Palinka is an inevitable part of Hungarian culture and gastronomy that deserved its place among the most popular alcoholic drinks.
Palinka as a Hungaricum has also become very popular among tourists who visit Hungary. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is made from 100 % fruit and the climate is very optimal in Hungary – especially on the Great Hungarian Plain – for growing high quality fruit. High quality food, high quality technology plus professional palinka brewers are the key to high quality palinka. However, this unique drink is present not only at family gatherings but managed to get a well-deserved place in the catering industry as well.
Many restaurants organise so called ‘Palinka Dinners’ where guests have the opportunity to taste different kinds of palinka for each and every meal of the delicious dinner.
Everyone can find his or her favourite among the traditional and modern flavours. The caterers pick each palinka carefully so that it matches the food that is served during the event; and it is not easy to decide which palinka would suit the meals the best, it requires great professionalism.
A list of some palinkas and food that are perfect matches and that create perfect flavour harmony: cornel palinka for foie gras served with parsley potatoes, blueberry palinka for crispy duck roast with steamed cabbage and parsley potatoes, hawthorn palinka for apple strudel.
Similarly to Palinka Dinners several programs are organised with palinka in the centre. Nor only palinka breweries but many service providers organise palinka sampling tours for special events. It is an interesting and exciting program for those who would like to get acquainted with palinka and palinka culture.
It is a great opportunity for hotels, restaurants and companies to provide a few-hour-long program for guests and employees. Palinka sampling tours are great team building events too. However, many caterers offer private palinka sampling opportunities for smaller groups too. The length of the program depends on the number of palinkas that are served.
This program is popular among tourists too and consequently most service providers offer English language guidance during the tours. This is a great way to get to know Hungary and its unique drink better and to have fun and taste premium, high quality drinks.
In 2015 a Hungarian delegation went to Uganda to negotiate about a possible agricultural cooperation between the two countries. Many people do not know that this East-African country provides several opportunities for Hungarian companies.
There is a sample farm there that is run by Hungarian Cultural Trade Center and that provides work opportunities for locals. The Uganda soil is great for growing fruit and vegetables, mainly corn and passion fruit. But interestingly there is another fruit that turned out to be a great ingredient for palinka. And this fruit is jackfruit, Uganda’s superfood that is low in saturated fat but extremely high in vitamins.
According to locals, it is possible to make palinka from jackfruit and the result would probably be popular among consumers. However, it is still debatable how a fruit grown in Uganda’ soil can be used to make Hungarian palinka, but time will tell.