Six Hungarians who changed the world of gastronomy

Hungarians are proud of their scientists and inventors, but few people know that the world owes much to Hungarians when it comes to gastronomy as well. A Hungarian scientist spread soy in the Western world, a Hungarian count naturalised grape and wine in California, and Hungarians played a major role in the emergence of top American gastronomy. Origo presents six Hungarians who have contributed greatly to the development of food and drink culture from America to South Africa.

1. Ágoston Haraszthy (1812–1869): father of the Californian wine culture

As a nobleman who was the ambassador of Bács County in the Parliament of the Reform Age, he began to travel, touring Britain and the United States. He emigrated to the United States with his family in 1840 and first settled in the state of Wisconsin, where he founded the Haraszthy Village (now known as Sauk City).

He embarked on the intensive development of the newly founded city, building roads, bridges, and mills. He started hops and sheep breeding and established the area’s first regular steamboat service. He even founded a winery, but after several years of trying, he was not satisfied with the quality of the wine produced. So, in 1848, in the hope of finding a better wine-growing area, he moved to California.

Haraszthy and his family settled in San Diego at the end of 1849, where he bought land and planted orchards. He soon took an active role in local business and politics. Named in honour of him, Haraszthy Street existed until the 1960s, when it disappeared because of the construction of a highway. He was even elected the sheriff of San Diego.

In 1857, he made a visit to the Sonoma Valley, where he immediately recognised the excellent qualities of the area. He named his vineyard and winery of 226 acres Buena Vista. Haraszthy believed it was possible to produce quality wines in this area that could compete with their most famous European counterparts. In 1861, he visited Hungary and other European wine-growing countries, returning to the United States with more than 300 grape varieties.

However, the European species were not resistant to American pathogens and pests. In 1866, the Buena Vista Winery was facing serious financial difficulties when a significant part of the vineyard was destroyed. As a result, Haraszthy resigned from running the farm, and in 1867, he went bankrupt.

Ágoston Haraszthy is most respected for laying down the very foundations of what is now world-famous Californian grape and wine culture. The Buena Vista Winery, which he founded, still operates in Sonoma.

2. László Berczeller (1855-1955): the soybean specialist

A medical professor from a wealthy Jewish family fought to eradicate hunger. He graduated from the University of Budapest, and from 1918 to 1920, he conducted research on blood proteins in a Berlin-based research laboratory led by the famous Professor Wassermann.

Later, his main research was to develop a low-cost, mass food option that he wanted to achieve by making soybeans fit for human consumption.

Between 1922 and 1936, he managed to produce the necessary nutrients at the nutrition-chemistry institute in Vienna where he was in charge. His invention was accepted by the League of Nations, and in France, a method of mass production was developed together with chemist François Arnold.

Back in 1913, Berczeller first encountered soy, one of the main ingredients of Oriental cuisine which was unknown in Europe, in a Japanese restaurant in Berlin. He later developed soymilk, soy meal, and cheap soy bread. But his patents were infringed unscrupulously, especially by the Nazis, who used soy to feed their soldiers. Berczeller died in a poor home in absolute poverty with a clouded mind in 1955.

3. Lajos Szathmáry (1919-1996): The first television cook

He was born on a train while his Transylvanian family fled from the Romanian army. He graduated from high school in Sárospatak, then enrolled at Pázmány Péter University in Budapest and applied to the College of Journalism which had just started.

In the fall of 1944, he enrolled in the army, and he and his corps moved west. The end of the war found him in the American occupation zone in Germany. He graduated with a doctorate in psychology, then emigrated to the United States in 1951. He worked on kitchens, then developed frozen and packaged meals at a Chicago company, which NASA used. He founded his own restaurant, The Bakery, which was one of the city’s most popular places for decades.

If you like Hungarian street food, we have an article for you with 5 recipes, so you can try and recreate the experience in the warmth of your home. But if you are really adventurous, you can check out the top 10 weirdest Hungarian dishes. These might sound strange, but if someone makes them properly for you, they are very tasty.