http://www.chew.hu/ en-us zoltan@bolted.net 2010-09-01T12:56:32+01:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.chew.hu/hungarys_wine_producers_now_ho.html According to wine producers, this year there will see about 30% fewer grapes collected in the Tokaj region, and the harvest will be pushed back to the second half of September due to the bad summer weather, which appears to be even worse than originally forecasted. There should not, however, be any concerns over shortages because there is still plenty of wine from last year, although wine exports are likely to dip as a consequence. 20884@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-09-01T12:56:32+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/cucumber_season_special.html Like most of Hungary, over the past weeks we've succumbed to the traditional torpor of uborkaszezon ("cucumber season"), that time of summer when so little happens that the media is obliged to publish stories about the size and character of the annual cucumber harvest. Unfortunately, we've been so damn busy doing nothing we actually managed to miss the two big cucumber stories of the season, namely that a shipment of more than 1,000 kilograms of cucumbers delivered to Hungarian supermarket chain CBA in early July was found to contain almost 20 times the allowed level of pesticides, and, more shockingly, that a 35-year old woman from Esztergom found the "penis cucumber" pictured above while shopping, and didn't have the heart to cut it up because it "reminded her of her husband too much." Which is almost a shame, because there are so many good things to do with cucumbers here in Hungary, as the following uborka-centric recipes we've just grabbed onto demonstrate. Enjoy, and see you sometime in the next week or so. Related Recipes Sajtos-Uborkás Fasírt (Meatball with Cheese and Cucumbers) Uborkaleves (Cucumber Soup) Uborkás Burgonyafőzelék (Potato Stew with Cucumber) Uborkás Tojássaláta (Egg Salad with Cucumber) 20724@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-08-27T12:12:44+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/balkan_food_fight_montenegroi.html Having just returned from Sarajevo, which has more csevap houses per capita than New York has hotdog carts, I feel pretty qualified to assess Budapest’s latest attempt to clone the Balkan sausages that onetime (and hopefully future) Chew contributor Bob Cohen calls the "cheeseburger of the Gods." I have made heady claims regarding great csevap before, as when reviewing Burek Király, only to find the Chew readership more purist and critical than myself when it comes to their grilled meat. In the case of District VII's Montenegrói Gurman - I will once again make a reckless proclamation, and hope for feedback: here is where the best csevap and pljeskavica in Budapest can be found. 20831@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-08-27T12:10:16+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/chamber_of_agriculture_respond.html Hungary's Chamber of Agriculture has announced that both Hungarian and EU inspections have found Hungarian fruits and vegetables to be free of pesticides. This follows earlier publication of a "Pesticide Action Network Europe" (PAN) report by the Levegő Munkacsoport ("clean air working group") which claimed that only 21% of the country's fruits and veggies are pesticide-free, hvg.hu reports. 20766@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-08-26T12:15:05+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/hungarian_consumers_still_find.html While one out of three Europeans buy organic products, only one out of eight Hungarians do, citing their cost when compared to other products, napi.hu reported a Nielsen market survey as discovering. 84% of Hungarians consider organic products more healthy, 48% believe they are better for the environment, and 44% believe they help local producers. This second set of numbers was much more aligned with European averages. While European consumers on the whole agreed that organic products frequently cost too much, they were more likely to buy them nonetheless, although what should also be considered is that while only 12% of European shoppers go to stores without organic products, the same figure in Hungary is 25%. Looks like things aren't changing all that fast. 20765@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-08-24T12:08:26+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/visegradi_and_auchan_cry_foul.html The last few weeks have not gone well for Visegrádi mineral water following a report in consumer magazine Interpress that the water contains high amounts of fluoride, which would make it dangerous to children under the age of seven, origo.hu reports. Retailers then proceeded to remove the bottles from their shelves, while Visegrádi maintained that the fluoride levels in their bottled water are at the borderline, and thus do not need to carry a warning level. Visegrádi is not alone, however, as an MTI report via Népszava stated that Interpress found that French hypermarket chain Auchan's store-brand bottled water contained double the recommended amount of arsenic. 20738@http://www.chew.hu/ drink 2010-08-23T12:12:59+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/our_glasses_are_raised_as_buda.html While Hungarian wines continue to reestablish themselves, Hungary has never really been known as a beer brewer's paradise, and with practically all of the Hungarian beer market owned by multinationals, it doesn't exactly look promising. For this reason we were especially pleased to receive a tip from Evan Rail about plans for a Craft Beer Festival to be held in Budapest next month. After getting in touch with Dániel Bart, one of the organizers, who is also behind beer blog Folyékony Kenyér, we found out that the aim of the festival is to counter the misconception in Hungary that small brewers make substandard beer while also highlighting that yes, Hungary does produce some tasty brews, you're just unlikely to find them on tap at your local kocsma. 