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Szamos Marzipan Museum and Confectionery
(Marcipán Múzeum Cukrászda)

Some times you just have to ignore the parental dictate to not play with your food. Or maybe there's an exception to the rule when it comes to marzipan. Especially since some compare this confection to eating a sweet play dough. Regardless, not far from Budapest in nearby Szentendre there's a museum that celebrates what can be done when you play with this food.

Marzipan consists primarily of sugar and ground bitter almonds, though occasionally it is flavored with rosewater. It may be best known as the overly sweet part of some wedding cakes. But flowers and such on a cake is nothing compared to what's been created by two master Hungarian confectioners, Mátyás Szamos and Károly Szabó. Surrounded by "pictures" of Hungary's kings and queens, is a 160cm tall model of the Parliament building. Elsewhere you'll find international famous personalities (one's even life-size!) and cartoon figures, dinosaurs and other animals, a fairy tale carriage, a pirate ship, and more. Everything is sculpted entirely from marzipan and some pieces took 200 hours to create.

Which may mean you will be longing for a taste after your tour is finished, so it may be a good thing that the entrance/exit to the museum is through a marzipan shop. And if you've got a sweet tooth you can easily spend more in the shop than you do for the admission to the museum since it's fairly cheap.

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Cotton candy at carnivals. Hot dogs at a ball game. Popcorn at the movies. Some things are just traditional and because you love them so much you don't mind paying a bit more than seems logical. Kürtőskalács at Hungarian festivals fall into that category. Fortunately for us, there are a few spots here in the city that sell them at a less-inflated, more everyday price. If you've ever had one of these slow-roasted pastries you know exactly why it's a temptation to indulge a little too often. And if you're one of the unfortunate ones, let us tell you what you're missing.

So imagine if you can a long strip of a light yeast dough wrapped around a wooden tapered roll, brushed with butter and sugar, placed over heated coals, and then toasted until the sugar is carmelized. Perfection! But it gets better. While still warm, you can have additional toppings added ... like coca, cinnamon, pecans, coconut, or vanilla. Oh sooo good.

Originally from Transylvania, Kürtőskalács (chimney cake) is famous as Hungary's oldest pastry. It is such a delicious treat that it was used for special occasions like weddings and christenings. The size and shape of these cakes connect them to the legend that they were actually baked around the chimney pipe. Thankfully we don't need a special occasion or even need to wait for a festival. We can simply hop off a tram at Petöfi Hid and pick up a morning treat at the Kürtőskalács stand there to go with our coffees.

Here's a link to a recipe if you want to try it yourself, as for us we're leaving it to the professionals. Kürtőskalács Recipe

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When a Hungarian once told me that the best sausage comes from Hungary, I thought it was just national pride talking. After all, I had tasted some fabulous sausages and they hadn't been Hungarian. Now I know better.

Kolbász is the Hungarian word for sausage and is generally made of ground pork, salt, garlic, pepper, and paprika. (Don't confuse it with kielbasa, the Polish sausage as it lacks that most excellent ingredient: paprika). Of course the ingredients may vary a bit depending upon each manufacturer's "trade secret blend." The friss (fresh, i.e. unsmoked) kolbász is delicious when cooked with sauerkraut and served with mashed potatoes. Personally I lean more towards the smoked kolbász because of its spiciness and how great it tastes during an outdoor adventure.

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The best known and most popular version of this type is Csabai. It is typically spicy, and tastes of paprika. Csabai kolbász is distinct not because of the place it is made (Békéscsaba), but rather the way it has been made, its ingredients, and the use of spices. In 100kg of the finished sausage, there's 1200-1800g of spices (including sweet and spicy paprika) that have matured in flavor during the smoking process. The dominant flavors of the medium-degree spicy Gyulai kolbász are aromatic Hungarian red paprika, pepper, garlic and caraway, complemented by the savory effects of traditional smoking. A combination that won it the gold dipoloma at the World Exhibition of Food in Brussels and has helped it maintain its popularity to the present day.

And of course, there's the famous, and exportable, Pick Szeged brand. It has been around since 1869 and notes that the cool air of the Tisza River ensures the best climate for producing their award-winning salami and kolbász.

I am still taste-testing my way through all the different options and levels of spice. But the majority of butchers I asked about their favorites said the Temesvari (made in Domaszek) because it is usually more spicy. So that's next on my list--and it's a long list thanks to the numerous varieties, brands, and smokiness vs. spiciness combinations. And there's the numerous ways to enjoy it ... in a snack size while out on the trail; sliced and served with bread or cheese at a party; on top of a magyaros pizza; or cooked in a family dinner of potatoes, green peppers, and cheese, ... Oh, so many wonderful options!

And while in Hungary you can pick up kolbasz at your local market, I'd hit the Central Market first just to see how many great options you have to choose from.

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It has been said that Hungarian cuisine is like traditional German food, but with the addition of hot peppers. My favorite example of this is the delicious Hungarian pepper stuffed with sauerkraut (hordos kaposzta). There are many pepper options to choose from, but the most commonly stuffed, and the best tasting in my opinion, is the apple pepper (almapaprika). It is a rather hot and spicy side dish that complements well chicken paprikás (paprikás csirke) or paprika potatoes (paprikáskrumpli).

You can find Hungarian Pepper Kraut at almost any of the major grocery stores, farmers markets, and even booths by the side of the road. One of the best places to pick some up, however, is the basement of the Central Market. There are a number of local vendors there selling stuffed peppers in all shapes, sizes, colors, and heat levels. Just ask for "káposztával töltött almapaprika." If you like it extra hot add "nagyon csípõs" and they should hand you a jar with the red apple pepper.

If your in Hungary and want to buy Hungarian pepper kraut try:
Central Market Hall - Budapest

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As we rode the tram from the train station up to the stadium in Debrecen we could easily see that in this town the celebration of St. Istvan's Day (Szent István napja) is no small event. In fact, it's a week-long festival full of concerts featuring Hungarian and foreign artistic groups, dance companies, majorette groups, and other events that all culminated with the big parade and fireworks on August 20th. And of course, as this is the Flower Festival (Debreceni Virágkarnevál) there's dozens of creations and displays of flowers. The parade floats were so creative and detailed that only by standing next to them could you see the flowers. It's said that some floats use as many as three million of them!

Most of the events were free, but a small admission got you into the stadium to see the floats up close and to watch the Folk Dance Show. We particularly enjoyed the group from Sopron and the whirling dervish. Outside the stadium, the carnival feel prevailed and there were plenty of chances to spend money on food (of the not so healthy variety), trinkets, and other flea market stuff. There were more booths scattered downtown, especially clustered near the main square in front of City Hall where a number of the events took place.

Clearly Debrecen knows how to celebrate, then again this festival, which also commemorates the wheat harvest, has been around for over 100 years. It was pleasant to get away from the tourist crowds in the capital and experience how a provincial city honors such important day in Hungarian culture.