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Where do you go shopping for food in Poland?


frubagirl100 5 | 6  
29 May 2007 /  #1
hi
i'm doing a stupid school project and i have a few questions!

in poland where do you go shopping for food? do you go to the super market?
if so what is the super market called in polish?
krysia 23 | 3,058  
29 May 2007 /  #2
They look for food under rocks or dig in the sand.
hello 22 | 890  
29 May 2007 /  #4
People in the cities of Poland go to supermarkets mostly (called "supermarkety", "hipermarkety" or "sklepy spozywcze"). In the country they usually have their own foods, crops, fruit trees etc., but they still have smaller "supermarkets" and it seems nowadays even people from the country drive to big supermarkets as the prices are lower there.
krysia 23 | 3,058  
29 May 2007 /  #6
gee, I didn't know that!
slwkk 2 | 228  
30 May 2007 /  #7
In the country they usually have their own foods, crops, fruit trees etc

lool, yeah... and they bake bread, make butter and so on by themself.... and for meat they kill animals... of course it isn't true ;P They have some fruits and vegetables, some of them have animals like chicken, pigs, .. but they're not for every day eating... most of them just buy food in local shops...
chase5 2 | 17  
30 May 2007 /  #8
They look for food under rocks or dig in the sand.

thats hilarious lmao
telefonitika  
30 May 2007 /  #9
i would have just said "a shop" sorry british humour came out of me when i saw the thread title!
Angela777 4 | 11  
3 Jun 2007 /  #10
And often you can get veggies at a little street kiosk. Or, there will be a market area with multiple kiosks. Or just someone on the sidewalk with an array of boxes of veggies.

But there are lots of supermarkets as jam packed with food as any western one, unlike in the '80s when I was first in Poland, when both the stores and the markets were very sad and understocked.

Check out this picture we took in Krakow, actually in Nowa Huta:


drew128 3 | 55  
5 Jun 2007 /  #11
We live in a small village, so grow veg, have chickens, ducks and pigs for meat. The local shop has lots of great stuff, so not a great need to leave the village. Into the major town 10kms away there are 100's of shops from normal small stores to massive supermakets, normal really I find it very good, better than the UK for me were I am from. I find it very easy to get fresh good food anywhere. Places to eat out during the day or night are plenty and most seem to serve great food. I would say its as good as anything in New York, but less chance of being mugged. When in the big city we go to Real, M1 Center, Częstochowa.

Andy
emma  
25 Jan 2009 /  #12
Could someone post a list of food stores in Czestochowa, Poland. Please.
Switezianka - | 463  
25 Jan 2009 /  #13
You forgot street markets. They're the best place to buy fruit & vegs.
ukpolska  
25 Jan 2009 /  #14
They're the best place to buy fruit & vegs.

Don't be too sure on that Switezianka, a PhD friend of mine at the National Veterinary Institute here in Puławy, did comparison research between vegetables bought in supermarkets and those bought on a market...and the results were quite shocking with the market vegetables having four times more pathogens than the ones from supermarkets. The worst culprit he found was lettuce for some strange reason.

This was put down to unhygienic handling and he actually witnessed one of the sellers going to toilet, and then afterwords carried on selling without washing their hands.
SeanBM 35 | 5,797  
25 Jan 2009 /  #15
Maybe that's why fruit and veg taste much better from the farmer's markets than from the super markets but I do not have a PhD to justify my opinion, does it still count? :)

That's gross about the not washing hands but the farmers market is much better, in my experience.
ukpolska  
25 Jan 2009 /  #16
does it still count?.

Of course it does.
Hey I eat mushrooms in salads and they are grown horse poo and it hasn't done me no harm lol
Shawn_H  
25 Jan 2009 /  #17
unhygienic handling

Food safety is an important issue. One must always wash their veggies thoroughly. Also be careful to avoid cross-contamination of meat products (ie: raw and cooked). I do appreciate the corner markets when in PL though. Quite convenient, and supportive of local farmers / vendors.
ukpolska  
25 Jan 2009 /  #18
Food safety is an important issue. One must always wash their veggies thoroughly. Also be careful to avoid cross-contamination of meat products (ie: raw and cooked).

Ok but isn't that obvious???? No big education or surprise here.
Shawn_H  
25 Jan 2009 /  #19
You would be surprised that sometimes, common sense isn't so common. All I am saying is one needs to be diligent.
SeanBM 35 | 5,797  
25 Jan 2009 /  #20
I eat mushrooms in salads and they are grown horse poo and it hasn't done me no harm

Are you sure? :)

One must always wash their veggies thoroughly.

We're still talking about food, right?.

I do appreciate the corner markets when in PL though. Quite convenient, and supportive of local farmers / vendors.

I think they are great too.
Seanus 15 | 19,672  
25 Jan 2009 /  #21
I agree. You can pick up some great food. I don't like the markets in summer for all the wasps. Spring is coming and that's the best time to toddle off down to the markets.
Shawn_H  
25 Jan 2009 /  #22
We're still talking about food, right?.

Well, I am not sure about washing ones meat, nuts or dairy products.
SeanBM 35 | 5,797  
25 Jan 2009 /  #23
I don't like the markets in summer for all the wasps.

White Anglo Saxon Protestants?
I thought you lived in Poland.

Also be careful to avoid cross-contamination of meat products (ie: raw and cooked).

Ok but isn't that obvious????

I have seen people who obviously were unaware of the very real dangers of cross contamination and for the benefit of the readers who might not know, it is worth a mention.

Well, I am not sure about washing ones meat, nuts or dairy products.

Jak z Bockem
or
Botch A z jakim?
As a non-native Polish speaker the change in the sentence above is a perfect example of why Polish is a difficult language, grammatically.

I love going to the markets here,
The colours and smells of the fresh fruits and veg is great.
Also the local grannies chatting away to each other, a very enjoyable way to shop for food in Poland.
I always wanted to take photos in a farmers market but have not as yet (A sigh of relief to you all I am sure)
Switezianka - | 463  
25 Jan 2009 /  #24
Don't be too sure on that Switezianka, a PhD friend of mine at the National Veterinary Institute here in Puławy, did comparison research between vegetables bought in supermarkets and those bought on a market...and the results were quite shocking with the market vegetables having four times more pathogens than the ones from supermarkets. The worst culprit he found was lettuce for some strange reason.
This was put down to unhygienic handling and he actually witnessed one of the sellers going to toilet, and then afterwords carried on selling without washing their hands.

So what? Veggies from supermarket taste like toilet paper.
And I can always wash my veggies.

Anyway, it's just more fun to go to a street market in autumn and see all those colourful stalls with apples, pears, prunes, peppers, nuts, many kinds of onions etc. And in the market you can always get the freshest seasonal fruit (cherries or strawberries rule!) and field-grown tomatos (the only ones with real taste).
ukpolska  
25 Jan 2009 /  #25
freshest seasonal fruit (cherries or strawberries rule!)

Depends doesn't it, as most if all part time growers in Poland use pesticides and fertilizers on their crops as they have more to lose money wise.

I cannot speak for the whole of Poland but coming from a farming background myself and recognising the chemicals, I see many growers in the Lubelski region spraying the foliage with potassium sulfide, the same goes with cherries where they must protect their crops, and no these are not large farms, just small holdings.

But I agree they do seem to taste better, but they never will be and can be classed as a natural product.
Seanus 15 | 19,672  
25 Jan 2009 /  #26
That was smart, Sean BM. Clearly not hungover today :)

It is important to wash off as much chemical content as possible. I always did this back home with apples in particular. Natural products they aren't.

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