Customer Reviews

Hungarian Cookbook, Old World Recipes for New World Cooks (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As I read through this cookbook soon after purchase, I felt as though I was re-living my years growing up in a Second generation Hungarian Household in Northern Ohio. All of my grandparents were born in Hungary. The recipes are just as the ones I too learned first hand from my grandmother. I spent much of my time as a child in her kitchen. It also gives flexibility to the modern cook using ingredients that are available. The stories and traditions the author shares are ones that I have shared with my own children. This cookbook is one that I will definitely give copies of as gifts to family members! Thanks for the memories, Yolanda!

"Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks" by Yolanda Nagy Fintor has a long title. It should. There is a lot packed in it.

As cookbooks go, this is among the most accessible I have read. While many tend to err with a tone too haute cuisine, Fintor realizes she's suggesting ordinary people cook these dishes.

To many Americans asking themselves what Hungarian food is, I can say it is a good, good thing. It will challenge your arteries, but delight your soul. Your stomach will be happy too. Here, you will find recipes proving that.

Fintor explains in a brief introduction a history of Hungarian cuisine. She writes how, despite its present unique place in the culinary world, it began as an amalgamation of French, Italian, Turkish, German and Transylvanian food.

While not exactly useful to the American cook, she has a section on Hungarian language. Now, you can pronounce the dish names when your Hungarian date comes over for dinner. If things work out, you will impress your spouse's family too.

More practical to most readers is her section on how to interpret the recipes, and what ingredients you will need handy. The difference this makes is important, like that vinegar to be used is distilled white, and that butter should be the salted kind.

Keyed into the needs of beginning cooks, Fintor provides some useful tips, a glossary of basic cooking terns (like dredge, dice, trussing, and what roux is).

Recipes are the bulk of the book, with some black and white pictures of dishes. The layout is easy on the eyes. Directions are straightforward. Occasionally, she gives ideas to adapt the recipe to an American context, in case the ingredients are somewhat different. The only significant drawback is the hardcover design, which makes keeping it open while cooking difficult.

The recipe sections are as follows, each with an introduction:

Appetizers, relishes, and sauces
Salads
Soups
Biscuits, dumplings, and noodles
Poultry
Meats
Vegetables
Desserts
Breads
Wines (no recipes, just an introduction).

I fully recommend "Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks" by Yolanda Nagy Fintor. Jó Étvágyat! (May you have a good appetite!)

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I received the book as a gift. The meals I have made taste just like my mothers did. I never knew how to cook Hungarian food; the instructions are easy to follow and don't take very long to make. How wonderful to enjoy this delicious food again. Each time I use this cookbook I'm ready to plan the next meal. Thank you.

Now in a newly expanded edition, Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes For New World Cooks by Yolanda Nagy Fintor (who learned cooking from her Hungarian mother) introduces the reader to a culinary wealth of truly great recipes that have been passed down through generations of Hungarian cooks via an oral family tradition. Featuring not only recipes with meticulous instructions, but also memories, traditions, and lore from those who have prepared and shared such dishes as New World Creamy Potato Soup, Sweet And Sour Cabbage, and Beer Bread Sticks, the Hungarian Cookbook is very highly recommended for anyone seeking to learn about, create, and taste the flavors and culinary traditions of Hungary.

As the owner of dozens of cookbooks, I have to say Yolanda Fintor's 'Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks' is my hands down favorite. The snippets of family stories interspersed with bits of history make this an engaging read on its own. Add in the most delicious recipes you will ever find, written with easy to understand directions, and you get your money's worth and more. With food prices rising and household budgets tightening, this cookbook offers an amazing assortment of flavorful dishes using inexpensive basic ingredients. My favorite recipe is the Chicken Paprika with dumplings. I make a double batch because you can never have too many dumplings. The Stuffed Cabbage is another yummy favorite. Try any of the soup recipes and I guarantee you'll never go back to canned soup again. I recommend the Sour Cream Potato Soup for cold winter days. For Christmas I make batches of kiflis (named Grandma Kish's Crescents in the cookbook) with a variety of fillings - walnuts, apricot and raspberry, and give them as gifts. There's something for everyone in this cookbook from the most finicky eater to the die-hard lover of all things edible. Highly recommended. You won't be disappointed.

I love the title of this book and when I saw terms like Grandma and Grandpa Nagy in the introduction, I smiled because, I, too, am a Nagy. That was my maiden name and many of these recipes reminded me of my Grandmother's kitchen in Cleveland, OH. I'm keeping this book with my small colection of Hungarian culture for my daughters and grandchildren.

I LOVED this cookbook ! All my mother's side of the family was Hungarian/German and made the best meals and desserts. No one had their receipes and they all passed away without us asking for them.
And then to come across this cookbook and find the dishes that they made was a surprise of a lifetime. I was able to download mine for FREE on my Kindle but ordered the book for a cousin. We were thrilled. Even if i never make anything from the book, I still have my memories of my mother
and grandmother making the Plum Dumplings and Apple Walnut Pita. Thank you so very much.

These two ingredients were in nearly every dish we tasted on our tours through welcoming Hungary. What a delight to get both delicious recipes championing paprika and the witty tales behind them. It is tough to find two tastier ingredients. Healthy and easy directions.

It has all of the famliy favorites made the same way of my grandmother! This is The best Hungarian Cookbook!!

Just as the title says, the recipes are made using ingredients we more commonly use today. The Chicken Paprikash and galuska is delicious and the same my grandmother made here in the US after she immigrated. Lots of little tidbits about the Hungarian language as well as cooking. Instead of the dry, sweet cottage cheese for crepes, my grandmother always used powdered sugar. My siblings and i had contests to see just how many we could eat.

A very nice array of some of the best Hungarian food-very nice.