44th National Táncház Festival & Fair • 4–6 April 2025
Issue:
Starting page: 53
Serie:
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Traditional Hungarian Foods – Kürtőskalács „(Romanian: Colac/Cozonac secuiesc; German: Baumstriezel) is made from sweet, yeast dough, of which a strip is formed and then wrapped around a truncated cone-shaped baking spit, and rolled in granulated sugar. It is roasted over charcoal while basted with melted butter until its surface cooks to a golden-brown color. During the baking process the sugar stuck on the kürtőskalács caramelizes and forms a shiny, crispy crust.” (Wikipedia). Forms of this simple roasted sweet are found in many cultures all the way back to ancient Greek times – more recently (from the 16th century) amongst the Hungarians, Germans, Lithuanian-Poles, Austrians, French, Swedish, Czechs and Slovaks – appearing under various local names. A wealth of information can be found at www.kurtos.eu. The Hungarian or more precisely Székely Transylvanian version is unique because of the caramelized sugar coating. Nowadays it is a popular street and market food. Hungarian recipes for this specialty are found from the late 1600s on. Eight recipes are provided here. By ethnographer Juhász Katalin.