Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2017 (29. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2017-03-24 / 12. szám
AMERICAN English Page Hungarian Journal These Gorgeous Cookies Tell A Nation’s History With A Piping Bag Mézeskalács, intricately decorated Hungarian gingerbread cookies, are edible works of art with an important cultural heritage When you hear Anikó Kocsis say it, the word is a poem. Mézeskalács. (May-zeshkoh-lotch.) Traditional Hungarian gingerbread cookies painstakingly decorated as artwork. With a silver-tipped piping bag, Anikó dots icing into intricate lace embroidery and paints floral designs that mimic the colorful patterns on folk dresses. Whorls of white surround a small square mirror set into a red heart-shaped cookie. “You give it to someone,” she says, “to show they’re in the middle of your heart.” Anikó is one of the few bakers in America that practice the centuries-old art, one that draws on German and Russian influences but over the decades has become uniquely Hungarian. “Big social events, you always have mézeskalács,” she goes on. This is especially true around Christmas, when the designs are the most elaborate. But at her home in Lebanon, New Jersey, Anikó also just finished up batches of heart-shaped cookies for the Valentine’s Day rush. Over the past five years she’s made mézeskalács into a literal cottage business, selling cookies to the area’s Hungarian community and teaching the decorating art to church groups, school children, and the youth members of the Hungarian Scout Association. Yes, scouts. There are a lot of them. But instead of merit badges for outdoor survival and physical fitness, the Hungarian scouts study the traditional folkways of their ancestors. Every summer Anikó joins with other scout leaders at a summer camp in upstate New York to teach their charges the Hungarian way to cook, dance, sew, sing, speak, live, and breathe Hungarian. And once every five years the camp is host to an international forum where 700 Hungarians bom outside of Hungary (everywhere from the U.S. to the U.K. to Venezuela) gather to celebrate Hungarian culture. Naturally, there are mézeskalács aplenty. Mézeskalács begin with typical baking spices: a little cinnamon, some clove, a dash of dried ginger. But their tawny color and characteristic lightness come from a slurp of honey, which brings not just flavor, but also moisture that converts into steam in the oven, poofing the dough high and giving the finished cookie plenty of air bubbles and a slight crispness. This light, mild cookie is the perfect base for royal icing piped into floral patterns (mezossegi) as well as cross-hatched lace, animal designs, and Hungarian aphorisms. “Keep calm and eat gizzard stew,” says one of the cookies Anikó shows me. Not a traditional saying, but one I’m ready to turn into a fridge magnet. Anikó didn’t learn the art of mézeskalács from her mother, who makes a mean pacal pörkölt (tripe stew) but doesn’t decorate cookies. As it turns out, she picked it up from the internet, watching videos on YouThbe that have racked up tens of thousands of views. Go ahead, try watching just one. Before you know it you’ll have spent hours gaping slack-jawed at the time-lapse creations of cookies just beyond your grasp. One particularly prolific mézeskalács YouTuber, Tünde Dugantsi in Bowling Green, Kentucky, uses the videos as marketing for her online gingerbread business, where she sells her mézeskalács as well as instructional books on how to decorate your own. Now Anikó is doing the same. She doesn’t have a website yet, but you can email her at honeycookiesl6@gmail.com to arrange an order and shipping. “It’s taken years of practice to learn how to do the designs right,” Anikó tells me. Those multi-colored floral patterns have been the most difficult for her to master, but now she paints them as easily as her own whimsical designs that she often makes up on the fly as she’s piping. She first dove into the painted cookie world as a way to deepen her knowledge of Hungarian culture beyond her experiences as a teacher in a Hungarian school. “The culture is so important to me. With it I don’t feel alone, and I know I can give whatever I know to the next generation.” That passing of the torch is especially important to Hungarians, many of whom fled to the U.S., Canada, Australia, and parts of Latin America following a bloody revolution in 1956. With such a widespread diaspora, local community ties are vital. Hence the scouts, and their emphasis on traditional folkways. And hence Aniko’s mézeskalács, which are as much about community as commerce. Over in New Jersey, the Hungarian social calendar is planned out well in advance. In June, the city of New Brunswick will be celebrating its 42nd annual Hungarian Festival, where over 10,000 Hungarians will gather for cultural performances, folk art exhibits, and massive amounts of traditional Hungarian food. For four frantic days before the festival, Anikó and other scout leaders will cook literal tons of stuffed cabbage, goulash, chicken paprikash, tripe stew, and plum dumplings. The income they raise from sales will all go towards the Hungarian scouts, which have members as young as five and as old as 82. “Once a scout,” Anikó says with a smile, “always a scout.” The mirror in this heart-shaped cookie isn’t edible, but “you give it to someone,” Anikó says, “to show they’re in the middle of your heart.” saveur.com Március 24, 2017 fD 25 amazing things you didn’t know about Hungary 1. It’s an unlikely place for a beach holiday At almost 600 square kilometres, Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe. It’s so big, in fact, that it’s often referred to as the Hungarian Sea, and sunseekers have flocked to its shores for decades. The nearby sulphuric waters of Heviz, meanwhile, are said to have medicinal qualities, and are believed to cure rheumatic ailments, aches and pains. 2. You can make the most of the healing waters indoors, too Thanks to an abundance of natural hot springs, Hungary can boast around 450 public spas and bathhouses. A prominent bathing culture has existed since Roman times; it is supposedly the best cure for a hangover - or “cat’s wail” as the Hungarian term macskajaj translates. 