Ingredient guide
What these recipes use that your usual shop may not stock: what it is, where to find it, and what you can put in its place.
borlotti beans!Dried or cooked beans with red-speckled skins, creamy and mildly nutty.1 recipeCake glazeA powdered mix of starch and gelling agent, boiled with juice or water, that sets into a clear, sliceable layer over fruit on tarts and cakes.1 recipeCarpA rich freshwater fish with firm, slightly earthy flesh, the classic Hungarian choice for fish soup and frying.1 recipeCatfishLarge freshwater fish with firm, white, slightly fatty flesh and very few bones.1 recipeceleriacThe thick, knobbly root of a type of celery, with a strong celery flavour and firm, pale flesh.6 recipesChicken liver!Liver from the chicken, tender, mild and slightly sweet, with a creamy texture when it is not overcooked.1 recipechocolate pudding powderA powder of starch, cocoa and flavouring that is boiled with milk and sugar to make chocolate pudding.1 recipeCornmealGround dried corn, fine to coarse depending on the grind, with a sweetish grain flavour.1 recipeCurd cheeseFresh cheese made from soured milk, mildly tangy; in Hungarian cooking, as túró, it is usually dry and crumbly rather than creamy.1 recipeFish roe and miltRoe is the eggs and milt the sperm sacs of the fish, in Hungarian cooking usually from carp. Both cook into tender, creamy pieces in the soup.1 recipeFresh yeastLive baker's yeast pressed into a moist, crumbly block, usually sold as a 42 g cube.3 recipesGingerbread spiceA ready-made spice blend for Christmas baking, usually cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, anise and ginger.1 recipegreen pepperThe Hungarian pepper: pale green to light yellow, thin-walled and mild with a slight bite, not the thick green bell pepper.5 recipeshot paprika powderGround dried paprika peppers with noticeable heat, similar in colour and fruitiness to sweet paprika.1 recipeHot paprika powderGround hot spice paprika as used in Hungarian cooking; in German-speaking countries it is in every supermarket, while in English-speaking countries it is often found only in larger shops, Eastern European grocers or online.1 recipeHot pointed pepperA fresh, elongated pepper, usually pale green to pale yellow, with noticeable heat that stops short of fiery.2 recipesInstant vanilla cream powderA powder for vanilla cream that is whisked with cold milk without cooking and sets quickly.1 recipeKifli (crescent roll)Hungarian crescent roll made from a plain yeast dough with a little milk and fat, soft and mild, not flaky like a croissant.1 recipekohlrabiThe swollen, bulb-like stem of a cabbage plant, pale green or purple, with a mild, slightly sweet cabbage flavour.1 recipePankoJapanese breadcrumbs made from crustless white bread, coarse and flaky, that fry up especially light and crisp.1 recipepaprika pasteA paste of ground red peppers and salt, mild and sweetish or hot depending on the kind.1 recipePaprika sausageHungarian smoked pork sausage, heavily seasoned with paprika, mild or hot depending on the type.4 recipesparsley rootThe white, tapered root of a variety of parsley grown for it, with a savoury flavour of parsley and celery and a light sweetness.7 recipesPlumsOval, firm-fleshed prune plums (Italian or damson-type) whose stone comes away easily; sold in late summer at markets and supermarkets, and also frozen.1 recipePoppy seedThe tiny, oil-rich seeds of the opium poppy, blue-grey and nutty. Hungarian cooking mostly uses them freshly ground and in large quantities.1 recipePork/goose cracklingsThe crisp, browned bits left behind when pork or goose fat is rendered, with a rich, nutty, roasted flavour.1 recipequarkFresh cheese made from soured milk; white, creamy to slightly crumbly, mildly tangy.3 recipesrice semolinaCoarsely ground rice, granular like semolina, cooking to a soft, mild porridge.1 recipesaffron or safflowerSaffron is the dried stigmas of a crocus, both aromatic and colouring. Safflower gives dried petals that mostly colour food yellow and taste of very little.1 recipesemolinaCoarsely ground wheat that swells and binds when cooked, used for dumplings, porridge and bakes.3 recipesSmoked paprikaPaprika ground from peppers smoked over a wood fire before milling, with a distinct smoky note, mild to hot.1 recipesmoked paprika sausageA smoked, cooked pork sausage, well seasoned with paprika and garlic.2 recipessmoked pork knuckleCured and smoked lower leg of pork, with rind and bone, cooked slowly to give broths smoke and body.1 recipeSour cabbage leavesWhole white cabbage leaves fermented in brine, soft and pliable, with a sharp sour and salty taste.1 recipesour cherriesSmall, dark red cherries with a distinctly tart, aromatic flavour, usually cooked or baked rather than eaten raw.1 recipestewing henAn older laying hen whose firm meat only turns tender with long simmering and gives a rich, full-bodied broth.1 recipesweet pointed pepperA pale yellow-green to whitish pepper with thin walls and a pointed shape, mild and slightly sweet, the Hungarian staple for lecsó and stuffed peppers.1 recipesweet yeast breadA sweet braided yeast bread made with milk, butter and eggs, with a soft, tender crumb.1 recipeVanilla pudding powderCornflour flavoured with vanilla and usually tinted yellow, which sets into a pudding or cream when boiled with milk and sugar.4 recipesvanilla sugarSugar flavoured with vanilla or vanillin, usually sold in small sachets.13 recipes