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Poland's Most Famous Dish: Pierogi
- Yhippa 3y agoEver since I went to Stash Café in Montreal, I get Polish food wherever I can: https://restaurantstashcafe.ca/en/home-english https://restaurantstashcafe.ca/en/home-english. There is something about Polish food that feels like it's universally comforting to all who try it.
- dvh 3y agoAren't krowki more famous?
- jhbadger 3y agoNot internationally. At least in the US. I've never heard of krowki, but having lived in Wisconsin and the Chicago area (which both have a large number of people with Polish heritage) Pierogi are a common bar food.
- yetihehe 3y agoNever heard about them from outside of Poland, but heard about pierogi a lot, even Men in Black had them (what else would an alien eat, right?).
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoI agree that krówki are rather little known outside Poland and the GP’s post was daft. But I was amused to find krówki from Poland sold in several towns in Chilean Patagonia, which I guess is a testament to modern shipping-container based trade.
- yetihehe 3y agoI don't think it was daft.
- civilitty 3y agoNot true, they’re popular all over Eastern Europe. So much so that the Krowka brand is available at nearly every Russian/Armanian/etc store in the US. It’s a staple in the candy isle along with mishka, belochka, and Alenka. Those stores probably outnumber the restaurants serving pierogi significantly.
- xlii 3y agoKrowki are almost the same as fudge - depending on the recipe and shape those are usually indistinguishable. But as per se they aren't very famous and are universally liked, so it's a safe thing to bring from Poland. Because ingredients are simple and mostly safe they also make a good gift for pregnant (assuming they want to munch on sugar-milk-butter candies, but who's to judge a sweet-tooth?).
- Tade0 3y agoThere's an interesting shift in language associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine - a type of pierogi which used to be called ruskie (from the region of Red Rus, where they originate) are now commonly named ukraińskie (Ukrainian) instead. The reason is that the adjective ruskie is typically understood as "Russian" in general parlance.
- k_bx 3y ago[flagged]
- acadapter 3y agoSo it's basically a new version of the "Freedom Fries" mania, but with higher popularity?
- nicbou 3y agoWe had a few instances of that in German supermarkets last year.
- k_bx 3y ago[flagged]
- dang 3y agoPlease don't take HN threads into nationalistic flamewar. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- keiferski 3y agoDon’t think I’d explain it as being that simple. Rusyns today are also descendants of Rus but don’t get much recognition in Ukraine today.
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoEven the Ukrainian state’s non-recognition of the Rusyn people isn’t so simple: in Slovakia you can meet minority East Slavic speakers who insist that what they speak is “Ukrainian” (when it’s obviously not), and that “Rusyn” is a weird label outsiders keep trying to pin on them.
- viraptor 3y agoThere's something weirdly universal about pierogi ruskie. I've not met anyone not liking them. Actually everyone I introduced to them loved the taste. (people usually try to look up polish delis / kitchens in the area that sell them afterwards) Given the simplicity of the ingredients, that's really impressive.
- sznio 3y agopolish person here, i don't like them sauerkraut+mushrooms pierogi are the best
- viraptor 3y agoSure, if you post on the internet that everyone seems to like X, there's surely going to be "that one person" somewhere. But over a larger number of people this still mostly holds.
- odiroot 3y agoCabbage and mushrooms are not great if you don't have a toilet nearby.
- devilbunny 3y agoEh, much of the free carbohydrate content of sauerkraut has been eaten by the lactobacilli. All that gas that comes off it during fermentation doesn't smell much better than it would if you had fermented it in your colon instead, but at least it's happening at a slow rate and generally dissipates before being noticed. Now, when I had kalua pork and (fresh) cabbage on vacation in Hawaii, it was delicious - but produced effects more like what concern you. For four days (!) I was a noxious chemical factory with a seemingly limitless ability to produce airborne products that probably would qualify as weapons under the Geneva conventions. Thank God we had rented a convertible, and I do feel sorry for those who were near us on the flight back. It was at L&L, which apparently does have a significant presence on the mainland (though mostly West Coast) and a few non-US locations. Be cautious of that dish. I'm sure that if you ate it regularly, the effects would lessen (as they typically do for such things), but the adjustment period would greatly shrink your pool of people who want to be anywhere physically close to you. Never noticed any ill effects from mushrooms, but I suppose we're all different.
