Characteristic products
Polish cuisine is characterized by an abundant production of charcuterie, especially sausages(kiełbasa). There are dozens of different varieties, smoked or fresh, made mainly from pork, but also from beef, poultry, lamb or veal. These include kiełbasa krakowska, a thick sausage with garlic and spices fromKrakow; kiełbasa lisiecka, smoked and produced in Małopolskie (Lesser Poland); kiełbasa biała, similar to a Bavarian white sausage(Weißwurst); or kielbasa myśliwska ("hunter's sausage"), dried and smoked. Also of note are kaszanka (black pudding), kabanos, a long, thin smoked and dried sausage, and salceson, a sausage made from head cheese. Other cured meats include polędwica, a salted and dried pork tenderloin. You'll also find szynka (cooked ham, often smoked) or pasztet (pâté), usually pork-based. Sea and river fish are also popular. For example, rolmops made from white fish in brine wrapped around a gherkin. Carp is very popular, as is trout.
Dairy products are widely consumed in Poland, including śmietana, or sour cream, and kefir, a preparation made from fermented milk. On the cheese side, note the singular oscypek, a smoked cheese, molded in the shape of a cylinder or cone with diamond motifs, very recognizable. It can be enjoyed as a starter, hot or cold, accompanied by cranberry purée. Plain or smoked, it is elastic and piquant. There's also Bryndza, an unripened white cheese made from sheep's and/or cow's milk. Similar to the German quark, twaróg is a grainy fromage frais used in both cooking and baking. Rokpol is one of the few blue-veined cheeses, while hauskyjza is a strong-flavored cheese preparation flavored with caraway seeds.
The country's cereal production is considerable, as are its potato and sugar beet crops. Buckwheat can be used as is or ground. Toasted, it is known as kacha. Bread is essential: classic bread(chleb) can be wheat, rye or multigrain with various seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, etc.). Bułka is a type of round bun, while bułka paryska is a brioche baguette. The rogal is a type of crescent-shaped brioche. Łazanki are wheat, rye or buckwheat pasta, cut into triangles or rectangles. Cabbage is very important, and is made into sauerkraut(kapusta kwaszona) in particular. A must-try are the large Polish sweet-and-sour pickles(ogórki kiszone), flavored with dill, pepper and garlic. Mushrooms are very common in local cuisine, and are sometimes prepared in brine(grzyby marynowane).
Between Shabbat and Hanukkah
While Poland remains a deeply Catholic country, over the course of its history, the nation has shown a religious tolerance rare in Europe, and boasted one of the continent's largest Jewish populations. Uniquely, on the eve of the Second World War, Poland was home to no less than 16% of the world's Jews - the third largest population, just behind the Russian Empire and the far more populous United States. This long-standing presence naturally had an impact on local cuisine, and many Jewish specialties were reinterpreted by Catholic Poles and vice versa.
Poland's Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is characterized by flavors and combinations that are often sweet and sour, with notable use of spices, dried fruit, vinegar and onion. Among the most famous dishes is gefilte fish or stuffed carp, served for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). These are actually minced fish balls (carp, pike and other species).
Cholent, or czulent in Polish, is a traditional Shabbat dish of beans, beef, onions and spices, cooked overnight from Friday to Saturday and served at noon on Saturday. Another Shabbat specialty, challah or chałka is a braided brioche bread. Matzo is a crunchy, yeast-free flatbread eaten during Pessa'h (Jewish Passover). For Hanukkah, we serve latkes, a kind of potato rösti.
The bagels that have become so common in the United States, and New York in particular, actually originated in Poland. The ancestor of the bagel is said to be theobwarzanek krakowski, invented in Krakow. A close relative, the bialy has a small hollow in the middle that is filled with onions or poppy seeds. Knishe are flaky potato turnovers topped with onion, liver or cheese. In Lublin, we love cebularz, a soft flatbread with onion and poppy seeds.
