Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1993-05-01 / 9. szám
the village of Vizsoly which dates back to the 13th century. This church became the first Reformed Church in Hungary, and the first Hungarian Bible was printed here. We toured a fantastic partially restored castle at the base of the Carpathian mountains. On our way to Tokay we passed acre after acre of wine grapes- this is tjie home of the famous Tokay wine. We passed many vaults dug inside the hills where wine was being aged. We went to a restaurant dug right into the side of a mountain, like an enlarged tunnel. Two violinists came and serenaded us with Hungarian Gypsy music. On our way home we were stopped at a police roadblock. After scrutinizing our international drivers license, we were waved on. We saw vast acres of farm lands left to be run by the government. Some of the crops had not yet been harvested. In contrast we observed many strips of land which already had been allocated to private use. We saw whole families working their strips and many of them were growing their second crops. From visiting Slovakia all of us had 1000 crown Slovak notes which we subsequently found out were worthless in Hungary. You could change Slovak money up to and including 500 notes but not 1000 notes. Now that is a strange rule. You could change any number of 500 notes but 1000 notes could not be changed in Hungary. This goes for banks, Ibusz Travel Agency, everywhere! As we strolled across the Széchényi bridge, a clean cut young man approached us wanting to know if we wanted to change some money. In the guide books we had been warned that there were money changers throughout Budapest, working this black market operation, and that some of them were swindlers. We thought this young man was one of them, but here we were stuck with four 1000 crown notes between us. Here was a chance to get rid of at least some of the notes. We were honest with the man and explained the situation. He came up with a figure that was more than generous not withstanding the exchange rate. About that time a tall man broke into the conversation telling us something about Castle Hill. We made the deal, exchanged the money and went rapidly on our way thinking we had put one over on the black marketer! After we were half way across the bridge, congratulating ourselves that we had gotten rid of two of the four 1000 notes, we stopped and counted it. To our dismay, WE had been skillfully and deftly FLEECED, to the tune of about $70. It was so skillfully done. It became obvious that the tall man who interrupted us was part of the scam. The whole operation was very slick. How right those guide books were about changing money with strangers on the streets. The American influence is everywhere. Almost all of the young people wear T- shirts with sayings on them, not in Hungarian or German orRussian, but in English-— names of places, cities, colleges, funny sayings, just like in this country. Advertising signs are in English — the signs on the PAPRIKA TO YOUR HEALTH The average person has a limited knowledge about paprika. One never thinks of the nutritive or medicinal value of the paprika when one takes it off the spice rack and sprinkles it on some dish. Though not far from here in Jamaica the natives used it for centuries to fight malaria. The Hungarians used it for the same purpose before the rivers were tamed and vast marsh lands spread over the Hungarian Plain. It is still a tradition among Hungarian peasants to mix brandy with a scoop of real hot pepper and drink it as a medicine. This drink is so potent that it could bring its user to the edge of the grave and it would bring a dead person back to life if one could make him drink it. A lot of scientific research has been going on starting in the second half of the past century. Endre Högyes in his medical research in 1878 came to the conclusion that paprika promotes digestion without any adverse effects. Fifty years later as a test noble-sweet paprika was introduced into the bloodstream causing no change in the blood-pressure at all. Professor Berkessy at the University of Szeged in a special research work proved that although the paprika stimulates the secretion of the stomach acid in cases where the natural secretion is poor, in a normal or hyperacid condition it is very slight or zero. Therefor practically everybody could use paprika in their diet to enhance the flavor of the dishes. Once science turns to a problem, it doesn ’ t leave any stones unturned. Professor Cholnoky analyzed the paprika for its a vitamin A content, and found that the paprika exceeds many times the carrot. Deficiency of vitamin A may cause night-blindness, and you may be surprised to know that one ounce of a noble-sweet Hungarian paprika meets the requirement of a working adult for ten days. The most significantdiscovery was made by Dr. Albert Szent-Györgyi, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for this scientific achievement. He was looking for a cure against the Addison disease. For his research he had a need for a certain hexuronic acid. After a years work processing adrenal glands at a large American slaughter house by the hundreds of pounds Szent-Györgyi returned to his lab in Hungary with the acid that didn’t even measure up to an ounce. In the analysis it turned out that the acid was vitamin C itself. So it happened that in the course of examining different fruits in Hungary Szent- Györgyi noticed the high quantity of vitamin C in the ripe red paprika. Further measurements comparing the liquids of the fruits, showed that the paprika has about five times the amount of vitamin C than the lemon or orange juice. This explains why the Hungarian peasant who eats for months practically only bacon, bread and fresh paprika stays healthy and is not hit by scurvy. Szent-Györgyi discovered another substance in the paprika. This is vitamin P and it turned out to be a very effective remedy against illnesses of the blood system, curing hemophilia. The presence of vitám in B and B2 only add to the nutritional value of the Hungarian paprika. We find provitamins in the paprika also; such as Beta-carotene. These are put together in our body to make vitamin A. Today in America medical science promotes provitamins and vitamin A to better our health. In the grinding and cooking process only the vitamin C decreases. Professor Szent- Györgyi solved this problem too. He put the fresh, ripe red paprika into cans, thus preserving it with all the original vitamin content. With all this goodness comprised into the paprika pod, we may say that it is worth it to have the sun shine over the Hungarian Plain. (CM3.) EUROPEAN NAIL SALON Judith Racz Moved To: 565 Kings Highway, Fairfield, CT (Salon Maggi) Tel: 333-1468 sides of buses and trams advertising American products; ads on TV, Rock and Roll music, Rock stars, American movies dubbed in Hungarian, audio tapes of American entertainers, etc. Thereare many book stores and book vendors with American books translated into Hungarian. Products like Levis, Reeboks, and other brand name clothes are everywhere. They seem to be successfully switching to a market economy and capitalism. Everywhere are outdoor vendors. Nowhere did we see shortages of anything. In the villages entire families work their plots of land and take their produce to city markets. Hungary is said to be self-sufficient as far as food is concerned. But along with the gradual switch to capitalism and free market economy is an increase in pickpockets and swindlers. There are many book stores and book vendors selling newspapers and periodicals. In all, we had a good time. Pace 5
