September 22, 2020 by Andrea Szyper
Sometimes a bowl of soup is more than a bowl of soup.
Goulash is Hungary’s national dish for some good reasons. Aside from being deeply satisfying and spectacularly red, its development speaks to the development and history of a nation.
Given its interesting history and cultural significance, here is a little context on the dish to whet your appetite.
Hungarian cowboys
Like many of our favorite dishes, goulash started as a humble peasant food, a rustic rural dish that originated with the hard working cow herders of the fertile central Hungarian plains, who spent long days out in the field working up an appetite.
In fact, the name of the dish comes from gulyás hús, which means heardsmen’s meat.
After their long days on the prairies tending cattle, herdsmen would gather around fires at night for some big pot cooking, stirring grains, onions, lard, and seasonings in a kettle over their fire. On the rare occasions when a herd member died, it was added to the pot, and a rare treat of beef stew was enjoyed.
Paprika
At some point, herders started to swap in crushed hot peppers for the black pepper they had been using. It seems that hot peppers were becoming more popular in home gardens in the nearby villages.
The pepper plant had found its way to Hungary a century earlier, when the Turks occupied these fertile lands and introduced chilis from the Americas, along with other cosmopolitan foods and spices from their global trade routes. The plants were grown ornamentally in noble gardens but “trickled down” into commoners’ gardens and kitchens.
The peppers were dried and crushed underfoot, making the original versions of the dish very spicy. Over time, developments in seed separating, smoking, pepper cultivation, and milling yielded the wide variety parika we have come to know, including smoked paprika and “noble sweet” which helped make the dish accessible to more refined diners.
Magyar Nationalism
Before this distinctly red soup became the national dish and won the hearts and minds of a hungry world, it needed to ascend Hungarian social ranks. Enter the Habsburgs!
As Hungarian society was chafing under the rule of the Habsburgs, a strong Magyar nationalist movement began in segments of the upper classes. Reawakened national pride thrived on romantic nostalgia for rural traditions, culture, and food.
With this came a renewed interest and pride in goulash that transcended classes and saw modifications to the dish. As pepper cultivation and processing took off and yielded a rich variety of nuanced flavors and levels of spice, goulash became a dish proudly served on all tables.
Its popularity transcended Hungary in the 20th century and took its place in world cuisine.
We hope you can join us on the Budapest Untour soon and sample goulash in the nation of its birth.
FAQs
Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country. Its origin may be traced back as far as the 10th century, to stews eaten by Hungarian shepherds.
What does the word "goulash" mean in Hungarian? ›
gou·lash ˈgü-ˌläsh. -ˌlash. : a stew made with meat (as beef), vegetables, and paprika. Etymology. from Hungarian gulyás, short for gulyáshús, literally, "herdsman's meat"
What is goulash slang for? ›
goulash in American English
2. a heterogeneous mixture; hodgepodge; jumble.
Why is goulash so popular in Hungary? ›
Once a lowly dish for herdsmen and peasants, goulash rose to fame thanks to the Habsburg Empire and Hungarian immigration abroad. A recipe follows the end of this article. No Hungarian food is more well-known than the goulash. What pizza is to Italy and a burger to America, the goulash is to Hungary.
What is the difference between goulash and goulash? ›
Hungarian Goulash is a thick meat and vegetable stew with a broth that's heavily seasoned with paprika, while American Goulash is a quick dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs, and elbow macaroni noodles. It also goes by the name of American Chop Suey.
Why do Americans call it goulash? ›
American goulash is usually referred to in the midwestern and southern United States as simply "goulash". As a descendant, of sorts, of Hungarian goulash, the only real connection seems to be the name, and the inclusion of beef and paprika.
What is the national food of Hungary? ›
Hungary's national dish
Gulyás, known to English speakers as goulash, is a spicy meat stew containing lots of paprika pepper. Originally, it was eaten by the country's cattle herders and stockmen.
What to drink with Hungarian goulash? ›
Rioja pairs well with traditional goulash as it's fruity, earthy, and robust. The paprika in goulash gives it a spicy and savoury punch that needs to be stood up to, and Rioja does just that! Rioja Crianza is usually the best type of Rioja to go for with goulash.
What animal is goulash? ›
The classic “kettle goulash” is prepared by frying cubes of beef or mutton with onions in lard. Garlic, caraway seeds, tomatoes, green peppers, and potatoes complete the stew. Székely gulyás, another Hungarian specialty, is a stew of pork and sauerkraut flavoured with tomatoes, onions, caraway seeds, and sour cream.
What country eats the most goulash? ›
The national dish of Hungary! Boldly flavoured with stacks of paprika, lots of onion, garlic and capsicum/bell peppers, with fall apart hunks of beef. It's sort of a stew, sort of a soup.
Soon, working-class Hungarians realized paprika could be used in traditionally bare-bones dishes like goulash (gulyás) to pack a cost-effective punch. During the culinary revelations of the last century, chefs realized the paprika's color made their food look more appetizing and added a refined taste as a side effect.
Who invented American goulash? ›
The invention of goulash began with one of the humblest groups in Hungarian society, the cowherds, according to the distinguished Hungarian ethnologist Eszter Kisbán.
Is goulash Italian or German? ›
A juicy and tender beef stew made with paprika, peppers, and a red wine sauce. Originally goulash (gulyás) is from Hungary but over the centuries this traditional stew obviously traveled into different cuisines, including German cuisine. Hungarian goulash has potatoes and sometimes carrots, but German goulash does not.
What is the difference between Czech and Hungarian goulash? ›
Czech goulash is a rich gravy full of cubes of beef stew kind meat and flavorful herbs like caraway, bay leaf, sweet paprika powder and marjoram. Compared to Hungarian goulash, often Hungarian recipes calls for vegetables, such as carrots and green or red bell pepper.
