Mangalica Festival In Budapest

What better way to enjoy yourself than with some wonderful food and drink? And the crowds did so to enjoy the annual Mangalica Festival.

A pig that came close to extinction just a few decades ago, the magnificent Mangalica meat is said to be even tastier and healthier than regular pork. The festival is named after this delicious furry pig that is indigenous to Hungary. There are three Mangalica breeds: blonde, swallow-bellied and red. They all have the same behaviour; the only difference is the colour. The blonde mangalica is blonde, the swallow-bellied has a blonde belly and feet with a black body, and the red is ginger. This annual Mangalica feast featured authentic folk music and the traditional kettle-cooking contest and plenty of hand-crafted goods. There were also some live examples of this Hungarian heritage breed you could have a closer look at. These could all be enjoyed with some delicious palinka, craft beers and plenty of desserts. In a nutshell it’s a big open-air restaurant with something for everyone to blow away those January blues.

Words and photos by Russell Skidmore for XpatLoop.com