Gyula was ready to shoot off in competition to the Pork Sódarmustra on Friday morning at the Castle Gyula Garden. The festival was officially open by Dr. Ernő Görgényi – Major of Gyula. The traditional three-day event of this year had fewer visitors than least year, yet the sausages, smoke meat products were highly above of the this year’s sale.
At Gyula the sausages and hams were judge on Saturday morning at the VII. Gyulai Sausage and Sódarmustra. The competition began with the Gyergyószentmiklós – Transylvanian butchers cutting the pork into pieces by the team members. The audience could watch how the handy hands were working. Their mission can to an end by filling the sausages and preparing the other pork meat to be cooked. At the exhibition tent the dry sausage and smoked meat products were evaluated by expert butchers within a jury team. These goods were brought by butchers from near and far from the country. The sausages were mainly been observed by the use of raw materials, spices in the process and by its properly loading, how it was smoked and preparing.
On Sunday early morning the members of the Gyula Traditional Butcher’s Association – Manufacture Ltd., also started their day by cutting the pork. Again many visitors were extremely interested how they process. This time as the day before the weight of the pork was 120 kilograms and from this amount of pork meat 28 kilograms of minced meat was filled in pig intestine and from there on the sausages were ready set to be fried sausages. For roasting sausage was good at this point the 120 kilos of pork, but for smoked ham is used to 120-140 kilogram of pigs meat.
During the muster days the visitors could choose from the lineup of meat products by tasting then in advance at the stalls set up tents among the home-made meat products. Was the best time to shop smoked meat for the coming season of Easter and many visitors did just that beside the tastings to get familiar with different regions special flavors. A butchers came from all over the country, and naturally the local Gyula butchers each brought their own specialities in flavors and of course from across the borders. The Sodarmustra beside having a gastronomic tourism in favor also valued in addition to increase the number of arriving tourism to the city as well. arriving tourism as well.
At the three-day event during the evening time the musical tent were filled at the concerts where it was entirely full with young and elder folks singing, dancing along and enjoying the entertainment shows presented by groups and bands.
All things must pass, but for the butchers made their day … with the final juries decision …
Results to 2017. competition in ham and smoked goods were:
Special Award – The Knights of Ham – Bábolna special prize – Pallér Sándor
Special Award – Ham categories – Domokos Géza Tar – Surroundings
Special Award – Cut, tied ham – Oravecz Kálmán – Gyula
Special Award – split, tied ham – Thomas Szilasi H – Orosháza
Special Award Bacon animals – Petrina Sándor – Gyula
Special Award Bacon animals – Tóth László – Turkeve
Ham category – prize – Bálint Imre – Gyula
Cuts, ham tied Award category I – Knyihár Michael – Békéscsaba
Bacon Miscellaneous category – first prize – Csörnyei Ákos – Orosháza
Other categories – First Prize – Brad Mihály – Gyula
This year was announced that the title also to the King Ham Smoked Goods main prize of the year – Kothencz Tibor – Algyő
Dry Sausage competition: Special Award – Lukács Sándor – Gyula – passes, Special Award – Kovács Imre – Orosháza – passes, First Prize – Adamik János – Mezőberény
Manufacturer Product category: First Prize – Lezy Ltd – Cork
Viharsarki Sausage Championship III. award – Pallér Sándor – Újkígyós Award – Molnár Imre – Orosháza
First Prize of the Year Master Sausage Maker – Szilágyi Sándor
By-the-way…if missed to Visit Gyula this unique city during the Sodarmustra of this year, then absolutely worthwhile to mark the date for the 8th Sodarmustra coming up in 2018. The festival is usually just upon the coming weeks before Easter time.
Date and snaps Aggie Reiter