

Jean-Claude Juncker recently received this one a few days ago from a MEP for being ignorant.