# Goulash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906 "2017-06-02T01:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/1 "2017-06-02T01:50:26Z")
Does goulash have an actual recipe that makes it goulash or is it more of a personal thing that families kind of adopt to and call it goulash? I have always made something I call goulash and I have no idea if I just made it up or copied someone. Been making it since I was a kid and I don’t always make it the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/2 "2017-06-02T02:03:08Z")
I’ve had goulash made by an actual Hungarian. One of my dad’s coworkers stayed with us while waiting for her visa to be renewed. Sorry I don’t have a recipe. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/3 "2017-06-02T02:10:07Z")
Goulash or _gulyás_ is a general name for a beef, pork, or lamb stew made with paprika and other spices and additives. It no more has a single recipe than does chili con carne, and it fills the same role in Central and Eastern European cuisine as chili does in American cuisine as a staple of cattle drives and herdsmen needing a nutritious, high calorie warm meal that can be prepared,in bulk in a single pot. The only rule, so to speak, is that it should have a meat base flavored with paprika and onions (and other spices as desired), and thickened with gelatin (traditionally rendered from collagen during the cooking process), not-repeat-not using a roux or corn startch as a thickening agent or containing tomatoes as the primary flavorant, as many Western recipies mistakenly call for. It is frequently served over spaetzle or some other kind of egg noodle, but traditionally it is a thcik stew served on its own with bread or sometimes over mashed or baked potatoes, and occasionally polenta. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/4 "2017-06-02T02:29:36Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Goulash or _gulyás_ is a general name for a beef, pork, or lamb stew made with paprika and other spices and additives. It no more has a single recipe than does chili con carne, and it fills the same role in Central and Eastern European cuisine as chili does in American cuisine as a staple of cattle drives and herdsmen needing a nutritious, high calorie warm meal that can be prepared,in bulk in a single pot. The only rule, so to speak, is that it should have a meat base flavored with paprika and onions (and other spices as desired), and thickened with gelatin (traditionally rendered from collagen during the cooking process), not-repeat-not using a roux or corn startch as a thickening agent or containing tomatoes as the primary flavorant, as many Western recipies mistakenly call for. It is frequently served over spaetzle or some other kind of egg noodle, but traditionally it is a thcik stew served on its own with bread or sometimes over mashed or baked potatoes, and occasionally polenta. > > Stranger That sound pretty much what I do. I usually serve it over noodles but sometimes add them. I always use paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, and a small amount of curry and oregano. Stewed tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes or noodles, onions and garlic. Sometimes chard. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/5 "2017-06-02T02:39:33Z")
[Previous](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=776649) [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747227). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/6 "2017-06-02T02:48:37Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Goulash or _gulyás_ is a general name for a beef, pork, or lamb stew made with paprika and other spices and additives. It no more has a single recipe than does chili con carne, and it fills the same role in Central and Eastern European cuisine as chili does in American cuisine as a staple of cattle drives and herdsmen needing a nutritious, high calorie warm meal that can be prepared,in bulk in a single pot. The only rule, so to speak, is that it should have a meat base flavored with paprika and onions (and other spices as desired), and thickened with gelatin (traditionally rendered from collagen during the cooking process), not-repeat-not using a roux or corn startch as a thickening agent or containing tomatoes as the primary flavorant, as many Western recipies mistakenly call for. It is frequently served over spaetzle or some other kind of egg noodle, but traditionally it is a thcik stew served on its own with bread or sometimes over mashed or baked potatoes, and occasionally polenta. > > Stranger That’s correct. The only thing I would add is that _gulyás_ is generally more like a soup (and served with potatoes and sometimes other root vegetables) and _pörkölt_ is the stewy version that is basically just meat, onions & paprika (and that’s generally what goes under the name “Hungarian goulash” in the US). ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/7 "2017-06-02T02:55:29Z")
