I Went on Vacation in America and All I Got Was this Fake Hungarian Salami
Sorry for the lapse in posting, but your dear editor (that would be me) was away for a few weeks visiting the United States. As usual, my visit to America involved numerous trips to local food shops, to partake in some of the specialties that are still not available here in Hungary. Oddly, one was a "Hungarian" salami made by a meat processing company in Rhode Island owned and run by a family of Croatian-Americans. Go figure!
My unwitting early return to Hungary happened in a gourmet shop, where the staff had put out some cheeses and meats as part of a promotion. After taking a slice of sausage, I suddenly though, hey, this tastes kind of familiar. The "Hungarian Salame" (note the spelling) pictured above and left is made by Daniele Foods and costs around $10 (currently around Ft 2,200) for an eight-ounce sausage, or just under Ft 10,000 per kilogram, compared to around Ft 4,000 for your average kilo of Pick téliszalámi, which would be the standard I might judge it against.
Aside from the curious use of the Italian word salame, the "Hungarian" salami/szalámi made by the Dukcevich family was much more lightly smoked, less dry, a bit sweeter and significantly "meatier" than the average téliszalámi. I wouldn't say it was better than the "real thing," but I could easily see how it would go down better with American palates.
That it tasted different from the original shouldn't be a great surprise, given that by the time the recipe got to Rhode Island, it had already passed through several countries. (According to the description on the product page for it on Amazon.com, "Daniele's Hungarian Salame is a very finely ground dry sausage with a light, hickory smoke aroma and flavor. The recipe came to Italy via Austria-a celebration of old world traditions.")
It should also not be a big surprise that more people in America don't know what genuine Hungarian téliszalámi tastes like. As my colleague Adrian Courage explained in a piece written after a similar trip to the US around this time last year, America remains a no-go zone for virtually all Hungarian sausage. Indeed, the last time I tried to bring a szalámi into America, I was stopped at customs by an inspector who told me, with a straight face, "Sir, I am afraid I am going to have to seize your sausage." Which explains why I didn't bother trying to bring some of these back to Budapest as souvenirs; the local authorities might have shipped me off to Pick to be turned into sausages.
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salame ungharese is an italian thing - has not much to do w/ pick or any other salami in hungary
It's pretty sad that real Hungarian salamis and sausages can no longer be imported to the USA.
You can get substitutes, such as "Szegedi Szalami" (imported from Canada) or "Hungarian Brand Gyulai" (from Bende and Sons in Chicago), and some others, even home-made varieties, most of them are edible and can be ordered on-line or by phone. If you're in New York, check out the Hungarian butcher shop on 81st and 2nd, it's worth the trip.
My main on-line supplier is Budapest Deli in California and now in Vegas as well. Here's the link: http://quickshipeurope.com/
I spent last summer in Italy and was constantly eating that "salame ungherese," in the hopes that it would magically be the real thing, but it never was. It's good, just not...ungherese.
also, Erik--how did you attempt smuggling your salami?? Was it in your carry-on? Next time just stick it in your suitcase, wrapped up in a smelly t-shirt or some other place the inspectors won't want to look. My friend smuggled home an entire suitcase of Czech booze that way...
i know some other place where erik would like to stick the salami in
Otto's Hungarian import the only one who sells the real Pick salami.
http://www.hungariandeli.com/
Good luck.
Yeah, now in talking to some others I understand that this is a common Italian thing, which mostly means that the fat in the salame is more finely ground than usual. Still - weird to see it in America, especially via the Croats! As for how I as transporting the salami that got seized, I don't remember, which probaby means it wasn't where Anonymous thinks I was hiding it. :)
mariska. it's a 'no go' with sausage/salami in your checked luggage. last year i had my bags delayed 3-4 days and when they finally arrived all of the salami and sausage were gone and the tubes of piros arany paprika paste had been stabbed through allowing it to smear my clothes. i could have done violent acts to the responsible folk if they were pointed out.
csaba. is that much like the italian pepperoni available in the u.s. that nobody in italy ever heard of? :)
Edibles are not just a no-go in the checked luggage at the airport. Some friends were snagged when they (foolishly) declared their paprika while crossing the Canadian border.
I don't believe there are any rules about packing a nice BIG lunch for yourself when traveling, so I've always managed things that way. Not enough to feed the masses that are craving decent Hungarian food in my neck of the woods, but it's enough to keep me happy for a few meals!
My favorite North American source: Fairmount Meats in Montreal. Not enough parking, though. Take a bus or taxi to save yourself a headache.
read this you can now buy it again in the US. And only the pick one is good teli is not as good
http://woolypigs.blogspot.com/2009/03/pick-salami-available-in-usa-again.html