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Great Plain Spirit · Apricot Brandy

Kecskeméti Barack Pálinka

Kecskeméti Barack Pálinka — street food from Alföld (Great Plain), Hungary
Photo: Rachael Ludwick / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

The apricot orchards around one Great Plain town became so linked to this fruit brandy that 'Kecskemét apricot' is practically its own pálinka category.

Pálinka is Hungary's fruit brandy, and the sandy soil around Kecskemét in the Alföld (Great Plain) proved ideal for apricot trees, producing a brandy famous for its intense fruit aroma. It's double-distilled and traditionally drunk as a welcome shot before a meal.

Why it's made this way: The Alföld's flat, sun-baked plains and sandy soil gave it a fruit-growing specialty that turned into the region's signature spirit.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.