I forgot the squash! I usually cook it when my summer squash are harvested. They go great in the qoulash. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/8 "2017-06-02T03:02:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s correct. The only thing I would add is that _gulyás_ is generally more like a soup (and served with potatoes and sometimes other root vegetables) and _pörkölt_ is the stewy version that is basically just meat, onions & paprika (and that’s generally what goes under the name “Hungarian goulash” in the US). At the airport in Warsaw a couple of weeks ago, I had some delicious gulyas soup made with beef and sweet peppers in a tomato-ey broth. The Austrians make it with weiners split in four halfway down (the ends open out like a flower blooming), and serve each portion with a fried egg. It’s called Coachman’s Gulyas. The goulash my mother made was more like beefaroni, with lots of mac and tomato sauce. I don’t recall her ever using paprika, even though my dad was of recent Hungarian extraction. There are tons of goulash recipes on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/9 "2017-06-02T03:09:27Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > At the airport in Warsaw a couple of weeks ago, I had some delicious gulyas soup made with beef and sweet peppers in a tomato-ey broth. > > The Austrians make it with weiners split in four halfway down (the ends open out like a flower blooming), and serve each portion with a fried egg. It’s called Coachman’s Gulyas. > > The goulash my mother made was more like beefaroni, with lots of mac and tomato sauce. I don’t recall her ever using paprika, even though my dad was of recent Hungarian extraction. > > There are tons of goulash recipes on the Internet. Yeah, the Midwestern goulash–I have no idea how it got its name. That stuff is just beefaroni with a more exotic name. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/10 "2017-06-02T03:45:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s correct. The only thing I would add is that _gulyás_ is generally more like a soup (and served with potatoes and sometimes other root vegetables) and _pörkölt_ is the stewy version that is basically just meat, onions & paprika (and that’s generally what goes under the name “Hungarian goulash” in the US). The thickness depends on the provence of the dish (some form of goulash can be found in every European nation east of the Rhine), but yes, most goulash is thinner and often served with potatoes, carrots, and turnips. > [@terentii](#): > > The goulash my mother made was more like beefaroni, with lots of mac and tomato sauce. I don’t recall her ever using paprika, even though my dad was of recent Hungarian extraction. > > There are tons of goulash recipes on the Internet. And most of them absolutely terrible. While it is not unacceptable to add tomatoes to a goulash, they should not be the base, and it shouldn’t be anything like the “Hamburger Helper” concoctions popular with Americans. The use of a good sweet paprika is crucial, as is stewing fatty meat to produce the appropriate base. “Vegetarian goulash” is a meaningless term. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/11 "2017-06-02T04:29:06Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The thickness depends on the provence of the dish (some form of goulash can be found in every European nation east of the Rhine), but yes, most goulash is thinner and often served with potatoes, carrots, and turnips. I was speaking specifically of _gulyás_, so implying the Hungarian sort. In Germanic countries, that goes by the name of gulaschsuppe (goulash soup) while the aforementioned _pörkölt_ gets the gulasch appellation. (Of course, gulyás usually goes by _gulyásleves_, “herdsman’s soup,” so the soupy nature is in the name.) Same type of deal with the Slavic countries. Basically, what I’m saying is what goes by goulash in the rest of the world is _pörkölt_ in Hungarian, and what is _gulyás_ to Hungarians is goulash soup to everyone else. Then you have related dishes like paprikash (_paprikás_) and _tokány_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/12 "2017-06-02T13:02:16Z")
I was wondering about that… A friend’s wife recently made what she insisted was goulash, that consisted entirely of ground beef (well, actually TVP, since they’re vegetarians, but close enough) in some sort of sauce. A different friend, meanwhile, has a recipe that he picked up in Hungary, that’s a stew cooked for many hours, and including a whole bunch of vegetables (including potatoes, but you’d never know it, because they’re cooked down to the point of no recognizable lumps). But the friend’s wife was insistent that what she had made was the One True Goulash and that there’s no conceivable way that anything else could possibly be called by that name. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/13 "2017-06-02T13:15:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I was wondering about that… A friend’s wife recently made what she insisted was goulash, that consisted entirely of ground beef (well, actually TVP, since they’re vegetarians, but close enough) in some sort of sauce. A different friend, meanwhile, has a recipe that he picked up in Hungary, that’s a stew cooked for many hours, and including a whole bunch of vegetables (including potatoes, but you’d never know it, because they’re cooked down to the point of no recognizable lumps). But the friend’s wife was insistent that what she had made was the One True Goulash and that there’s no conceivable way that anything else could possibly be called by that name. Tell her she’s actually making chili. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/14 "2017-06-02T13:46:41Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > And most of them absolutely terrible. Negative vibes, man. Negative vibes. