What do Hungarians eat at Easter?

The Easter Holiday is just around the corner, so it is just the time to talk about our favourite Easter dishes. Magyarorszagom.hu collected the most popular dishes that Hungarians usually go for this time of the year. These cannot be missed from the traditional Hungarian Easter breakfast table.

Easter Ham

The Hungarian cuisine is very heavily meat-based, and the Easter menu reflects that. The main dish in the middle of the family table is always the Easter ham. Ham is the meat cut from the thigh of the pork which is most often salted or smoked. There is no Easter without ham.

What do we eat the ham with?

Horseradish

I would bet that the majority of Hungarians never eat horseradish except at Easter. This is the time of the year when supermarkets and shops sell their horseradish supply for a year. You have to go and get yours very soon because there is no way that there is any left a day before Easter.

Eggs, eggs, eggs

The egg has become the symbol of Easter, there are traditional Easter egg hunts for children, and painting eggs is a special activity that Hungarians, especially kids enjoy. Apart from all of these, eggs are fundamental components of the Eastern meal. Boiled eggs often accompany the Easter ham on the table.

Easter cake

Something must accompany the Easter ham and the boiled eggs, and that something is the Easter cake. It is a particular kind of bread, as it has a unique form, it is baked in a braided shape. It is relatively easy to make; you only need some sugar, milk, yeast, flour, eggs, salt and butter. If you would like to make the special Easter cake, here is a good recipe.

All of these, the ham and the eggs are pretty heavy meals. Therefore, the Easter table is often covered in various spring vegetables to accompany the other food groups (the meat and the carbohydrates). You will most likely find tomatoes, paprika, radish and spring onions next to the boiled eggs.

The Easter meal is what Hungarians often call a cold meal because nothing is really fresh and hot when you eat it. The ham and the eggs are often cold by the time the family sits down to eat, but it is perfect just the way it is.

Source: www.magyarorszagom.hu