where to find gravy in Budapest

attila1967 wrote:

Does anyone know of a place, restaurant or store that has Gravy?
Looking around I can't believe there isn't any around the city.
If anyone has any ideas on where to find some, would be appreciated.
Even if I have to ship it in from somewhere in Europe...most likely the U.K.

Cheers!

Ah, another devotee of decent gravy. Excellent.

You can buy Bisto granules in Tesco in Budaors and also in Budakeszi. They only seemed to have the beef flavour, not the chicken one and not the "light" versions.  Update: as of 21 Nov, Budakeszi Tesco has: Beef, Chick and Vegetable Bisto. HUF 650.

They also had Sage and Onion stuffing in Budaors last week as I grabbed some while I could.

Be aware there are shortages and surpluses sometimes. Took them ages to get some new Scots Porridge Oats in and yet there was an overflow of Marmite (never a bad thing).

thx for the quick reply but granules are what?

attila1967 wrote:

thx for the quick reply but granules are what?

granule = szemcse

Bisto is a kind of dried large particle (e.g. granulated) powder you mix with hot water and then pour it over your meat.

It tastes better than my description!

All the facts are here: Bisto

I went and got the  bisto chicken granules at tesco budaors. They had it and now I will introduce gravy to my relatives and Budapest....cheers!

thx for the help

attila1967 wrote:

I went and got the  bisto chicken granules at tesco budaors. They had it and now I will introduce gravy to my relatives and Budapest....cheers!

thx for the help

Wow, they had Chicken? They only had "beef" (no beef in it actually) when I was there. But glad to be of help - instant success so to speak.

Mrs Fluffy now knows about gravy also - and Marmite, Ginger Beer and Pot Noodles and a few other things. She has not warmed to Banana Sandwiches yet. 

There are quite a lot of British workers in Tesco in Budaors as I hear them talking in the aisles. If only they would spread the word on Ginger Beer etc.

Happy Gravy Days!

"Buy" gravy?

No, no, no.

You make gravy:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_gravy/

klsallee wrote:

"Buy" gravy?

No, no, no.

You make gravy:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_gravy/

I tried to make gravy when roasting a duck a few days ago. It came out terribly badly despite my best attempt. It was dreadful. I'm currently blaming the duck.

Bisto is a risk reduction strategy for those culinary and time challenged - removes uncertainty, it's quick and it tastes OK too.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I tried to make gravy when roasting a duck a few days ago.

Did you strain and pour off the extra fat (critical with fatty meats like duck)? Also, try the idea in the comment section of the web site I posted; It suggests for Duck to use red wine, then simmer to reduce to remove the alcohol. Making gravy mostly requires patience (the only really hard part), it is not something one can rush, but worth the effort.

In UK I always used Oxo cubes to make gravy with corn flour to thicken it. I can get Tesco and other makes of stock cubes but so far the corn flour is eluding me. I did buy a bag if corn flour in Hungary but it is yellow rather than the familiar white product sold in UK. It turns out that the British sort is actually corn starch rather than flour, hence the confusion. You can buy wheat starch here so that might be the way to go. Wheat starch is what they use to make semolina pudding, the dreaded school meals dessert!

klsallee wrote:

Did you strain and pour off the extra fat (critical with fatty meats like duck)? Also, try the idea in the comment section of the web site I posted; It suggests for Duck to use red wine, then simmer to reduce to remove the alcohol. ...

Yup, did all that, if not that skifully. I'm rubbish at gravy obviously. I think it would be easier to do gravy for say chicken, than for duck.

fidobsa wrote:

....corn flour is eluding me. ..Wheat starch is what they use to make semolina pudding, the dreaded school meals dessert!

This is extremely difficult in Hungary. I have not found anywhere than has corn flour yet. What I do is bring it in from the UK. Since one only uses it a spoonful at a time, it lasts ages.

Semolina and Tapioca - dreadful.  The worst school menu sticks in my mind - battered spam fritters, boiled leeks, mashed potato (that was OK) followed by tapioca. Yuck!

fluffy2560 wrote:

I have not found anywhere than has corn flour yet. What I do is bring it in from the UK. Since one only uses it a spoonful at a time, it lasts ages.

Kukoricaliszt is fine grain, kukoricadara is rough.
We use it all the time (in bread), I'm sure my wife just buys it in regular shops...

szocske wrote:

[...
Kukoricaliszt is fine grain, kukoricadara is rough.
We use it all the time (in bread), I'm sure my wife just buys it in regular shops...

It's not the same. Cornflour (however misnamed) is actually corn starch. It's used by us bad sauce experts to thicken sauces mainly.

See here: Cornflour is not Corn "flour" but Corn Starch

"....maizena in Slovakia, ...."
Looks like I may have a trip to Slovakia coming up!

HI all,
You can go to Culinaris culinaris.hu  and usually get everything you need to feel at home, or they can order it for you . The other way is to go online to ebay.co.uk  or amazon.com . They also sell items that people get homesick for .
cheers

Oh, my mistake, goes to show how much I know about cooking.
Starch is "Kemenyito", and looks so processed it should not matter much what grain it was extracted from :-)

I think practically everything mentioned here is available at
thebritishpantry.hu
gravy, cornflour etc

wow thanks for that!

I just discovered the gravy mix at IKEA, used for their sweedish meatball dish. It can be purchased in little pouches at the food section. Simple and tasty! A great alternative.