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/15 "2017-06-02T13:51:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A friend’s wife recently made what she insisted was goulash, that consisted entirely of ground beef (well, actually TVP, since they’re vegetarians, but close enough) in some sort of sauce. Does TVP include tofu? I hate tofu! Yeccch! :mad: Please tell me she doesn’t put chunks of tofu into it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/16 "2017-06-02T14:21:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I was wondering about that… A friend’s wife recently made what she insisted was goulash, that consisted entirely of ground beef (well, actually TVP, since they’re vegetarians, but close enough) in some sort of sauce. A different friend, meanwhile, has a recipe that he picked up in Hungary, that’s a stew cooked for many hours, and including a whole bunch of vegetables (including potatoes, but you’d never know it, because they’re cooked down to the point of no recognizable lumps). But the friend’s wife was insistent that what she had made was the One True Goulash and that there’s no conceivable way that anything else could possibly be called by that name. It sounds like she’s making Midwestern goulash, which, as stated above, has little to no resemblance to the Hungarian dish that is the source of its name. As long as you’re not calling it “Hungarian goulash,” I don’t really care, since I know “goulash” in the US refers to a wide array of stews and, for some reason, beefaroni-type dishes. [Here’s what a bog-standard Hungarian “kettle” goulash (bográcsgulyás) looks like.](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/guly%C3%A1s#/media/File:Gulyas080.jpg) It’s basically meat, onions, paprika, and a couple of gypsy/frying-type peppers stewed in water or a light stock. Sometimes caraway seed also flavors it. Sometimes a smallish tomato or two are added (but not much; sometimes it’s just in the form of tomato paste. I personally don’t like to add any.) Finished with potatoes and sometimes root vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery root). (The stew version called _pörkölt_ omits this and uses little to no water, but otherwise, very similar recipe. Sometimes red wine is added to the stew version.) There are certainly other types of gulyás: _Székely gulyás_, made with pork & sauerkraut, and _babgulyás_, made with beans and ham hocks, are two other popular types in the area. Without further context, though, gulyás usually refers to the beef version of the dish described in my last paragraph. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/17 "2017-06-02T14:24:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Does TVP include tofu? I hate tofu! Yeccch! :mad: > > Please tell me she doesn’t put chunks of tofu into it? :dubious: TVP is textured vegetable protein. It’s made from defatted soy flour and kind of looks like, I dunno, dried up, rough pebbles of dough. It doesn’t cook up to anything that really resembles tofu. (I love tofu, but TVP, while being made from the same vegetable, is very different in terms of mouthfeel. Similar to tofu, though, it doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor on its own.) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/18 "2017-06-02T14:51:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I was wondering about that… A friend’s wife recently made what she insisted was goulash, that consisted entirely of ground beef (well, actually TVP, since they’re vegetarians, but close enough) in some sort of sauce. A different friend, meanwhile, has a recipe that he picked up in Hungary, that’s a stew cooked for many hours, and including a whole bunch of vegetables (including potatoes, but you’d never know it, because they’re cooked down to the point of no recognizable lumps). But the friend’s wife was insistent that what she had made was the One True Goulash and that there’s no conceivable way that anything else could possibly be called by that name. As with many vegetarians, your friend’s wife knows essentially nothing about cooking or cuisine. She is, of course, free to call what she makes goulash, or _coq au vin_, or haggis soup, but it does not resemble any dish the respective native cultures would prepare. My apologies to the rational vegetarians out there who appreciate that their dietary choice is based on personal preference rather than any physiological benefit or adaptation, and who understand that their versions of traditional dishes are not comparable to original meat-based compositions in taste, but after a recent meal with a vegetarian registered dietician stating patently false claims like, “Plants have no cholesterols,” “Juicing produces benefitical phytochemicals,” and my favorite, “We don’t need animal-based proteins in our diet because we can synthesize all proteins from carbohydrates and minerals,” I’ve flatly had it with dogmatic vegetarians and dietitians who seem to have neglected to learn anything from their coursework in nutritional biochemistry. > [@terentii](#): > > Negative vibes, man. Negative vibes. ☹ _shrug_ Most of the recipes you find on [allrecipes.com](http://allrecipes.com), [altonbrown.com](http://altonbrown.com), et cetera, resemble the traditional dish about as well as Pizza Hut does Naplese pizza, and many of them are truly vile in their own right. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/19 "2017-06-02T15:06:54Z")
You can, however, do a vegetarian (though not vegan, if you’re being traditional) mushroom paprikash, which is an actual classic Hungarian dish, and in that general gulyás-related dishes category. You can certainly get away with calling it mushroom goulash in English. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906/20 "2017-06-02T15:18:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > TVP is textured vegetable protein. It’s made from defatted soy flour and kind of looks like, I dunno, dried up, rough pebbles of dough. It doesn’t cook up to anything that really resembles tofu. (I love tofu, but TVP, while being made from the same vegetable, is very different in terms of mouthfeel. Similar to tofu, though, it doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor on its own.) We have a vegan friend who stops by for a visit whenever she’s in town. I usually cook a vegan dinner for the three of us and the TVP I use resembles cooked ground beef. Last time she was here, I made meatless tacos. I’ve also made chili with it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goulash/787906.md?page=2)