How did our beloved Hungarian retro snacks get their names? – PHOTOS
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No doubt, vintage will always be in vogue, whether it is cars, clothes or candies. We love to feel nostalgic and reminisce about the good, old times (or is it just the passage of years that makes us look back with rose-tinted glasses?). In our previous posts, we wrote about the most popular Hungarian retro snacks and even shared some homemade recipes. This time, we will reveal some lesser-known stories of how the nation’s favourite retro snacks got their names.
Some of the best conversations often start with the question: “do you remember”? Do you remember the times when we were counting our pocket money whether it was enough to get a Sport bar at the convenience store down the block? Do you remember that candy jar full of Negros that grandma always kept on the counter, which she firmly believed was the best medicine for sore throat? Do you remember the Sunday markets where we always begged dad to buy us some sticky Turkish honey, which only cost a couple of fillér back then? If these stories sound warmly familiar to you, you will probably enjoy this little retro snacks nostalgia trip. Let’s hop in the time machine and travel back a few decades!
Medvecukor (Bear candy)
Translated as bear candy, this black, gooey Hungarian retro candy greatly divided people back in the day; some could not get enough of it while others would have rather bit in a slice of lemon just to avoid the weird, sticky texture of the candy. We hate to break it to you though but its name has nothing to do with cuddly teddy bears nor was it the favorite munchy of the grizzly living in the Carpathian Mountains. The name of this liquorice-based candy simply comes from the Hungarian translation of Bärenzucker as the Austrians called it.
Read more: Did you know?! – 5 interesting facts about the favourite Hungarian dessert, ’Túró Rudi’
Sport chocolate bar
The Sport bar with its signature rum-cocoa flavour has been the favorite guilty pleasure of many generations even though with 70 years under its belt, this chocolate-y snack is well-considered an oldie. It was launched at the time the Ferenc Puskás Stadium (formerly known as People’s Stadium) was erected and it originally bore the name MHK Sport bar. MHK was the abbreviation of “Munkára, harcra kész!” (Be ready to work and fight!), the slogan of the Hungarian Communist Labour Party. So basically, our beloved Sport bar served as a covert tool in the past regime’s political propaganda campaign.
