Top 10 Foods: What to Eat in Poland
Starka
Let's kick off our list with number 10, Starka!
This whiskey-like vodka drink is made from distilling fermented rye twice, then aging it in oak barrels. The distiller will add leaves from apple and pear trees to the barrel for extra flavor.
When shopping or ordering starka, you will find it aged for different periods of time, similar to a 12-year whiskey.
The beverage smells slightly like dried apple and pear, and those flavors come through in its taste. Standard methods of ordering include drinking it neat or mixed with apple juice!
This libation has had a place in Polish culture since the 15th century. When a baby was born, the father would pour homemade alcohol into a used, empty wine barrel, seal it and then open it when the child gets married. These were the early stage days for this spirit.
Zurek
Number nine goes to zurek soup.
In Poland, this popular soup is traditionally made using fermented rye, but in some regions, you might find this made with fermented oatmeal instead. The fermentation gives this dish a flavor similar to sourdough bread.
It can be heavy and hearty or thin and delicate. It is sour, salty, and creamy all at the same time.
Sometimes it's served in a bread bowl, sometimes it's poured over a bowl of mashed potatoes, and sometimes it's just eaten straight out of a regular bowl with no gimmicks. Occasionally you will find it with sausage or hard-boiled eggs.
I'm excited to try this one.
Placki Ziemniaczane
The next spot on our list goes to the Polish potato pancake, placki ziemniaczane.
These shallow-fried disks of grated potato delishioness are often topped with a meat sauce, applesauce, sour cream, cottage cheese, or a fruit-based syrup.
These pancakes were popular amongst monasteries in the 17th century, considered peasant food in the 19th century, and have grown more and more popular ever since. The popularity of this dish in Poland is primarily accredited to the historical presence of Jewish communities around the Country.
Eat some placki ziemniaczane. Be happy.
Silesian Dumplings
The number seven goes to a potato dumpling from Poland's Silesia region. The next spot on our list goes to Silesian dumplings!
The dough for these dumplings is pretty straightforward: mashed potatoes, potato flour, salt, and sometimes egg. They can be rolled into individual balls by hand, or the entirety of the dough can be rolled into a thin log and sliced. They are similar to the Italian gnocchi; soft and delicious.
They can be served plain, with bacon, with different sauces, or alongside a salad.
Kielbasa
Number six. Kielbasa, aPolish staple that’s known worldwide.
Kielbasa refers to any sausage from Poland and can be either fresh or smoked. It can be stuffed with any kind of meat, but one will generally be consuming pork when having kielbasa. Other meats used include beef, lamb, turkey, veal, or chicken. Each region of Poland has its own preference.
Here are some varieties of kielbasa one might encounter in Poland:
Kabanos: thin, air-dried pork sausage with caraway seed.
Krakowska: thick pork sausage from Krakow that’s hot-smoked with garlic and pepper.
Kaszanka: blood sausage, also known as black pudding.
Weselna: medium-girthed smoked sausage that’s usually saved for weddings.
Wiejska: a rural sausage that's made with veal, pork, marjoram, and garlic.
Kielbasa Polska: the most popular.
Kielbasa can be eaten plain, or it can be found cut up in numerous dishes throughout the Country.
Vodka
Originating in Poland, Russia, and Sweden, vodka makes our list at number five!
This clear distilled libation is made from water and ethanol alcohol at its simplest state. The ethanol comes from the distillation of something. Traditionally, one would distill the juice from different cereals, like barley or wheat, or potatoes. However, for vodka the range of things you can use is nearly endless; one can use the juice of fruits, vegetables, or anything else.
In Poland, the spirit is traditionally enjoyed neat, meaning no ice, water, or mixers and is often served freezer chilled.
Produced since the early Middle Ages in Poland, it grew a reputation in the region similarly to whiskey in Scotland and cognac in France. This is an old drink; the first record of it is from Poland for 1405. It was originally intended as a medicine calming to help “increase fertility and awaken lust.”
A big vodka that I am dying to try is called Zubrowka, flavored with bison grass from the north eastern part of the Country. This bison grass is an aromatic herb with a sweet scent that leaves a subtle flavor that’s said to be fresh, vanilla, lemon, nutty, and chamomile-like.
