PHOTOS: Stomach-churning yet delicious Hungarian dishes

Hungarians are very proud of their cuisine, however, some meals sound stomach-churning to foreigners (and even some Hungarians). We’ve garnered the weirdest Hungarian dishes in this post. 

Sweet pasta

Promotions listed the top five dishes that sound odd to foreigners. Starting from the bottom of the list, pasta with sweet toppings takes fifth place. Some Italians would probably faint by hearing that Hungarians put such unorthodox things like peach jam on pasta. Several articles have reported that most foreign nations are averse to all sweet pasta dishes. Poppy seed pasta and other sweet treats with poppy seeds are highly popular in Hungary. However, in many European countries poppy seed is still mostly associated with making poppy seed tea and opium. Furthermore, some Hungarians like to add jam, cocoa powder or cottage cheese with powdered sugar on top of their pasta.

Onion fried blood

This might be the most stomach-churning dish on the list. Hungarians who still follow the tradition of disznóvágás (pig slaughter) are familiar with this odd meal. It is a classic breakfast at pig slaughters, as you cannot really buy blood in the shop, but you can get it fresh on these occasions. Some say that this dish is not scary at all and it tastes just like liver. Blood in any form might be considered barbaric to most foreigners.

Liver and blood sausages

Speaking about pig slaughters… Liver and blood sausages are just as popular on these occasions. Although, many Hungarians like to eat them on normal weekdays too, with some steamed cabbage and boiled potatoes. We cannot imagine what foreigners must think of these dishes. As it is a pile of offals with blood on them, even the side, rice, is stuffed inside the animal’s intestines. Therefore, it might be better not to tell our guests what’s exactly on their plates.

Sour lungs

Even the nations that do consume innards would be weirded out by the idea of eating lungs. Hungarians do not eat this meal too often, many do not even like it. It is made using the heart and lungs of a pig. In addition, it can be also made with beef or lamb stock. The dish is usually eaten with potato or bread roll. The taste of this dish is rather sour, but it is a quite filling delicacy.

Tripe stew

By now you must have realised that Hungarian cuisine likes to use odd animal parts. Thus, the number one on the list of the most stomach-churning dishes is the tripe stew. The basis of this food is the rumen, the pre-stomach used for rumination, to which onions, garlic, red pepper and hot paprika are added. Some people like to add pig trotter to this dish.