Fröccs and more…

As the weather in Northern England has finally decided to allow us a little glimpse of summer, it seems an apposite time to write about that stalwart of Hungarian summer drinks – the  fröccs. Pronounced (by my father) as Frutch – it’s a white wine and soda or spritz. But obviously, being a Hungarian drink, it ain’t that simple. There are about 2o versions of this, dependent upon the ratio of wine to water. My favourite is the nagy fröccs, or the “big” fröccs – a ratio of 2 parts wine to 1 part soda water, but if you’re feeling brave, you can have the Krúdy fröccs, which is 9 parts wine to 1 part soda water. It’s named after the writer Gyula Krüdy, who was active during the late 19th/early 20th centuries and famous for his depictions of Budapest cafe society. Krüdy was a prolific but permanently broke writer, who spent most of his income in the bars and restaurants he wrote about. One version is called piszkos víz – or dirty water. This is for when totally broke – the soda is added to a glass that has previously held wine, adding a tantalising hint of flavour… Note. It must be soda water. Not mineral water. That doesn’t have the required effervescence. Incidentally, Hungarians claim the honour of mass production of soda water, inventing the technique for creating it on an industrial scale, back in the mid 19thC by Benedictine inventor Ányos Jedlik (monks have the BEST drink ideas). So it’s not altogether surprising that fröccs is dear to their hearts. We always had a soda bottle at home and Papi would scour chemist shops for the little bulbs of carbon dioxide required to make the water fizz. We’re talking WAY before SodaStream.

Everyone drinks fröccs in Hungary. It’s a long, refreshing drink, served in a simple water glass rather than a fancy glass with any garnish. Simple but potent. Last year I had a big birthday, celebrating with 15 dear friends and a bunch of cousins in Budapest. I introduced my friends to the fröccs, which slips down deceptively easily on a hot summer’s day. I’m not saying it was a contributory factor to a little raucous behaviour on the late night tram but maybe…I do remember several grown men attempting to floss dance in the street. Attempting. Of course, I’ve been drinking fröccs since I was small. Seen as perfectly normal for a child to have accompanying a meal (I did grow up in the 70s), I always felt very grown up to have my fröccs alongside my parents. It was more a piszkos víz than a nagy one. Honest.

Hungarian wine deserves a wider audience. It’s not widely distributed but has a reputation amongst wine writers. Tokaji or as it is also known Tokay, was called “Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum” or wine of Kings, King of wines by Louis XV when serving it to his mistress Madame du Pompadour at Versailles (Italians might argue that Barolo deserves this title but hey, I’m biased). It was the first wine to receive an appellation control, a legally protective designation of geographical status where the grapes are grown. It’s been made in the region since at least 1576 but may be even older than that in origin. Due to chopping up of territories post the Trianon treaty of 1918, a chunk of Hungary’s Tokaji wine making region ended up as part of Slovakia, which has led to a bit of to-ing and fro-ing over the use of the name. Six grape varieties may be used in the creation of Tokaji – the most popular of which is Furmint, which has been cultivated in Hungary since the 13th C. It produces a golden wine that ranges from dry to super sweet, depending upon the point at which the grape is picked – to produce the prized aszú for Tokaji, the grape is left to develop botrytis or a “noble” rot that creates the distinctive smoky apricot flavour of the dessert wine. If you want to read up more on Hungarian wines, and where to find them in the UK, check out Fiona Beckett’s wine writings – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/06/furmint-grape-hungary-dry-wine-fiona-beckett

In the meantime, I shall raise a glass of fröccs to you all and say “Egészségére” or cheers!