The word “vodka” can also be traced back to a word for “water.” So be careful if you order a round of waters for the table, they might come out in shot glasses. Just kidding, but you should order a round of vodka too.
Sauerkraut
Number four, Sauerkraut!
This fermented Polish staple is everywhere in Poland. Sauerkraut is shredded cabbage and (sometimes) carrot that's been fermented. This fermentation process changes a lot about the cabbage. Texturally, the cabbage gets limper. Its flavor becomes sour due to lactic acid production. It also becomes wetter due to added salt extracting the water from the vegetable.
Fermenting cabbage is an old practice that made its start in Asia. Eventually, it made its way into Eastern and Central Europe. It was a way to preserve the cabbage before refrigeration, and its transportation much more possible for trade. Dollar dollar bills y'all.
Production is simple. Shred the cabbage, sprinkle with salt, and let it ferment in an airtight container. Some other ingredients one might find in their sauerkraut include caraway seed, apples, cranberry, bell peppers, or beets. The resulting fermented creation is usually served cold and is a typical side dish for many meals or used as an ingredient for many dishes.
Golabki
The number three spot on our list goes to golabki, a Central European staple.
Simply put, golabki is stuffed cabbage. A cooked mixture of ground pork or beef, rice or barley, and onion are wrapped inside boiled cabbage leaves, almost like a Polish cabbage burrito. The stuffed cabbage is then baked.
They are usually served with mashed potato, rye bread, and/or applesauce and can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Golabki can be found topped with tomato sauce or sour cream.
In Poland, this dish is traditionally served during special occasions like weddings or holidays like Christmas. Since they are a tradition for significant family events and important holidays, most families are proud of their golabki recipe, and I’m sure each is unique.
Borscht
Number two! Borscht!
This Eastern European beet soup is incredibly popular amongst the Polish people. This soup is made with beets, bone broth, different vegetables, including cabbage, onion, carrots, tomato and potato, and sometimes meat. Once the soup is poured into its bowl, it is generally topped with a dollop of sour cream, some potato, or hardboiled egg. Its viscosity can be either thick or thin, and its clarity can be opaque or clear.
Although traditionally served hot, there is a chilled version of the soup as well. However, the recipe is slightly different! The warm-weather, chilled version consists of beet juice, beet sour, sour cream, buttermilk, or yogurt. It is usually served with cucumber, sliced radish, hard-cooked eggs, dill, or green onion for garnish. Refreshing.
The art of making borsht is a balancing act between sweet and sour flavors. Traditionally, the "sour" is introduced by adding beet sour, or fermented beet juice. Then, sugar, lemon juice, pickle juice, and red wine are used to assist in the balancing act. The name "borscht" can be used for a wider array of sour-tasting soups, not just this example.
Pierogi
The number one spot goes to pierogi!
This world-famous Polish dumpling can be either savory or sweet, boiled or fried, and must be made using an unleavened dough that conceals whatever’s inside.
Fillings one might encounter include potato, fried onion, cabbage, sauerkraut, meat, mushrooms, spinach, cheese, or different seasonal fruits such as plum, blueberry, apple, cherry, or strawberry. Potato and cabbage pierogi would be examples of savory varieties, whereas the fruit-filled pierogi would be examples of sweeter varieties.
Basic pierogi dough is made with flour and water, but sometimes egg, mashed potato, or fruit are added too. Once constructed, pierogi are boiled at the very least but can also be butter-fried before indulging in extra browning and crispiness. Savory varieties might be topped with more butter, sour cream, chopped bacon, onions, or mushrooms. Sweet varieties might be served with jam, applesauce, sweetened sour cream, or varenye, a European fruit preserve.
Like many classic old-world foods, history here is a little blurry. No one knows precisely where the pierogi came from. However, evidence points toward somewhere in Central or Eastern Europe; They could have originated somewhere within the boundaries of modern-day Poland.
Pierogi were originally an economical food meant only for the poor, but they eventually gained popularity throughout every socio-economic class. This cultural evolution is what led the dumplings to be a staple in the Polish diet.