Babka - also eaten by Polish Catholics - sometimes goes by the Yiddish name krantz , and is topped with a mixture of chocolate, orange zest and crushed hazelnuts. This dessert, served for Shabbat, is twisted until it takes on its characteristic pleated appearance. Miodownik or chonek łejkech is a honey cake filled with custard and topped with chocolate, once served for traditional Jewish weddings.
Polish cuisine classics
One of the most popular Polish dishes is soup(zupa). For New Year's Eve on December 24, or Wigilia in Polish, we serve barszcz (borscht - beet soup) with uszka, small ravioli filled with potatoes and mushrooms. But let's also mention żurek (sour rye-based soup with sausage, hard-boiled egg and potatoes), zupa gołąbkowa (cabbage, minced meat, tomato, rice), grochówka (pea soup with bacon and sausage),ogórkowa (pickle soup) and pomidorowa (tomato soup, often topped with pasta or rice). Not forgetting, of course, the ever-popular grzybowa, a delicious mushroom soup, sometimes served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread. Kapuśniak is a sauerkraut soup with potatoes, carrots and meat, popular in winter for warming up. Some soups are of course served cold in summer, like chłodnik litewski, a beet soup with kefir, garnished with pickles and hard-boiled eggs.
As starters, Poles are fond of aspic, jellied preparations with meat(galaretka z miesem), chicken(z kurczaka) or fish(z ryby). The term surówka refers to assorted raw vegetables, such as grated cabbage and carrot, tomato or cucumber, which are served as side dishes. Not to be confused with sałatka, a rather hearty type of salad with various vegetables, sometimes meat and a dollop of mayonnaise. Prepared for Święconka - Easter breakfast - sałatka jarzynowa, or Easter salad, consists of hard-boiled eggs with peas, carrots, apples, potatoes and mayonnaise. Mizeria is a cucumber salad with sour cream and dill.
A pan-fried mushroom(grzyby smażone) is often served as an appetizer in Poland, and locals love it. Porcini(borowik) and chanterelles(kurki) are widespread. Herring(śledź) is often served marinated, with sour cream(śledź w śmietanie) and garnished with potatoes and onions. Another fish, carp, plays an essential role, especially on Christmas Eve, when meat is traditionally banned. It can be served cold in jelly(karp w galarecie) with baby vegetables, or fried(karp smażony). And let's not forget the recipe for carp "à la juive"(karp po żydowsku), in jelly with almonds, raisins and spices.
On the meat side, you can enjoy golonka, a pork shank served with potatoes and horseradish. Widespread in Central Europe, the famous gulasz (goulash) consists of beef with potato, carrot, tomato and a dollop of paprika. The Polish version is closer to a stew, while the zupa gulaszowa is more akin to traditional Hungarian goulash. Forszmak lubelski is a dish in sauce with pork or beef, garnished with bacon, mushrooms, pickled cucumbers, peppers, tomato puree, onions and spices.
Inspired by the Viennese schnitzel, kotlet schabowy is a breaded pork chop found absolutely everywhere. Kotlety mielone are minced pork croquettes, usually breaded. Zrazy zawijane are beef roulades topped with gherkins, mustard, onions, bacon and mushrooms, while roladki are chicken(kurczaka) or pork(schabowe) roulades breaded with various fillings (cheese, bacon, mushrooms, etc.).
Bigos is one of the country's oldest dishes, and one of the Christmas classics. This sauerkraut is garnished with various types of meat, sausage, mushrooms and prunes, giving it a slightly sweet-and-sour flavor. Another classic, gołąbki is a cabbage leaf roll stuffed with minced meat and rice, which is usually simmered in a tomato sauce before being served with sour cream. Finally, gołąbki bez zawijania are meatballs with minced cabbage in a tomato sauce.
A staple of Polish cuisine, pierogi are ravioli stuffed with sauerkraut(pierogi z kapustà), meat(pierogi z mięsem), potatoes and cheese(pierogi ruskie) or mushrooms(pierogi z grzybami) for the most common. They are served at Christmas, among other times. Kopytka, the Polish equivalent of potato gnocchi, are poached and then pan-roasted, usually topped with bacon and onions. For kluski leniwe, the potato is replaced by fresh cheese. Pyzy are potato-based dough balls sometimes topped with meat or cheese, while pampuchy are made with bread dough and eaten both savory and sweet.