- DeathArrow 3y agoWe eat the same dish in Romania, too. But we are calling them "colțunași".
- johnny_and1 3y agoI've eaten pierogi in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, and the diversity and breadth of the dish makes them totally different than what you can find in Romania. I would say that colțunași are a subset of pierogi, since they're only filled with fresh cottage cheese filling and served only with sourcream (smântână). Also, I've encountered them only in the northern part of the country and nowhere else. So, I wouldn't say that we eat the same dish in Romania. Please let me know if you have found them in other parts of the country.
- saiya-jin 3y agoWe have them in neighboring Slovakia too (not surprising), filling is mostly some potato+cheese paste (but you can end up with sweet ones with ie plums in some households). The dough is pretty much tasteless, so depends what you fill into it and what you pour on it. Overall nothing comparable to say French fine cuisine but its a bit of our history since historically peasants ate these kind of things and meat was only for special occasions.
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoThere is hardly any grain-cultivating population in the world that doesn’t have dumplings of some sort. Interestingly, however, the Romanian term colțunași is from Italian by way of Modern Greek, so it cannot be more than a few centuries old in Romanian. One therefore wonders what the earlier Romanian term for dumplings was, or whether dumplings were commonly eaten at all when the Vlach economy was still centered around transhumance.
- walthamstow 3y agoMy wife's mother makes excellent pierogi. The potato ones are nice but the sauerkraut and mushroom are my favourite. A nice dollop of Heinz ketchup on the side. Delicious.
- kgabis 3y agoOk, I need to double check, but I'm pretty sure using ketchup anywhere near pierogi is illegal.
- walthamstow 3y agoMy mother in law is 2nd gen British, her parents came from Poland in the 1930s, so they are nearly 100 years out of Poland. It might be something to do with that.
- financltravsty 3y agoAh, the British' fine taste in cuisine!
- keiferski 3y agoHeinz ketchup and pierogi in Pittsburgh: unstoppable force meets immovable object. But if it’s not illegal, it certainly should be.
- all2 3y agoThe rule for pierogi is simple, and like the rule for coffee and whiskey. The best pierogi is the pierogi you eat and enjoy.
- delfinom 3y agoYea the only "condiment" for pierogi should be fried up onions drizzled on top.
- badpun 3y agoFried bacon (diced) is also extremely popular in Poland, basically as popular as fried onion.
- keiferski 3y agoI used to make these often for potluck parties that I hosted myself - in Pittsburgh, where pierogi are so famous the baseball team has pierogi mascots race each other. [1] They’re a real crowd pleaser, the only hard part is that rolling and folding the dough thin enough requires the finger dexterity of an old babcia. (Polish grandma.) So, unfortunately my pierogi often ended up being 2-3x thicker than the authentic ones from Poland. 1. https://youtu.be/6w5MDNjg9zU https://youtu.be/6w5MDNjg9zU
- xlii 3y agoThere's a trick for that! https://www.amazon.com/Utensils-Stainless-Ravioli-Dumpling-Accessories/dp/B01N2VYON4/ref=sr_1_12 https://www.amazon.com/Utensils-Stainless-Ravioli-Dumpling-A... Now those "every single one is exactly the same" creates machine-made feel about them but some people don't care. Some are also using spoon or a fork to fold them, it's simpler and a middle ground between hand-made and "machine" made.