20737@http://www.chew.hu/ drink 2010-08-18T13:14:06+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/harcsapaprikas.html Harcsapaprikás is a type of pörkölt made from catfish and thickened with sour cream. Catfish are one of the most common fish living in Lake Balaton, so this dish is often served at restaurants around the lake. For a truly filling meal, serve it with túrós csusza. The following recipe was originially published in Hungarian on nlcafe.hu. Ingredients: 700 grams catfish filets 80 grams onions 70 grams lard 100 grams peppers 100 grams tomatoes 200 mililiter sour cream 20 grams flour 10 grams powdered paprika 1 bunch of dill Salt Garlic Caraway seeds 20707@http://www.chew.hu/ recipes 2010-08-16T11:21:38+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/maglyarakas_1.html This recipe for máglyarakás was originally published in Hungarian on desszert.eu. It serves 12 people. Ingredients: 250 grams kalács 200 grams apricot jam For the milky part: 500 milliliters milk Grated skin of 1 lemon Grated skin of 1 orange Vanilla essence For the egg yolk part: 5 egg yolks 70 grams sugar For the steamed apple: 700 grams apples 30 grams sugar Juice of 1 lemon Juice of 1 orange 1 knife-tip ground cinnamon For the foam: 70 grams sugar 5 egg whites 20706@http://www.chew.hu/ recipes 2010-08-16T11:17:44+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/as_if_the_crazy_weather_wasnt.html Due to the erratic weather over the previous months, this year’s wine production is predicted to be 15 to 20 percent lower than usual, stop.hu reports. The start of the grape harvest season will also be delayed into the second half of August, and may take longer than usual. Hungary has over 70,000 hectares of vineyards and annually produces 350 million liters of wine, although experts predict that only 300 million liters will be produced this year. Bummer. 20577@http://www.chew.hu/ drink 2010-08-04T15:23:48+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/meggyleves.html Meggyleves is one of the most popular types of fruit soup among Hungarians. It is always eaten cold as starter before lunch, most often on hot summer days. The following is a translation of a recipe originally published in Hungarian on finomreceptek.hu. Ingredients: 2 liters water 300 grams sour cherries 4 tablespoons sugar 1 packet vanilla sugar Pinch of salt 2 slapped tablespoon flour 100 milliliters sour cream 2-3 cloves 20557@http://www.chew.hu/ recipes 2010-08-03T11:27:23+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/turotorta_1.html This recipe for túrótorta was translated from Hungarian and originally submitted to tutireceptek.hu by t.panti. The recipe specifies canned peaches, but this cake can be made with any canned or fresh fruit. Ingredients: Round piskóta base made from 3 eggs For the cream: 3 eggs 250 grams baking margarine 250 grams powdered sugar 500 grams túró Juice of half a lemon 2 packets vanilla sugar Gelatin 1 can of peaches 1 orange or any other fruit for decorating 1 packet fruit gelatin 20556@http://www.chew.hu/ recipes 2010-08-03T11:23:18+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/budapest_castle_district_hills.html In addition to the annual wine festival in the Buda castle district, they might soon be able to launch a vine festival, according to a story in tabloid Blikk. The city plans on planting vines on a 0.7 hectare slope on the western side of the district soon (current and future appearance to the left), with Ft 14 million (€49,000) set aside for maintenance over the next four years. Although traditionally Kadarka was grown in the region, Kékfrankos will be grown as it is not as sensitive to what are probably all the pollutants in the local air, Iván András Bojár, a member of the Budapest council told the tabloid. According to the plans, the vineyard will even be open to the public, which given how other open areas have fared, might not be the best idea. 20504@http://www.chew.hu/ drink 2010-07-29T13:14:33+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/nobu_nobu_nobu.html Writing about new restaurants is in some ways quite like writing about new movies. For one thing, the activity under scrutiny usually lasts a couple of hours, and is sometimes way overrated. It's also similar because the business behind the movie or restaurant is often as interesting as the movie or restaurant itself, especially when either involves big financial risks. This certainly seems to be the case with Nobu Budapest, and not just because the person taking much of the financial risk is a film producer. In case you missed the first part of the saga, in May of last year word came that the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest had signed a deal to host an outlet of the international super-luxury Japanese restaurant Nobu. After that came a long period of official silence, during which most observers probably just assumed the whole project had, for rather obvious reasons (the economy), been put on ice. Fast-forward to last week and a conference room on the first floor of the hotel, where it was announced to great fanfare that the restaurant would be opening in September of this year. (There will be a "soft opening" on or around September 1, and then a proper gala opening featuring Nobu's most famous investor, Robert DeNiro.) And when I say "great fanfare" I am not kidding. There must have been 200 journalists jostling for position in the room as Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa sat down for the press conference, flanked on one side by District V mayor Antal Rogán and Hungarian-American film producer Andy Vajna, who is apparently the lead investor and driving force behind the deal. It was actually reminiscent of the scenes in old Japanese monster movies in which the scientists tell the assembled media that the monster is headed towards Tokyo. (Or, since the journalists kept applauding the panelists and didn't ask a single question, reminiscent of the scenes when the scientists triumphantly announce that the monster has been defeated and is headed back into the Sea of Japan.) 20426@http://www.chew.hu/ 2010-07-27T17:09:17+01:00 http://www.chew.hu/new_york_times_makes_quality_t.html Several readers have sent us links to this big travel feature in the New York Times about excursions in Hungary's Tokaj wine region. And for good reason - it's sweet! Check it out. 20475@http://www.chew.hu/ drink 2010-07-27T17:03:17+01:00