Csapó Katalin - Füreder Balázs - Sári Zsolt: Reneszánsz ételek – Ételek reneszánsza Időszaki kiállítás 2008. március–május (Budapest, 2008)

Introduction 2008 is the "Year of Renaissance" in Hungary. 550 years ago Matthias Hunyadi came to the throne of Hungary. This book is being published for "The Food of the Renaissance, the Renaissance of Food" exhibition of the Hungarian Museum of Trade and Tourism. Renaissance is rebirth. Hungarian history saw the beginning of a prosperous period of rebirth during the reign of King Matthias who was one of the greatest European rulers of his time, if not the greatest. His greatness is well characterised by the way he ascended the throne in 1458. (His coronation was a later event, due to the fact that the holy Hungarian crown had been stolen by the Habsburgs in 1440.) The Hungarian lords elected the 15-year-old Matthias as their king in January that year. Their decision may have been influenced by what was held to be a divine miracle by the chroniclers of the time (Bonfini, Thúróczy) and which features in the legend of Matthias' election as king: the Danube in Buda froze to the bottom in the span of just one night. The frozen river served as a road for the pro-Matthias Mihály Szilágyi and his army. Seeing this divine intervention, the lords, in council in Buda, gave up any other plans they have had and accepted the youngest son of the Turk-beater John Hunyadi as their legitimate ruler. The coronation was not held until 1464, after Matthias had paid the preposterous sum of 80 thousand pieces of gold to buy the crown back. However, it was essential that the crown should be kept in Hungary and worn by a legitimate king. Matthias enjoyed an astonishing career. The highly educated ruler set up a powerful Central European state by means of centralised power, and contributed significantly to the economic and social rise of the country. His patronage of art and culture left Hungary a heritage of which the modern-day descendants of his subjects are rightly proud. Thanks to his efforts, Italian culture, about to take Europe, made its way to Hungary. Wining and dining was all part of Renaissance life. When monarchs met, feasts were held on sumptuously laid tables and a vast array of dishes served. This book affords an insight into weekdays and special days in the royal households, and the fashions of materials, spices and cooking techniques. In addition to the culinary delights of monarchs, the oldest Hungarian recipes and cookery books containing Renaissance dishes will also be presented. A similar rebirth would take place at the end of the 1980s not only in politics and culture, but also in gastronomy. The changes were immense. The first culinary festivals and cooking contests were held which sought to resuscitate forgotten culinary traditions. The first milestone in the efforts to bring back long-forgotten flavours, spices and techniques was the Renaissance