Goulash--Two Kinds?

American "goulash"

 

 

 

 

Gulyás, in a traditional cauldron.

 

 

 

 

What is goulash?  

Goulash, or gulyás, is a stew or soup that may contain vegetables and is spiced generally with paprika (introduced by the Ottoman Turks around the 15th century CE).  The original gulyás was made by herders in the 9th and 10th centuries and can be thought of as a Hungarian counterpart to the stews of American cowboys.  Nowadays such goulashes are often eaten poured over egg noodles.  I posted an article about the original goulash in 2014; you can read it here.

But there is an "American" goulash that started appearing in cookbooks around 1914. Wikipedia claims that "Originally a dish of seasoned beef, core ingredients of American goulash now usually include elbow macaroni, cubed steak, ground beef or 'hamburger,' and tomatoes in some form, whether canned whole, as tomato sauce, and/or tomato paste." It may even contain cheese.  I suspect that this kind of 'goulash' was heavily influenced by Italian-American cooking and owes very little to any traditional Hungarian recipes. Significantly, "American" goulash typically contains paprika in small amounts (i.e., less than a tablespoon) compared to Hungarian recipes, modern or otherwise. 

The following websites contain a bit more information about both types of goulash.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goulash

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guly%C3%A1sleves

https://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsoups.html#goulash

https://www.besthungarianrecipes.com/hungarian-goulash

http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Goulash/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_goulash

https://www.tastingtable.com/972143/hungarian-vs-american-goulash-whats-the-difference/

Casserole

Cassoulet in a traditional pan. Wikimedia Commons.

 

A friend of mine sent me a link to an article called "The Eternal Comfort of the Casserole."  In the article, the author expresses the opinion that casseroles are around because they serve a purpose; they are emotionally sustaining when that is what people require.   The article may be read here.  It contains images of several casserole recipes ranging in dates from the 1930s to the 1970s, complete with dates and original sources, that may be of interest to those interested in mid-twentieth century American food.

 

I have never liked casseroles. Don't get me wrong; I'm not fanatical about counting fats, carbs, and calories, and I'm as fond of starchy, fatty comfort foods as the next person: pizza, meatloaf, shepherd's pie, beef stews.  What I don't enjoy are the layered starches stuck together with cheese and/or meat that to me spell "casserole".  Foods such as lasagnas, beef-and-macaroni dishes, and things like green bean casserole.  The type of green bean casserole (with or without the traditional crunchy onions) described in the article I find especially unappetizing.

Wikipedia pretty much agrees with the author's definition of casserole.  Wikipedia defines "casserole," at least as the term is understood in the United States, as "a baked food with three main components: pieces of meat (such as chicken or ground meat) or fish (such as tuna) or other protein (such as beans or tofu), various chopped or canned vegetables (such as green beans or peas), and a starchy binder (such as flour, potato, or pasta); sometimes, there is also a crunchy or cheesy topping."  

Other countries use the term "casserole" to describe dishes that are more like the stews I prefer.  Wikipedia says:  "In English-speaking Commonwealth countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, the term casserole is most commonly used to refer to a dish of meat or chicken with vegetables and a gravy-style sauce; dishes containing a large proportion of starchy ingredients, e.g. pasta or potatoes, or those cooked in creamy sauces are not generally referred to as casseroles, and might be called 'bakes' or 'gratins.'  The French term "cassoulet," which describes a bean stew with meat, may be the source of our term "casserole."  It is traditionally made in a ceramic pot of an unusual shape, unlike the slow cooker I use or the deep squarish pan used to make casseroles in the oven.  (A picture of the French-style cassoulet pan appears above.)

The article's author expresses the belief that the American-style casserole arose from the conjunction of two different elements:  the Scandinavian customs that arrived with the people who settled the American Midwest; and the economic scarcity that troubled mid-twentieth century America.   

"This is how the casserole worked its way onto our tables. A dish born of poverty and convenience. A dish both overly processed and perfectly delicious. Casserole is ubiquitous and to the haters, bland. (To which I say, add spice! Casseroles are what you make them.) But the point is a fair one. A casserole in its essence is a dish of comfort and a dish of hot, ready, cheap proteins and carbs." 

Though the types of recipe featured in the article are not tempting to me, the article is a good read about the conditions under which the modern "casserole" sprang.  I commend it to my readers' attention.

Goulash

I started a new job in February, so I did not do much food-history-related research throughout March, let alone creative cooking. April threatens to be just as busy, so I wanted to post a quick update before I descend into a welter of tax preparation and bill paying. My husband has asked me to try making a Hungarian goulash, so I thought I'd do a little bit of looking into the history of that dish. This quote from The Food Timeline gives the gist of the history of goulash:

Gulyás  (Goulash) in a traditional bogrács (cauldron)

Food historians trace the genesis of Goulash (gulyas), a thick soup/stew, to 9th century Hungarian shepherds. In fact? the term "Gulyas" literally translates as "herdsmen." Soup played a key role in the early pastoral diet. Dried meats and vegetables were eminently portable and easily reconstuted. Over the years, Hungarian Goulash evolved from peasant fare to signature national dish. Interpretations, especially in the USA, range from somewhat authentic to amalgamated leftovers whose only claim to Hungary is a generous helping of paprika. It is interesting to note that paprika, the spice that has become almost synonymous with Hungary, was probably not introduced until the 16th century. By the 19th century it was perceived globally as THE key ingredient in Hungarian cuisine.

So goulash is a meat stew or soup, perhaps not too different from the stews of the Viking farmers which have long fascinated me. I expect to use a modern recipe with paprika and Worcestershire sauce, neither of which are period for those 9th and 10th century CE Hungarian shepherds (though Worcestershire sauce, being an arguable descendant of Roman garum, comes closer to being period), but I'm sure my spouse will appreciate the change after 6 weeks of alternating chili con carne with an ordinary beef stew. I recommend reading the rest of the Food Timeline's goulash entry; it emphasizes the absence of paprika from the original versions of the dish.