National research: these are Hungarians’ favorite dishes

For nine out of ten Hungarians, there is no Christmas menu without traditional dishes, but the majority of them are more or less open to new things, and only one in five of our compatriots insists exclusively on familiar dishes – this is revealed, among other things, by the results of Rama’s latest national, representative research*.

Among the traditional Christmas main courses, stuffed cabbage proved to be the most popular: almost half of the respondents said that this dish should not be missing from the holiday menu. Fried meat was ranked as a Christmas favorite by more than a third of those surveyed, thus coming in second place, narrowly ahead of fish soup and fried fish. Women are more likely to favor cabbage and fried meat than men, while fried fish and potato salad are considered more popular than average among the latter.

As for desserts, bagels were an undisputed winner: for half of our compatriots, the poppy seed version is a must-have element of the traditional Christmas menu, followed closely by the nut-flavored version. A third of those surveyed would not be able to do without both jerboa and gingerbread during the holidays. Interestingly, poppy seed bagels are more popular than average among women and those over 60, while gingerbread is mainly popular among young people under 30. During the research, they were also curious about what kind of fat domestic consumers usually use for each type of food. When it comes to sweet or savory pastries, margarine is by far the most popular. More than half of the respondents choose this ingredient for cookies, while a third of them use it for holiday sandwiches and cold dishes, and oil is the most common ingredient for main courses.