One of the things I like best about living in Budapest is doing my shopping at the markets, especially in August when there’s so much good stuff there. My neighborhood market, the Fény utca Piac, also happens to be my favorite market in the city. On some days old ladies come and set up tables to sell their farm-fresh eggs, as well as homemade butter, sour cream, and cheese. There are also good butchers, especially the one who specializes in Mangalica pork and Hungarian Grey beef (two Hungarian heritage breeds that were in danger of extinction not too 
long ago but have made somewhat of a comeback since breeding efforts were revitalized).
But, today my interest was solely with the late summer fruits and vegetables, some of which won’t be around for much longer. There’s a nice mix of vendors here selling stuff produced by independent growers and producers (opposed to those selling only the stuff that comes from Budapest’s wholesale market). These tiny Ogen melons were too cute to resist. Almost like honeydews, these two tasty
melons were less than 200 HUF ($1). Raspberries aren’t as plentiful (or as cheap) now as they were in July when I bought them in massive quantities and made jam, ice cream, and tarts with them, but they’re still around. And then there were the figs for just 60 HUF each (about 30 cents).
The fruit quickly disappeared, but I still have these gorgeous rókagombak (yellow chanterelles) 
from the Mátra hills. A forager had a pile of these earthy mushrooms and nothing else spread out on a tablecloth. They’re usually as expensive as they are sought after, but these were just 300 HUF for 100 grams (which works out to a little more than $7 a pound). I haven’t decided yet what to do with these, but I know it will be something simple like sautéing them in butter and tossing them with pasta and herbs or just adding them to an omelet.
It’s often grimly noted that in America it’s less affordable to eat fesh fruits and veggies, and cheaper and easier to buy the mass produced energy dense foods that are so high in sugar and fat. In Budapest, I’m happy to say, that isn’t so.
2 Comments
August 14, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Even though things are getting really expensive in BP, even at the markets, I was so relieved the other day to come home with a plastic bag stuffed with fruits and vegetables for a mere 1,000 forints or so. Thank the stars for abundance.
August 14, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Yes, I know. I usually hate shopping in Budapest because everything seems so expensive. But the food markets are the few places where I feel like I’m getting a bargain—especially after a trip back to the States earlier this summer when most of the strawberries and melons that I ate tasted like nothing and were amazingly expensive compared to Budapest.
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