HUNGARIANS
The Hungarians come to us from various walks of life, and with different standards of living, and include in about equal proportions the peasant type and the city dwellers.
The peasants come from the fields in the country towns where opportunities for education are lacking. From them we get our unskilled Hungarian workmen, who, in this country, are generally found in our mill cities, working the factories.
At home, in the fields, they are served a lunch at four o'clock, consisting of bread, bacon or bologna, and curdled or sour milk. Here, they change from an outdoor occupation to one in the mill or factory, and there is no mid-afternoon lunch.
The city dwellers have had educational advantages, and there are many in this country who have had a college education. Some have left Hungary in order to have religious freedom in America.
Some of these city dwellers have been artisans in the homeland, and in this country are among the best workers in metal factories.
The ordinary factory noon time in Hungary is one and a half hours, and the worker tries to live near enough to go home for dinner. Otherwise he must go to restaurants. Sometimes his wife or child carries his dinner, but dinner pails generally are unknown.
Liquor is always taken in the home at meals, and often the wines served are home-made.
Rye bread or rolls is the usual bread served. Cereals are not as generally used as they are by many other nationalities. Wheat is the principal one. Besides using it in bread, they make various noodles, and serve them in different ways.
Underweight children should be taught to eat cereals, and dill pickles should not be included in their diet.
The nephritis patient must have a number of changes made in his diet, as ordinarily it contains a large amount of spice and many pickles. The diabetic can be fed very comfortably if the income is sufficient to buy vegetables. It is the custom to serve them dressed with melted butter, and with bread crumbs placed on top.
The following week's menus, arranged and served by a Hungarian housewife, give a good idea of the kinds of foods and the combinations used by the different types of Hungarians in their own country. These do not change very much here if the income is sufficient to purchase them.
Breakfast
Field Worker
- Whisky (sometimes red pepper in whisky)
- Sliced -smoked bacon (raw)
- Onion sometimes (raw)
- Bread (rye) (children pour whisky on bread like gravy)
- (Breakfast the same every day)
Monday Lunch
- Whisky
- Cherry soup (summer) or
- Dried bean soup (winter)
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Monday Supper
- Whisky
- Bacon (raw) and onions (raw)
- Noodles with cheese Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Tuesday Lunch
- Whisky
- Beef soup, noodles
- Meat with potato
- Cucumber salad with cream
- Cheese strudel
- Bread (rye)
Tuesday Supper
- Whisky
- Chicken paprakas with noodles
- Lettuce
- Bread (rye)
Wednesday Lunch
- Whisky
- No meat
- Creamed potato soup
- Noodles with jelly
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Wednesday Supper
- Whisky
- Clotted sour milk (cold) with rye bread
- Fruit
Thursday Lunch
- Whisky
- Beef soup
- Rolled cabbage with meat
- Bread (rye)
- Lettuce and sliced beets
Thursday Supper
- Whisky
- Left overs
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Friday Lunch
- Whisky
- No meat
- String bean soup (cream)
- Cheese strudel
- Bread (rye)
Friday Supper
- Whisky
- Bacon with rye bread (men)
- Milk with rye bread (women)
- Fruit
Saturday Lunch
- Whisky
- Soup (cream) with eggs
- Lentils with sliced ham
- Bread (rye)
Sunday Dinner
- Whisky
- Beef soup, noodles
- Chicken paprakas, mashed potatoes
- Sauerkraut with meat
- Bread (rye)
- Cucumber salad
- Fruit
Saturday Supper
- Whisky
- Left overs
- Bread (rye)
Sunday Supper
- Whisky
- Fried meat from soup
- Mashed potato
- Bread (rye)
- Doughnuts with jelly inside
- Fruit
- Wine
Breakfast
Workingman, City
Except at breakfast, wine or beer is used at all meals
Coffee with milk
Rolls (white)
(Breakfast the same every day)
Monday Lunch
- Broth
- Boiled meat with potatoes
- Bread (rye)
- Dill pickles
- Fruit
Monday Supper
- Kidneys with brains
- Lettuce
- Bread (rye)
Tuesday Lunch
- Tomato soup
- Veal stew with potatoes
- Bread (rye)
- Dill pickles
Tuesday Supper
- Cold boiled ham
- Onion salad
- Bread (rye)
Wednesday Lunch
- Goulash soup
- Meat pie made with ham and noodles
- Bread (rye)
- Dill pickles
Wednesday Supper
- Fried pork
- Mashed potatoes with fried onions
- Bread (rye)
Thursday Lunch
- Vegetable soup
- Squash with beefsteak
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Thursday Supper
- Left overs
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Friday Lunch
- Fish soup
- Pot cheese with noodles and cream
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
Friday Supper
- Left overs
- Bread (rye)
Saturday Lunch
- Cream soup with eggs
- Lentils with roast pork
- Bread (rye)
Saturday Supper
- Egg omelet
- Butter, radishes
- Bread (rye)
Sunday Dinner
- Chicken soup
- Stuffed roast chicken
- Onions, parsley
- Red pepper or saffron
- Cucumbers, lettuce salad with cream
- Bread (rye)
- Apple or cheese strudel
- Fruit
Sunday Afternoon
- Ice cream or iced coffee
Sunday Supper
- Left overs
- Rye bread
Women and children—Coffee with bread and butter or left over cake, 4 o'clock. Lots of fruit and melons.
