Food & Tradition

In Tarpa, the big festival is called Tarpai Szilvanapok, the Plum Days. There, visitors learn how plum jam is cooked, plums are dried, and regional dishes are prepared. In Szatmárcseke there's a dedicated festival for Szilvalekvár, the plum jam that simmers here in a kettle and serves both as a spread for bread and a filling for pastries.

The most famous dish to go with it is Szilvásgombóc: plum dumplings made from potato dough, with a whole plum tucked inside, rolled in breadcrumbs and sugar. Sweet, warm, and fragrant with cinnamon, it pairs with a glass of plum brandy, since both share the same fruit. The spirit provides the dry sharpness that keeps the dumpling from feeling too heavy.

In summer, cold Meggyleves graces the table, a sour cherry soup with cream. Serve a glass of Újfehértói meggypálinka alongside it, and you'll hear the cherry in both. With Almás pite, apple cake, Szabolcsi Almapálinka adds a touch of warmth to the fresh fruit.

In Hungary, a glass of pálinka is often a welcome to guests. It's placed on the table as a greeting, and saying "Egészségedre" wishes good health to the person across from you. As a digestif after a meal, it rounds off a hearty dinner, sipped slowly and with time.

At home, spirits in this region are still distilled the old way, from fruit off one's own tree. In Germany, by contrast, distilling without a license is prohibited, and home-distilled schnapps is simply not an option here.