Noodles

The simplest of the noodles are the galuska (dumplings), the material of which is largely identical with that of mush. It is cut with a spoon into boiling water, strained and flavoured with lard, butter, cottage cheese, and during lent, with oil. In some places they spread cottage cheese and cracklings on top of dumplings.

Gombóc (round dumpling) is eaten in soups but also occurs as a separate dish. Flour and potato are mixed into its dough. The dumpling is filled in most cases with plums, or cottage cheese, or jam.

The basic mass of noodles is kneaded together on a wooden board out of flour, salt, eggs, and water. It is stretched into huge sheets and cut into different shapes. When dry, noodles are cooked in water and therefore are called “cooked pasta” (főtt tészta). Noodles are flavoured with lard, cottage cheese, jam, walnuts, poppy seeds, or some other seasoning. Derelye (jam pockets) is made in the following way: jam is put between two layers of stretched out dough, cut into square pieces, and cooked in water.

{293.} Noodles have a very important place in peasant diet. Hardly a day passes without it being served in some shape or form. Kneading noodles, especially where the family was large, was a serious task for the housewife.