Introduction to Polish Cuisine

If all you know about Poland's rich traditional cuisine is pierogi, please read on. Because you're about to discover a complex cuisine with layered depths of flavor, influenced by a variety of cultures going back to the Middle Ages.

The roots of Polish cuisine

Like other countries, Poland's fare developed over the centuries based on several elements: its terrain and agriculture, its connections to other countries, and its regional and ethnic groups. A large country with a varied topography, ranging from forests to mountains and including coastal access to the Baltic Sea, Poland was initially rich in natural resources. Many of its traditional dishes, which stem from the Middle Ages, relied on game and beef, cold-water fish such as herring, cereals, and grains that were turned into everything from porridge to soups, and lots of cream, butter, and cheese.

Additionally, the Poles foraged throughout the forests for mushrooms and fruit; leaned heavily on potatoes, beets, cabbage, and other cold-weather vegetables; and cured food using smoking and pickling techniques. Honey and horseradish were also used as flavorings. And because of the friendliness between Poland and Turkey back then, spices like pepper, cloves, and nutmeg were affordable, and salt was always available thanks to the Wieliczka Salt Mines in Southern Poland.

More spices, such as saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, were introduced during the Renaissance, along with citrus, nuts, and raisins. Italian cuisine was an enormous influence, thanks to the royal families who retained chefs from that southern country. At this point, everything from noodles to desserts like babka—which means "little grandmother" in Italian and referred to the Jewish grandmothers who used scraps of challah to make the sweet—was introduced into Polish cuisine.

Speaking of the Polish Jews, they were responsible for other contributions in addition to the babka. Both the bagel and bialy were invented by Poland's Ashkenazi Jewish community before the world wars. Other remnants of Jewish fare remain in more obscure dishes such as zimne nogi, a kind of meat aspic based on broth that includes meat, peas, and carrots, and is drizzled with vinegar.

At about the same time, nearby countries like Hungary, Germany, and Austria also had sway, with goulash, schnitzel, and chops extending over the borders.

Just a few of Poland's best-known dishes

Polish cuisine is sometimes described as heavy, hearty, or filling in some way. That's true to some degree. Dishes like kotlet schabowy (breaded pork loin) or mielony (minced pork mixed with egg and bread crumbs), kielbasa (sausage), gulasz or bigos (stews), pulpety (meatballs), and pieczeń cielęca (roast veal) are certainly satisfying. There are innumerable ways to slice, pound, mince, braise, stuff, and roast pork, veal, and beef, and the typicity or availability of dishes varies according to region.

Likewise, the number of flour- or potato-based recipes—or the ones that include both, like pierogies—are numerous. Some of the more well-known include placki ziemniaczane, the fried potato pancakes that are basically latkes; naleśniki, or crepes; and a dozen types of dumplings ranging from the hoof-shaped potato-dough kopytka, which are served with melted butter, sugar, and breadcrumbs (and alternatively, bacon) to the tiny grated zacierki.

Regional Polish cuisines offer nuances that defy the stereotype of Polish food as simply one note. Many dishes offer sour, sweet-and-sour, or pickled flavors by way of technique or the use of ingredients like sour cream or twaróg (quark), a fresh cheese made by warming sour milk until the curds set. These dishes need no explanation, for the most part. They include sauerkraut, borscht (sweet-and-sour beet soup), mizeria (cucumbers in sour cream), pickled herring in sour cream and onions, and gołąbki, otherwise known as rolled or stuffed cabbage. And, of course, pickled cucumbers, both half-sour and sour, are very Polish indeed.

Even some desserts have that slight sour twang, such as the uber-popular sernik, a cheesecake made with twaróg. Sernik is usually lightly sweetened with vanilla or citrus peel and topped with fresh fruits or jellies. Other popular desserts include paczki, the doughnuts filled with rose petal jam (or plum jam or apple) eaten on the last Thursday before Lent, and mazurek, the sweet cake made for Easter.

The thing about soup

Americans might know about borscht, but they probably don't know about zur. Made from rye sourdough (although this differs regionally from oat to buckwheat), zur is a broth on its own. But it becomes a meal when garnished with hard-boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, smoked bacon, and white kielbasa.

Zur is just one of the countless soups, both hot and cold, that Poles enjoy throughout the year. Some of them, or at least variations of them, made their way to the U.S. with immigrants—split pea, lentil, bean, cabbage. These are soups you've seen elsewhere—even the supermarket. But others definitely did not, including zupa chrzanowa, or horseradish soup served with pork ribs, white kielbasa, hard-boiled eggs, and sour cream. Or zupa ogórkowa, sour, salted cucumber soup. Or zupa owocowa, made with fruit and pasta and served cold during the summer.

Street food

Modern-day Poland, like other countries, has yielded at last a couple of signature street foods that identify it. These include zapiekanka, a baguette stuffed with pizza-like toppings, and oscypek, the smoked cheese from the Tatra Mountains, smeared with cranberry jam.

Where to try authentic Polish cuisine

• Essential Ingredients in the Polish Pantry
• 17 Polish Recipes to Make Your Grandmother Proud
• Comforting Polish Cabbage Recipes That Are Family Favorites
• Polish Sausage Recipes for Quick, Comforting Weeknight Meals
• More Polish Recipes