by Minci Boelckey, Oct 8 2007

The foods described on the list are familiar to me as they are part of both my Hungarian and German heritage. I base my comments on my southern Hungarian (Bácska) and Bavarian background; people from other parts of Hungary or Germany may interpret things differently. 
 
The cucumber salad with sour cream, paprika, (garlic and a dash of caraway seed) is more Hungarian–the Hungarians like to use sour cream in a number of their dishes.  The dish made with any of the vegetables that you listed is known as fõzelék in Hungarian and gemüse in German.  Usually one adds potatoes to the green bean fõzelék as well as the zucchini one to give them a bit more body.  Hungarians also make a dried bean, bab fõzelék, with smoked pork hock, garlic and paprika which is a very filling dish.  Hungarians tend to add paprika and garlic to these dishes, whereas Germans will usually leave these ingredients out.  The soup with farina/semolina dumplings is also known by both ethnic groups.  The Germans (or at least the Bavarians and Austrians) call it griessnockerlsuppe.  Hungarians call them griesznokedli, which is a Magyarization of the word griessnockerl.  Many Hungarian-German words are used in the everyday language, although they are not part of the official “correct” language.  Griessnockerlsuppe is a real comfort food which I cook if anyone is not feeling well as it has magical healing properties!! 
 
It has been interesting reading the discussions of the many traditional dishes & how their names and ingredients vary depending on the prevailing ethnic influences.

Edited by Rose Mary Keller Hughes.

Last updated: 04/26/2026