Placki are thin, grated potato pancakes served as a side dish. Very similar, babka ziemniaczana is a thick grated potato pancake with bacon. Krokiety are pancakes filled with mushrooms or meat, rolled and fried. And for those in a hurry, on the street-food side, there's zapiekanka, a half baguette topped with cheese and mushrooms, toasted in the oven and often drizzled with ketchup.
Desserts and drinks
Classic pastries include the makowiec, a rolled brioche filled with poppy seeds, traditionally prepared for Christmas and Easter. For Catholics, the babka is a brioche wreath with or without dried fruit, topped with white icing and prepared for Christmas. It is said to have inspired French pastry chefs to make baba au rhum, as King Stanislas of Poland - father-in-law of Louis XV - once asked that a babka that was too dry be soaked in wine. Wine was later replaced by rum. An Easter cake par excellence, mazurek is a thin tart filled with dried fruit, walnuts, almonds and jam, topped with meringue or chocolate.
There's also gingerbread(piernik), which can take the form of a soft cake or a cookie. The most famous comes from the town of Toruń(pierniki toruńskie). Another classic, sernik, is a white cheesecake similar to a cheesecake. There are several types of sernik, sometimes garnished with raisins or topped with red fruit compote or dried fruit. Napoleonka is a kind of mille-feuilles named in honor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who briefly restored Poland's independence in the early 19th century. Originally from Warsaw, wuzetka is a chocolate sponge cake filled with whipped cream and topped with chocolate ganache.Orzechowiec is a walnut cake topped with kajmac, a mascarpone cream. Szarlotka is an apple pie covered with a crumbly crust.
Naleśniki are pancakes that can be filled with cottage cheese(naleśniki z serem) or red fruit such as blueberries(naleśniki z jagodami). Pączki are filled doughnuts generally associated with Shrove Thursday before Lent. Finally, pierogi śliwkowe( plumpierogi ) are boiled and sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs. Krówki are soft caramels.
Although tea first appeared in Poland in the 17th century via trade with England and the Netherlands, it was under the Russian Empire, in the 19th century, that Poles definitively adopted this hot beverage, generally served with sugar and lemon, and sometimes with Bavarian-style milk(bawarka). Coffee is also very popular. With less than 1 degree of alcohol, kwas - a soft drink made from rye bread - is not classified as an alcoholic beverage in Poland. Finally, kompot, a fruit-infused water, is very popular.
In the kingdom of wódka
Vodka(wódka in Polish) is one of the country's emblems. A brandy made from wheat, rye or potatoes, and sometimes beet, the first mention of the term wódka comes from a Polish property register dating back to 1405. From there, numerous distilleries appeared and Polish wódka gained in popularity across Europe. One of these is Żubrówka, which appeared in the 16th century and is known for being scented with the famous buffalo grass or fragrant hierochloe. Other popular brands include Wyborowa, Luksusowa and Belvedere.
Starka is a whisky-like amber rye wódka aged in oak casks, which first appeared in the 15th century. Krupnik is a honey-sweetened wódka that can be flavored with a wide variety of spices and herbs. Danziger Goldwasser, produced in Gdańsk since 1598, is a wódka flavored with a blend of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, lavender, thyme, coriander and juniper. The bottle contains a few flakes of 23-carat gold. Śliwowica is a plum brandy, the best from Łącko.
Europe's third-largest producer after Germany and the UK, and the world's fifth-largest consumer with almost 100 liters per capita per year, Poland seems to have a particular love affair with beer(piwo). Well-known brands include Żywiec, Okocim, Tyskie and Żubr. For obvious climatic reasons, vine-growing in Poland is limited to a thin fringe in the south of the country between Silesia and the Carpathians. However, the consumption of wine(wino), hitherto modest, is becoming increasingly popular.
