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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Hungary
Wine mixed with sparkling water (szóda), in proportions that have their own names, such as kisfröccs, hosszúlépés and házmester. White, rosé or red, it is the summer drink of Hungary’s bars, cellars and terraces.
Traditional drink from Hungary
Also known as: spricc
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Fröccs — Hungary
Fröccs is wine mixed with sparkling water, the Hungarian szóda, served from a siphon. The mixture is so common that each proportion has a name. The hosszúlépés ("long step") uses 1 deciliter of wine to 2 of water; the házmester ("caretaker"), 3 parts wine to 2 parts water; the sportfröccs, 1 part wine to 4 parts water; the háziúr ("landlord"), 4 parts wine to 1 part water. The kisfröccs uses 1 deciliter of wine to 1 deciliter of water; the nagyfröccs, 2 parts wine to 1 part water.
In Hungary, the development of sparkling water production, the szikvíz, is linked to the Benedictine monk and scientist Ányos Jedlik and his carbonation experiments of 1826; the first factory opened in Pest-Buda in 1841 based on his plans. According to the most told anecdote, Jedlik mixed the sparkling water with wine at a gathering of friends, and the poet Mihály Vörösmarty, present, wrote verses about the drink. Official notes recall that, in the 19th century, wine with sparkling water was already common in restaurants, inns and confectioneries.
White wine is the most used, especially olaszrizling, but there are rosé and red fröccs too, such as kékfrankos. The drink is served very cold and, because it is diluted, suits long summer afternoons. There are more than fifty recorded combinations, and new ones keep appearing.
Fröccs entered the Collection of Hungarikumok in 2015. Szikvíz is also a Hungarikum, since 2013.
Hungary
A beverage served across the country, linked to the sparkling water developed in Hungary and to wines from all regions.
White, rosé or red wine and sparkling water (szóda) served from a siphon, in variable proportions.
Very cold, in a glass, ordered by the name of the proportion. Accompanies conversations on terraces, in cellars and at summer parties.
A summer drink for outdoor afternoons and wine festivals.
Your questions
Wine mixed with sparkling water, in proportions that have their own names. It is one of Hungary’s most common summer drinks.
A fröccs with 1 deciliter of wine to 2 of sparkling water, lighter and more refreshing.
The Benedictine monk and scientist Ányos Jedlik conducted carbonation experiments in 1826; the first factory in Pest-Buda opened in 1841 based on his plans.
Flavors of Hungary
Beef soup with plenty of broth, onion, paprika, diced potato and csipetke, a pinched noodle that cooks in the pot. It is made without thickening with flour. The name comes from the gulyás, the herdsmen of the Great Plain.
Sweet yeast dough rolled into a strip on a wooden spindle, baked while turned over embers and coated with caramelized sugar. It comes off the spindle in the shape of a hollow cylinder. It originated in the Land of the Székely in Transylvania and is sold at fairs and Christmas markets throughout Hungary.
Yeast dough hand-opened and fried until golden, crunchy on the outside and soft inside. The classic topping is sour cream, grated cheese and, if you like, garlic. A street food found at fairs, markets and beaches across the country.
Fruit brandy distilled in Hungary from plum, apricot, pear, apple, cherry and many others. By law the fruit must be grown in Hungary, and all stages from fermentation to bottling must take place in the country. It is a protected geographical indication of the European Union.
Christmas bonbon, usually a fondant candy covered in chocolate, wrapped in shiny colored foil and hung on the branches of the Christmas tree. The most common fillings are fruit jelly, marzipan, coconut and caramel.
Baja fish soup from the banks of the Danube, made with carp, onion and ground paprika cooked together in a cauldron, without straining the broth. It’s served over a thin noodle, gyufatészta, with the fish on the side and hot pepper.
Layered sponge cake with thin layers of sponge alternated with chocolate buttercream and topped with a sheet of caramel. It was created by pastry chef József C. Dobos, owner of a delicatessen in Budapest, and presented at the 1885 National General Exhibition.
Crepe folded and filled with walnuts, raisins and candied orange peel, flavored with rum and topped with chocolate sauce. It is named after the Gundel restaurant in Budapest’s City Park, which put it on the menu; the recipe is attributed to Ilona Matzner, wife of the writer Sándor Márai.
Bitter herbal liqueur, dark, produced by the Zwack family in Budapest with a secret recipe of more than 40 herbs and spices, aged in oak casks. The round bottle with a cross on the label is recognised throughout the country.
Szeged river fish soup, red from paprika, made with a thick broth of several fish, carp heads and bones, and onion, passed through a sieve. Carp pieces cook in that broth, and the soup is served with bread and hot pepper on the side.
Sweet wine from the Tokaj wine region in northeastern Hungary, made from grapes affected by noble rot and harvested berry by berry. The aszú berries are crushed and macerated in must or wine, and the wine ages in oak barrels in underground cellars.
White wine from the kéknyelű grape, grown almost exclusively in the Badacsony wine region on the northern shore of Lake Balaton. The grape’s name means “blue stem.” The wines are usually dry with marked acidity, and there are also sparkling and sweet versions.
