Liptauer Hungarian Cheese Spread

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 3 oz salted butter softened
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 Tbsp onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp prepared mustard

Instructions:

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend using an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon. Do this until cheese is fluffy.

Step 2: Put the spread into a sealed container for at least 1 hour before serving. The Liptauer cheese will last for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Step 3: Liptauer is traditionally served on rye or pumpernickel bread but Pita chips and crackers work as well.

ESSAY:

Liptauer is a spicy cheese spread appetizer that comes from Hungary. Growing up my Grandmother always told me how my family had come from Austria-Hungary and this is one recipe she has continued to make. She has a very specific way of making it that I thought was so different, but, as it turns out, it is a pretty basic and common way to make it. A lot of the time, the recipe calls for goat cheese but my grandmother has always done cream cheese. Another big inclusion in this dish is capers, but my family also has never included it in their recipe.

There is a controversy surrounding the origin of Liptauer, as people feel it is German or even Slovakian. People debate and argue as they feel it is a recipe that holds a strong connection towards their heritage. Cultures hold their recipes for this dish close to their heart. Liptauer also is made differently by some people who may use just cottage cheese or even goat cheese.

An exciting aspect of the cheese spread dish is the variety of ways it is made with such a simple list of ingredients. It was used to make an appetizer dish that could be served cold with some bread on the side. Pita chips can also be used for the side dish to add a crunchy chip and hummus type dish. For a creamier dish people usually aim for goat cheese, while the cream cheese gives it a whipped texture. It is meant to be spicy using a lot of paprika for the kick in the back of the throat.

Culturally, the dish is used in quite a few different origins of the east. Certain aspects are changed in different places while some may not use capers or garlic, but others may use multiple cheeses to add to the taste of the dish. This is a stem of something I had realized over the course of making the dish and finding out more about it. The idea food can actually cause arguments about its background and make people defensive is something that has been mentioned in almost all of the things we have read. Ethnicity and food relation have diversity and people want to feel the connection to it. When talking to my grandmother about this dish it was entertaining to me how she was so protective of it and made a point to say that it is Hungarian.

In Barbara Kingsolver’s book, she focuses a lot on how people can easily live their lives buying local foods. This dish was common in Hungary as the access to the small list of ingredients. The dish had costed me between ten and fifteen dollars and only takes ten minutes to prepare. It is all about mixing the ingredients together the correct way so the butter and the cream cheese don’t overpower the seasonings. I think a strong comparison I saw from this book and my dish is that there are cultural backgrounds towards foods that can be important and also the price range of what people can afford to make.

Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, talks about how corn is a product that is used as a base or some additive to all dishes. I wanted to make a dish that represented my own heritage and connections to food, while staying away from corn-based things. I found it a challenge to find a dish with ingredients that didn’t use some form of corn. Doing research to find the right selection of items without corn eventually was doable but proved how difficult it can be. It also made me think about the food items I was buying from a United States grocery store located in New Hampshire, to make a Hungarian based dish.

I found in my research with so much controversy over this dish that it would be more difficult to find an American-based dish without some historical background or connection to other places in the world. Also, as a child growing up I had never known it was Hungarian until I was a teenager and asked my grandmother more about it. I had always assumed it was a dish that was common in the United States, which relates to the blind eye we turn towards our food.

This dish was not only an experience to research and find more out, but was a great learning experience seeing how the dish can be altered and how much controversy there is about such an easily made cheese spread. People argue over rye and pumpernickel bread and which one works better for the dish. It astounds me that this dish has such a diverse background. When I look at food now and different recipes, I see there is so much more to it after taking this class. The produces and consumptions of mass food leads to the massive industrialization and grocery chain stores. Making dishes simpler and buying locally can make an impact. Liptauer Cheese spread is a dish that is easily made and accessible to a lot of people. It also can be made from local ingredients for people who would prefer to do so.