A Taste of Poland

Poland is a haven for food buffs. Polish cuisine ranges from the simple to the exotic, with a dish to suit the most eclectic and eccentric of taste buds. In Poland, you have staple foods, seasonal foods as well as territorial foods. The mainstays of the Polish diet are meat, bread, and potatoes. For many Poles, dinner is not dinner without meat, primarily pork. Bread is consumed and treated with reverence. Polish food is usually very wholesome and people consume large portions. The cuisine had definite leanings towards meat, although Poles do consume diary products and vegetables and especially root vegetables. Polish food goes down well with vodka. In any Polish dish, you will be sure to find a smattering of any of beetroot, cucumber, sour cream, egg, kohlrabi, mushroom or sausage. A meal owes it taste to the herbs and spices used; such as marjoram, dill, caraway seeds, parsley, or pepper. The most popular desserts are cakes and pastries. Popular beverages include coffee, tea, milk, buttermilk, and fruit syrup and water. However, vodka distilled from rye is known as the national drink.

 

Given the wide variety of dishes available, some exotic ones at that, Poland surely has on offer, gastronomic treats fit for the king. you want to try traditional Polish cuisine, stop counting your calories. Just sampling them is enough to discover that they are really delicious and worth putting on a few ounces. The most recommendable dishes are: bigos, kotlet schabowy, pierogi and gołąbki. Poland's culture has always integrated elements from its neighbours, and there are also many recipes of Jewish origin. Nowadays the Polish menu is still changing, being influenced by various, sometimes exotic tastes. Apart from traditional restaurants specialising in Polish cooking, restaurants serving Italian, French and Asian foods are mushrooming in Poland's cities, as well as vegetarian bars. Fish dishes are also popular, especially in regional Polish traditional food. Carp, pike, perch, eel, and sturgeon are all popular and served in various ways. Pork is the most common meat in traditional Polish cuisine, but chicken, beef, venison, duck, and other meats are seen on restaurant menus today.

 

Kielbasa and Polish Sausage

The Spaniards have chorizo, the Italians have salami and pepperoni, the Germans have the frankfurter and bratwurst, the Americans have the hotdog and the Brits have a whole array of British bangers. Second to none of the above, the Poles chip in with kielbasa, their sausage of the spiced and smoked variety. The white version is generally cheaper and fattier and is what you’re likely to find in Zurek. You’ll find the regular, red kielbasa everywhere in Poland, whether it’s in a street grill restaurant, milk bar, upper-crust exclusive establishments and even on pizzas. Sausage is a very important part of Polish fare and no hub on Polish food would be complete without the mention of Polish sausages. Kiszka is a very popular sausage in Poland. This sausage is made from a variety of different meats but also contains either grains or, more commonly potatoes. Varieties differ in fat and garlic content, type of coating and combinations of seasoning, and some varieties are more suited to barbecuing than home cooking and vice versa, but providing it's Polish, you’re unlikely to go wrong.

 

Soups

Most meals in Poland start off with a soup of some sort. Perhaps the most commonly discussed soup of Poland is czernina, which is made from duck blood. Polish traditional food features many soups, made with mushrooms, broth, and beets. But imagine, if you will, a hearty hunter’s stew that is a meal in itself. This stew, called bigos is a combination of cabbage, mushrooms, and various meats—traditionally pork, bacon, and delicious Polish sausage, but today bigos may also contain venison or duck. If you've tried choucroute before (a really popular French dish which you have to try,) this is very similar, but it is not quite as acidic. Chłodnik is another popular soup in Poland which is made from beets, cucumbers, and dill. This cold soup is similar to borscht as it has a red or pink colour.

 

Pierogi

Pierogi have long been a traditional Polish food staple. They may have come from Russia in the Middle Ages, but they are as Polish as Polish food gets. Pierogi is perhaps one of the most widely known and loved of Polish dishes. Dough filled with cheese, potatoes, onions, cabbage, mushrooms, meat (or almost any other ingredient, savory or sweet, that you can think of), pierogi are served steaming hot boiled or fried and are accompanied by sour cream. Homemade pierogi are a special treat that even the pickiest eater will beg for more.

 

Gołąbki

Gołąbki are cabbage rolls. It is basically just seasoned meat and rice wrapped in boiled cabbage leaves and then baked with a really light tomato sauce. Many recipes also contain mushrooms and other types of stuffing. Cabbage roll are a traditional Polish recipe, but many people in neighbouring countries make a variation of this wonderful dish.

 

Schabowy

Schabowy is the Polish version of pork chops, nothing goes better with potatoes than some hearty cutlets. They can be breaded or not, and grilled or baked, depending on the establishment.

 

Zrazy

Zrazy is Polish traditional food that will stick to your ribs. A filling of bacon, breadcrumbs, mushrooms, and cucumber is rolled inside a seasoned slice of sirloin beef then fried or grilled to allow the flavors to mingle. With a side of mizeria, or cucumber salad, you’ll have a meal bursting with all the flavors of the best Polish traditional food. This chilled salad is composed of thinly-sliced cucumbers, sprigs of dill, and chopped onion in a sour cream and lemon juice dressing.

 

Desserts

Polish food is absolutely wonderful with the delicious soups and filling main dishes but is not complete without the amazing desserts that are what makes Polish cuisine so famous among non-Poles. Polish cuisine is full of cookies and cakes that are to die for. There are many different recipes for different tastes when it comes to dessert so anyone will enjoy a Polish sweet treat. Kolaczki are perhaps one of the most popular desserts from Poland. These are folded cookies that contain a fruit filling (usually apricot) or a sweet cheese filling and then are lightly dusted with powdered sugar. For desert, Polish meals will include Polish cheesecake, or sernik, apple tarts (szarlotka),makowiec (a sponge cake with a poppyseed filling), or eklerka (éclairs). Mazurka/mazurek is the name of a wonderful flat cake. This cake is made from similar ingredients as kolaczki, but is rolled flat. Like kolaczki, Mazurka also contains jam, but usually contains more than one type of jams in one cake. These jams are used to add a delicious fruity flavor to the cake and serve as the decor. Babka is a delicious yeast cake that is shaped like an angel food cake. Many desserts and other foods in different cultures have a tradition of being cooked a certain time of year, but over time the foods started to be made year round. Babka is almost an exception to this trend as it is still known for being an Easter dish. Babka is often made with raisins mixed in the dough and contain a fruit topping.