In recent years, gastronomy and reform food have become extremely fashionable. Fortunately, this not only resulted in the adoption of foreign customs, but also re-valued traditional Hungarian gastronomy, the traces of which can still be found in the countryside, including in our county. So we're going on a small tour of the county's gastronomy.
The gastronomy of Komárom-Esztergom
The Bokod column
Few people know, but this small settlement is (also) famous for its potatoes or, as it was once called, its kolomper. There are written records that the potatoes imported from America were among the first in the country to be grown here. In the 1800s, they wrote about Bokodi potatoes: "The Bokodi potato is the most famous in the entire county for its goodness." Potatoes are now a basic food, from which many kinds of potato dishes can be prepared.
Gastronomy of Esztergom
Of course, in addition to the smaller settlements, the gastronomy culture is also growing in the big cities of the county. In Esztergom, the gastronomic festival called Flavors-Courages-Moods has been organized for several years.
Esztergom is a city that spans historical ages, which already had a large population in the Roman era. The festival tries to present the characteristics of the gastronomy of different eras, in such a way as to strengthen the present-day gastronomic culture of the city. In each year, the food and customs of a different era are presented, we have already talked about the food of the Turkish era, but also the specific gastronomic culture of the Roman era.
Two restaurants in Komárom-Esztergom county also received a Michelin star in 2022
The authoritative magazine of gastronomic life awarded Michelin stars to two restaurants in Komárom-Esztergom County at the MICHELIN Guide award ceremony on November 3, 2022. The Platán Gourmet Restaurant in Tata, led by chef István Pesti, earned two stars, and the 42Restaurant&Bar in Esztergom, led by chef Ádám Barna, earned one star in the gastronomy sky. With this, the two restaurants became the first non-Budapest restaurants in Hungary to receive a Michelin star.
In November 2022, the world's leading restaurant guide evaluated the entire range of Hungarian restaurants for the first time. For the first time in the history of the Hungarian rating of the prestigious restaurant guide, rural restaurants received a MICHELIN star.
Bajnai custard
Prétes is a pasta dish known in Hungary, Austria and Serbia, which is made from kneaded dough that has been left very soft. Presumably, it became naturalized in the 16th century due to Turkish influence, its predecessor may have been the baklava that still exists in the Balkans. The rolled-up, filled pastry in its present form dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. was formed at the turn of the century in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
Since the 19th century, it has been considered a traditional sweet for festive and wedding meals in Hungary. At the beginning of the 19th century, the menu of the Ritz Hotel in Paris featured "Rétes Hongrois", for the preparation of which the rétes flour was ordered from Hungary and the confectioners were sent to Pest to study.
By the beginning of the 20th century, in a geographical sense (and also according to social class divisions), rétes became a national holiday dish. Only Transylvania was an exception to this. At peasant holidays (weddings, coma bowls brought to children, christenings, funeral feasts, New Year's Eve, carnivals, farewells), rétes was an indispensable cake. Today, the consumption of rétés is less associated with holidays. It is served as a dessert after the main meals, but it can also be included as an independent second course.
Similarly, Bajna was and still is one of the popular dishes, made with various fillings.
Imperial Treat
VINCZE-STAUDT Élélmiszeripari Kft. is a privately-owned Hungarian company operating since 1994. Its headquarters and factory are located on the outskirts of Császár in the industrial zone. His products got their name (Császári Csemege) as a result. The essence of the process is that the food is compressed into a mass and then pressed through a narrow opening, thus the material will be able to take on different sizes and shapes, and the food will be more durable as a result.
Flakes of different shapes are flavored and colored with natural additives. The flakes produced in this way are marketed under the collective name Császári Tsemege with hazelnut, pizza, paprika, ham and natural salty flavors, and under the names Császári Karika and Mini Tsemege with mixed fruit flavors. Jupi Csemegergelizó is a healthy product that is also suitable for flakes, available in five flavors.
The product line promotes a healthy lifestyle. It has made the name of Császár village known throughout Europe, and proudly proclaims its belonging to our county and the village. It further enhances the reputation of Hungarian and county food industry products throughout Europe.
Children's pasta
Gyermelyi Zrt. is Hungary's market-leading pasta producer, the largest egg producer and an indispensable player in the milling industry. In addition, it carries out agricultural activities on an area of nearly 8,200 hectares and operates a closed vertical integration. In addition to the flour for the pasta, the freshly used eggs are also produced by the company group, which also has its own feed factory. The pasta factory started operating in 1971. Thanks to its excellent quality, it became the market leader already in the 1980s, a position it has held ever since. Even in international comparison, more than 45 percent of the pasta consumed in Hungary comes from a modern, fully automated plant.
It is one of the most important such plants not only in the country, but also in the entire region. The production system, which is coordinated to such an extent, is also unique in Europe, which organizes all processes from the basics to the final product itself, in a business owned by local residents. Gyermelyi tészta is a traditional Hungarian brand that is available in 90% of domestic stores, 30% of the total production is exported, thereby increasing the good reputation of our county in the surrounding countries.
Komárom little girl country cake
Since 2007, the National Industrial Board of Hungarian Confectionery Manufacturers has been announcing the "Cake of Hungary" contest every year on the occasion of the national holiday of August 20, the feast of the founder of the state, St. Stephen. The initiative is gaining more and more popularity every year, more and more confectioneries compete for the title, the winning cake is huge In 2018, Komárom's pastry chef Ádám Sztaracsek's creation, Komáromi's little girl, won the award.
Wheat in tata form
In the 6th millennium BC, the alakor came to the Carpathian basin from the primary genetic center in Asia Minor and was common until the Roman era. After that, it slowly wore off without a trace. The rediscovery of the shape is linked to the name of Ferenc Gyulai, an archaeobotanist and university professor in Gödöllő. The specialist found the plant in six gene centers and managed to save the seed of humanity's most ancient grain. The ancient wheat found may have been the last surviving stock of the original Carpathian basin. 14 years ago, he brought a small quantity of this from Transylvania, from which he succeeded in propagating seeds. This also led to the Tata basin, where agricultural engineer and human ecologist Attila Czumpf started cultivation behind Fényes rétek.
The shape is also present in the permanent exhibition "Metamorphosis - the relationship between man and nature in the Által-ér valley" in the center of the Tatabánya Museum, awarded with a certificate of appreciation from the Pulszky Society in 2017. The exhibition, imbued with the perspective of historical ecology, presents the history of the area, the use of the landscape, or through the ever-changing relationship between man and nature.
Prehistoric sites of Komárom-Esztergom county: Tokod, Tata, Tatabánya-Dózsakert, Neszmély, area between Agostyán-Szomód, Dunaalmás, Nyergesújfalu, Környe, Szőny.