Breakfast
Well-to-do Family
- Coffee with milk
- Bread and butter (white)
- Cheese (sliced)
- Fruits
- White bread with coffee but rye with meals
Monday Lunch
- Broth with noodles
- Boiled meat with potatoes and grated noodles
- Bread (rye), dill pickles
- Peach pudding, fruit
- Wine
Monday Supper
- Kidneys with brains
- Fried potatoes
- Salad—lettuce with cream and a little vinegar
- Bread (rye)
- Wine
Tuesday Lunch
- Tomato soup
- Green peas with breaded veal cutlets
- Cold slaw
- Bread (rye)
- Apple preserve
- Wine, mineral water
Tuesday Supper
- Sweet or sour beef lungs prepared with rolled dumplings (appetizer)
- Cucumbers
- Bread (rye)
- Wine
Wednesday Lunch
- Goulash (soup)
- Pickled beets
- Bread (rye)
- Pastry with chopped walnuts (sauce with milk)
- Fruit
- Wine
Wednesday Supper
- Pot roast
- Fried potatoes
- Dill pickles
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
- Wine
Thursday Lunch
- Marrow bone soup with rice and vegetables
- Squash with fried pork, horse radish
- Bread (rye)
- Pastry (like cinnamon bun), fruit
- Wine or beer
Thursday Supper
- Left over (heated) squash and meat
- Cucumber salad
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
- Wine
Friday Lunch
- Fish soup
- Pot cheese with noodles with cream
- Peppers stuffed with cabbage
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
- Wine
Friday Supper
- Egg omelet
- Mashed potato with butter
- Lettuce with cream
- Bread (rye)
- Fruit
- Wine
Saturday Lunch
- Caraway seed soup with dropped eggs
- Veal with cream gravy with rice
- Bread (rye)
- String bean salad
- Poppy seed pudding with wine sauce
- Wine
Saturday Supper
- Scrambled eggs, chopped ham
- Radishes
- Rye bread—butter
- Fruit
- Wine
Sunday Dinner
- Duck soup
- Roast duck with cucumber salad
- French fried potatoes
- Bread (rye)
- Cherry strudel
- Ice cream
- Fruit
- Wine
Sunday Supper
- Cold meat with lettuce salad
- Swiss cheese
- Bread (rye)
- Wine or beer
Every afternoon at 4 o'clock coffee with sweet bread of some kind.
RECIPES
Hungarian Potatoes
- 1 quart cooked potatoes cut in large pieces
- 3 tablespoons fat
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 cups tomato
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Brown the onion in the fat and add to he potatoes. Add all the ingredients except the parsley; put into a greased casserole and bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve at once.
Paprikos
- ½ pound raw fish
- 2 cups potatoes, diced
- 2 tablespns. chopped onion
- 1½ cups water
- 2 teaspns. chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Brown the onion in the oil; add potatoes and brown. Add the fish, boned and cut into small bits. Mix well; add parsley and other seasonings with the water and cook twenty minutes. Serve with a garnish of sliced lemon.
Cesirke Paprikos (Chicken Fricassee)
Chop one onion and fry in lard till yellowed. Add enough paprika to give it a pinkish color. Cut up a chicken in serving pieces and fry in the same pan till golden brown. Add one or two cups of water with two tablespoons chopped parsley, and let simmer till chicken is tender. Salt to taste. Serve on a platter with galuska sprinkled with chopped parsley around the edge and pour hot sour cream over the chicken.
Galuska
Beat one egg, add one-quarter cup water, one-eighth teaspoon salt, and flour to make a stiff drop batter. Drop from a spoon into boiling water and cook about ten minutes.
Maj Galuska (Liver Balls)
Chop one-half pound liver and add one egg yolk. Season with pepper and salt, adding enough flour or farina to hold the mixture together. Mix thoroughly. Drop from a spoon into gently boiling dear soup or salted water and cook about ten minutes. Serve two or three balls in each plate of soup. The balls should be small and of uniform size.
Goulash
- ½ pound beef
- ½ pound veal
- ½ pound pork
- 2 pork kidneys
- 3 tablespoons fat
- 1 green pepper
- 1 large onion
- 1 tablespn. chopped parsley
- 1 cup tomato
- Salt
- Water
- Potatoes
Chop the onion and brown slightly in the hot fat. Add the beef, veal, pork, cut in dice, the kidneys cut in thin strips about an inch long. Turn and mix with the onion and fat. Add the pepper, cut in pieces, parsley, and tomato. Let simmer till meat is entirely tender, adding water to keep the mixture covered. Season to taste, then add a layer of diced potatoes, and more water if necessary. Let simmer till potatoes are done, but do not stir.