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Gastronomic

adventures

Nógrád has a special ‘world of taste’ and a typical gastron-
omy. Soup is of special importance in the Palóc diet. As
the old local saying which shows this richness goes ‘there
were at least seven kinds of soup’. The soups were mainly

thickened using flour with milk, whey, and rarely, sour

cream. A typical fasting dish is the mushroom cabbage
soup even today.
The potato dishes are more dominant in this region than

in the Great Plain. Most often pastry, ganca (dumplings),

haluska (noodles), strapacky or potato pancakes were

made using boiled potatoes and a little wheat flour. They

were served with roasted onions, crackers, butter, cottage

cheese, poppy seeds, or stewed cabbage. A typical Palóc

dish is the morvan, a braided kalach (sweet bread). The
home-made strudel is still a favourite treat on the tables
during festivities.
Dishes made from potatoes, which grow beautifully even

on lean lands, serve now as the basis of gastro festivals.
Such as the Haluska Festival of Vanyarc, the Laska (Pasta)
Festival in Kazár, or the Nagygönc in Érsekvadkert.
Fruit is highly respected in this region. A good example is
the Apple Blossom Festival in Kozárd or the Plum Satur-

day in Kétbodony. The men here still believe that the best

fruit is the drinkable fruit. The good fruit brandy ‘pálinka’
is very popular here. Today, the Öregetes Palóc Pálinka
Manufactory, which also processes berries, is nationally
famous.
With the absence of wine grapes, wine culture does not
really have roots here. However, the beer is sold quickly,
especially when it is brewed locally. The various Palóc

beers from Balassagyarmat are popular, as well as the lo-
comotive-labelled products of the Rétság Heating House
Brewery. The water from the springs of the Csevice stream

is a medicine for the upset stomach.

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