3. Hungarians are mightily inventive Notable inventions include the Rubik’s Cube (by sculptor and professor Erno Rubik, 1974), the krypton electric bulb (by physicist Imre Brody in 1937), and the biro, patented in 1938 by journalist László Bíró. 4. And jolly Nobel, too Hungary has produced 13 Nobel laureates to date - more per capita than the likes of Finland, Spain, Canada and Australia - bagging every category except peace. 5. There’s a statue that will make you a great writer Touching the pen of the statue of Anonymus in Budapest’s City Park will, legend has it, bless you with great writing abilities. You may not believe it, but the shiny surface of the pen suggests that many still do. 6. It is home to the world’s first official wine region Put your glass of Bordeaux aside; King Karoly made official Hungary’s Tokaj region - where wine has been produced since the 5th century - 120 years earlier. 7. And the master of escapology Erich Weisz, better known as illusionist Harry Houdini, was born in Budapest in 1874 before earning his fame escaping from handcuffs, strait jackets and a Chinese Water Cell. 8. Pálinka is considered the cure of all ails Refuse a shot of the ubiquitous fruit brandy and risk causing great insult - not to mention confusion. Hungarian nagymamák (grandmas) swear by its powers. Have a headache? Pálinka. Menstrual pains? Pálinka. Feeling nervous? Pálinka. As the saying goes: “Palinka in small amounts is a medicine, in large amounts a remedy”. 9. It is considered rude to clink your beer glasses Legend has it that when the 1848 Hungarian revolution against the Habsburgs was defeated, 13 Hungarian generals were executed, with the Austrians clinking their beer glasses after each execution. As a result, Hungarians vowed not to cheers with beer for 150 years - and while the time has passed, the custom remains. Eye contact is a must when Egeszsegedre-ing anything else, though. 10. Water polo is a national sport Quite possibly the most famous game of water polo in history was the bloody play-off between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, in which Hungary won 4-0 before the game was called off to avoid a riotous outbreak. The 2000 Olympics (held in Sydney) also introduced a women’s tournament to the sport. 11. The world’s best female chess champion is Hungarian Judit Polgar acquired the title of grandmaster at the tender age of 15 in 1991 - a record. Judit Polgar is still considered one of the best female chess players in the world The game is played everywhere in Hungary - including on floating boards in the thermal baths. 12. The number 96 is very important The crowning of Arpad as first king of the Magyars (Hungarian people) marked the beginning of the Hungarian state in 896. Budapest’s metro was built on the country’s millennial anniversary in 1896. By law, buildings in Budapest must not exceed 96 feet, and the Hungarian national anthem should be sung in 96 seconds - if done at the proper tempo. 13. So is paprika Once traded with communists for hard currency, today more than 1,000 tons of the spice are produced annually in Hungary. There are two paprika museums, Szeged and Molnár, which give an insight into the industry as well as a spicy sample. 14. It’s where the word ‘coach’ comes from Or Kocs to be precise - the town where the vehicles are said to have first appeared in the 16th century. 15. Budapest has continental Europe’s oldest metro Beginning operations in 1896, it is also the second oldest electrically operated underground railway in the world, predated only by the London Underground. 16. As well as a natural underground labyrinth The world’s largest geothermal cave system can be found underneath the capital and is made up of some 200 subterranean chambers. While most explorations are only available to qualified visitors, a number of show caves such as Szemlo-hegy and Molnár Janos can be viewed from a distance with just a hard hat. 17. Budapest has the second largest synagogue in the world Seating 3,000, the Dohány Street Synagogue is the largest in Europe and part of the Budapest Unesco World Heritage Site. The Dohány Street Synagogue survived substantial bombing during Nazi Occupation but was restored - and remains one of the most impressive synagogues in the world. 18. And some of the most intriguing watering holes A beer in one of Budapest’s ruin pubs is a must when visiting the city. The pubs or kerts quite literally sit inside the many bombed out and bullet marked “ruins” of buildings, and as well as being an interesting place for a Palinka, many hold farmers’ markets and community gatherings too. 19. Hollywood would not be Hollywood without Hungarians Paramount Pictures founder Adolf Zukor, Vilmos Fried - more commonly known as William Fox - and Casablanca director Michael Curtiz (formerly Mano Kaminer) all heralded from Hungary. 20. Neither would Dracula Count Dracula is believed to have been based on the 15th century villain Vlad the Impaler, who terrorized Wallachia (formerly part of Hungary) until he was jailed by King Matthias. 21. Elvis Presley is an honorary citizen of Budapest Posthumous citizenship was awarded to the musician in 2011 in recognition of his somewhat heroic status after a performance of “Peace in the Valley” on American television brought attention to the 1956 revolution. The accolade is also recognised in a local landmark, Elvis Presley Boulevard, dedicated to the star. 22. Tourists to the capital prefer pinball to historic sites Opened in 2015, Budapest Pinball Museum houses over 130 classic machines and scores higher on TripAdvisor’s attraction ratings than Heroes Square, Buda Castle or the Liberty Bridge. 23. It has some real railway children The Gyermekvasút Railway that runs through Buda hills between Széchenyi Hill and Hűvösvölgy stations is run almost exclusively by 10-14 year-olds from local schools who make up the ticket sellers and conductors, man the switch points and sell station memorabilia. 24. Hungarian names are regulated by law Parents are subject to a naming law when it comes to choosing what to call their children. Names must come from a pre-approved list - any deviations from which must be approved by application to the Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. No Apples or Brooklyns there, then. 25. The language is very, very tricky The Hungarian language is part of the Finno-Ugrian language family and thought to be one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. It is said that English has more in common with Russian. telegraph.co.uk AMERIKAI /tfúgyiir tfirlap