- worklaptopacct 3y agoPolish from Poland here: no need to roll them out thin. Might be a variation found in your family, but typical pierogi - including those made by my Grandma - have some fluff. A different thing is how do you make the dough. I've recently been to a potluck organized by a Canadian friend as a token Polish person there and I've seen her look up recipes in which the recipes for dough were very creative - I've seen yoghurt, eggs, cream, butter etc. being added to it. Combine that with a sharp cheddar stuffing and I quickly got heartburn :) The way we make dough is way simpler: 2:1 white flour and boiling hot water, nothing else. Some people might add eggs, but I never do. Mix roughly while it's hot, then knead really well, roll out, shape and boil in generously salted water till they float + 1 minute.
- keiferski 3y agoMy secret is/was to add potatoes into the dough itself. But yeah it was more that mine often looked like empanadas, except boiled and fried. Still tasty, but not as thin as the ones I have here in Poland. For that matter, American pierogi are larger and more potato-based than Polish pierogi.
- xlii 3y ago+1 from me, as article mention one of the small annoyances I have. My family comes from Red Ruthenia, region where ruskie pierogi comes from. Because of lingual characteristic they are usually linked to Russia (as mentioned in article) and so, with all the turmoil many restaurants decided to rename them: either to pierogi with potatoes and cheese or to galicean - as from Galicia, which is commonly perceived as Krakow (due to it being center of the region). Krakow doesn't have as good pierogis (but there are other things worth seeing and eating there though) and is half-the-Poland away so it feels to me somewhat like a takeover of a legacy and stings. So if you ever have a chance - go visit Lublin or even smaller cities like Chelm or Zamosc. Food is absolutely terrific there (which I guess is thanks to charnozem soil [1] in the region). [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Eastern_Europe) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Eastern_Europe) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernozem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernozem
- wolterlw 3y agoWriting from the Ukrainian side of Galicia here, I would point out that Krakow is far from being the center of the region. Przemyśl or Zamosc lie much closer to the center if you include our side of Galicia where pierogis are widely popular as well. Matter of fact my family and many others here cook and eat them every week on Sunday, which I now hold as a near and dear tradition. There is something special about rolling and folding the dough together, boiling the pierogis, cooking the mushroom/onion sauce. Since this is a food cherished by both Poles and Ukrainians I find the name "galicean" a great fit as well, since it's a region shared between the two countries.
- xlii 3y agoYou're completely correct when it comes to geography. I made a mental shortcut, as Polish Galicia Was concentrating around Krakow, which I suppose is an effect of a bias in which I’m not alone ;) In such Zamość region is completely removed from “Galician cuisine” mentioning Jewish, Austria, Krakow and Ukraine. Weird omission (but many regional to Krakow dishes are described as “Galician” which I suppose is a reason. So the misattribution risk is still there due to bias even though geographically it’s correct. I’d still rather preserve name, as the more to the west the worst the pierogi gets (which is a shame).
- pvaldes 3y agoThe potato version is delicious, specially when they're freshly made.
- jedrek 3y agoI left Poland in 1983 and came back in 1992. Before we left, I had never had pierogi ruskie. If we had pierogi, they'd either be with fruit (strawberries or wild blueberries), sauerkraut and mushrooms or ground pork. That was pretty much it. We came back and ruskie were everywhere -- and rightly so.
- ajuc 3y agoThis depends entirely on family traditions. My mother is from near the eastern border of Poland (Włodawa), my father from around Lublin, my wife from central Poland (Kutno). Each family makes different versions of pierogi, even ruskie are different between the families. I (predictably) prefer the version that my mother makes, which has extra thin dough and slightly higher cheese to potato ratio, but all of them are good. Other than ruskie I love pierogi z jagodami (with wild blueberries). They are the best summer food.
- badpun 3y agoThere's been an increase in some nasty parasite (can't remember which at the moment) among Poland's wild fox population. Foxes poop at wild blueberry bushes in the forests, and the parasites eggs get on the blueberries. A parasite specialist quoted in the paper said that these eggs are so resilient they can survive boiling water or being baked in an owen. The parasite itself is a nasty one (e.g. will eat out your eye from inside if it lodges there). This convinced me to drop wild blueberry dishes I didn't prepare myself.
