Unbelievable flavours at Hungarian Gelato Competition 2024: here is the ice cream of the year! – PHOTOS

The annual Hungarian Gelato Competition took place once again this year, with pastry chef Nándor Bergmann winning the top prize for his innovative dessert, Pumpkin Seed Sorbet with Red Berries. Awards were given across five different categories in this popular contest.

The competition’s aim

Photo: Facebook/Magyar Cukrász Ipartestület

According to the press release from the Hungarian Confectioners’ Guild, the 2024 competition aimed to promote traditional, high-quality artisanal gelato. The goal is to encourage Hungarian confectioners to offer superior gelato to their customers, fostering a demand for healthy and high-quality handcrafted products.

As Index writes, this year’s event had a festival atmosphere, held as part of a citywide celebration where participants created their entries in front of an audience. This setup allowed consumers to gain a deeper understanding of the intricate process of gelato-making.

The competition was held in a fully equipped gelato laboratory, utilising three professional freezers, and ran from morning until early afternoon. Following the competition, a series of entertaining and educational presentations related to gelato took place, alongside a professional exhibition that added further variety to the program.

Record number of gelato entries

Ice Cream of the Year: Pumpkin seed sorbet with red berries by Nándor Bergmann. Photo: Facebook/Magyar Cukrász Ipartestület

In honour of the host city Kecskemét, a new category was introduced: the “Apricot Gelato” category. This aimed to promote the “Kecskemét Hungarian Apricot” and the nationally significant “Kecskemét Apricot Brandy”, both noted in the Hungarian Heritage Repository.

This year saw a record number of entries, with 90 gelatos competing across five categories. Along with award-winning Hungarian gelatos from previous years, a total of 130 varieties were available for tasting throughout the day-long event.

The gelatos were judged by a panel of expert pastry chefs, a public jury, and representatives from professional organizations. The creativity of the contestants was once again boundless. In addition to the intriguingly flavoured apricot gelatos, a wide array of Hungarian and exotic fruits were used, often paired with nuts and herbs.

Pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, cashews, and pecans were popular choices among the nuts. Herbs and spices such as rosemary, bay leaf, juniper berry, pink peppercorn, timut pepper, Sichuan pepper, and even fig leaf made appearances in the inventive flavour combinations.

Prizes, categories and winners

Photo: Facebook/Magyar Cukrász Ipartestület

Prizes were awarded in a total of five categories, and four special prizes were also awarded.

“A” category: competition for confectioners, artisan ice cream makers

• Gold medalist and winner of the Gelato of the Year trophy: Tökmag sorbet pirosbogyós gyümölcsökkel (Pumpkin seed sorbet with red berries) (Nándor Bergmann: The Little Bergmann Confectionery, Balatonfüred)

“M” – ‘Free’ category: ice cream with no added sugar, gluten, lactose or milk proteins

• Gold medalist: Sárgabarack lime maracuja (Apricot lime maracuja) (Éva Heléna Marsa: Vanília & Gelarto, Nagykőrös)

Apricot category

• Gold medalist: Mámoros marillen (Intoxicated marillen) (Sándor Márton: Bagaméri Fagylaltozó, Balatonfüred)

“C” category: competition for raw material producers, distributors

• Gold medalist: Mézes madzag (Honey trap) (László Nagy: Békás Ltd., Budapest)

Special prizes

• Audience award: Kecskeméti sárgabarackos gombóc dióbundában (Kecskemét apricot dumplings in walnut coating) (Norbert Szabados: König-Units Ltd., Üllő)

Read also:

• Irresistible snacks at Lake Balaton: The secret behind fried hake and the best ice cream
• Ice cream recipes inspired by classic Hungarian desserts!