- ajuc 3y agoYes, bąblowiec, I'm well aware. My sister is a vet. We always wash the blueberries after gathering because of that (and preferably you should gather berries after a strong rain). Also cooking the berries (like in the case of pierogi) might not help but I think usually will kill them? I've seen different opinions (even among doctors). You can also get slightly different version of bąblowiec from dogs, and dogs touch EVERYTHING when they go on a walk, so basically if you're afraid about that you should deparasitize (is that a word in English?) the dog every year if you take your dogs for walks in nature (or visit places where lots of dogs poop - like dog parks). In the end it's not that common (I mean it's common among foxes but not common among people - there's like few dozen cases a year in Poland AFAIR). Probably many more causes are never recognized because it develops very slowly but still - if it was easy to catch people would talk about it constantly.
- jcmeyrignac 3y agoMy polish mother called them "pirojki", which is the french term. She made 2 variations: - mashed potatoes and white cheese - rice and meat rolled in a cabbage leaf One of our neighbors offered one with mashed potatoes and apricot jam (I hated that). Too bad I'm gluten intolerant now.
- nicgrev103 3y agoI can report that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine the Pierogi ruskie is now Pierogi ukraiński. Or at least they are in my Wife's hometown of Ustka on the North coast. According to the article this is a more accurate description anyway.
- marsa 3y agoi still remember the first time i tried pierogi at a music festival in Poland after a few beers -- they were amazing but years later that experience was overshadowed when i tried their traditional zurek soup -- now that was divine
- reportgunner 3y agoPelmeni and gyoza is very similar albeit not the same food.
- dpc_01234 3y agoPole here. For the lazy like me in the US: Kasias Pierogi from Costco are yum. Fry on a pan with Ghee till golden brown. Store frozen. Can be fried from frozen just fine. Quick and convenient.
- Dowwie 3y agoKimchi dumplings are delicious. I really would like to try kimchi pierogi.
- sprior 3y agoThe big controversy in my house is that my Polish grandmother made pierogi with rolled edges and we ate them fried (the edges were my favorite part), but when I married a Polish woman who went to cooking school in Poland she insists that she's never heard of doing it that way and she does it the correct way. She'll now make a few with rolled edges for me, but most without.
- worklaptopacct 3y agoI've seen them folded like that in restaurants, but the homemade ones are usually folded with a plain edge.
- sebastiangula 3y agoHaven’t heard about the rolled edges but fried ones are just perfect with sourcream.
- delfinom 3y agoWell, as someone who is Polish, there is a headache even I've had to deal with. There are people in Poland who have only lived in the cities and are oblivious to the regional and even rural takes on food. Especially because there's areas that straddle between Polish/Germany, Polish/Belarussian, Polish/Ukranian and so on historical influences And by headaches I mean I would bring some polish dish to a company potluck, two crazed never-saw-cows-in-a-field types would rant how it isn't polish and the one old timer Pole would tell them to shutup as they haven't stepped one foot outside Warsaw before coming to the US.
- mock-possum 3y agoGatekeeping cuisine is utterly tedious
- 4d4m 3y agoFried > boiled :)
- workfromspace 3y agohttps://archive.is/Oq99K https://archive.is/Oq99K (original url requires JS)
- mikewarot 3y agoWhiting, Indiana has a Pierogi festival in the fall, that is pretty big. The local Ukrainian Church in my home town says: "PIEROGIES, PYROHY, VARENYKY (They're the best whatever you call them!) at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church in Munster, Indiana! You can purchase pierogies/pyrohy/varenyky every Friday from 12:00pm to 3:00pm in our hall at 8624 White Oak Ave, Munster, Indiana. We encourage to place your order early each week on the phone to ensure your order can be filled - extras may not be available for walk-ins." They also have a festival just before Orthodox Easter... and we always go and load up on them, and the various breads and sausages that vendors offer. Tradition here has potato pierogis fried in butter with a little bit of onions.