1st time in Poland

Gee.....lot of steroetypes being talked about here.................................all individuals........so each has his own experiences......................please stop slagging off each other.....it detracts from the board............................

Polishmancan....there are links on that guide to other cities........have been trying to up-date my firefox browser......lost ALL favourites for the moment..........bloody computers....:(

There’s more to polish cuisine than just bigos and pierogi.


Don't think so. Have French or Italians abandoned their food for burgers or hot dogs?? No! And neither will poles.

I don't have anything to fast foods. I don't mind eating a hamburger from time to time, but I just can't imagine doing it every day. Common...

You are completely out of your mind. All you do is spew anti-american BS. Can you please stop generalizing? Why are you being such a troll? If you have a valid point to argue that's fine because this is a forum. Please stop posting nonsense that you have no clue about.


This may be interesting for other people to see. I loved it...but I also appreciate sculpture. The huge chapel that was carved out of the cavern is amazing! And yes, the ladied love the mustache :})

Fisz, Fisz, Fisz.
Believe it or not, I do have a clue about it. I have been taken American Tourists To Poland as a tour guide and I have been observing their reactions to Polish food. Oh yes, they have tried Polish foods. And they liked it. But after a day or two, they can't take it anymore. It's like a smoking or drinking habit. You have to have your "fix". Once you're hooked on burgers and fries it's hard to let it go.

Bit that's how they eat in America from their earliest years. They don't cook like they do in Poland - everything from scratch, instead they buy prepared meals from a box or a can. All you do is add water and plop it in the microwave. And that's OK too, beacause in America you have to work hard and can't always find the time to prepare a meal.

Every country is different. Americans eat their burgers and fries. Polish have pierogi and bigos. There is nothing wrong with that.

You're actually better off eating Polish McDonalds than American McDonalds. McDonald's in europe uses less fat and oil to reflect the tastes and health consciousness of the region. So sorry Steve, if you want a cholestroburger, its going to be the do-it-yourself beef patty with crisco

I don`t like all forms of anti-Americanism, which in most cases is simple leftie propaganda, that had become very "fashionable" around the world lately, but in that case it`s justified:

- American fastfood is simply disgusting.
- The guy who started this topic had been so clueless that I couldn`t hold myself :)

I agree with you to a point. But, not all Americans think like this. I don't look for burgers and fries when I'm in PL and the people I know staying in PL don't either. Yes, we do have a large(literally :) population of people who do eat this stuff on a daily basis...god help them.....but that's not all of us. I eat a homemade cooked meal everyday(yes, from scratch)and so do the majority of people that I associate with. It's very popular to have a garden and grow your own veggies these days.

Good for you Fisz.
SMACZNEGO!!!!

As time goes on you will find children will be voting with there mouths and like the US and Oz land, take away food is extremely popular.

Go to any Mcdonalds store in Poland and see how children are addicted to take away.

Take away goes beyond Mcdonalds and for many people it is cheaper and less time consuming than preparing a meal.

As per previous post, I don't think Polish food is that crash hot , things like bigos and pierogi are heavy foods which are good to have occasionally only.

One thing doesn't make sense. Why do fat people always drink Diet Sodas and are still fat, while skinny people drink the regular stuff and don't get fat?

Yes, some people in America are trying to eat fat-free, salt-free, sugar-free organic foods. But they don't taste as good. They omit the salt or some other ingredient and charge more for it.

I read somewhere that Europeans eat a lot of fattening foods, but their metabolic systems are different and they don't gain weight as much. I don't know how much truth there is in this. In France they drink wine with their meals and yet they have such delicious pastry.

Each country is different.

Yes, I agree guys, take away/throw away traits in modern society are responsible for many problems, partly due to raised living standards/expectations.

Ergo, both parents must work to keep up with everyone else, at the expense of children being raised by other people, no time for real parenting, too rushed, everyone is sucked into believing the advertisers......but ultimately its down to people taking the easy option and being lazy!

Western Europe could learn from Poland!! Some older, traditional values are worth keeping!

I think it's the amount they drink - personally I dont drink fizzy drinks (okay maybe tonic with my gin) it's not something my parents allowed when we were growing up.


I agree, it's all down to being organised - I cook and can prepare a nice meal in half an hour


Believe it or not there are some of us that still have values in the West, please dont generalise

I see you have wonderful taste in fizzy drinks. I love a great Bombay and tonic after a long day of work :)

Bombay is my first and then I like Plymouth Gin....it's so refreshing and yes on occassion I will settle in the bath with ice and a slice!

I said it once, and I will say it again; Polish cuisine has more to offer than just pierogi and bigos. In my house we are preparing bigos only on some special occasions, like Christmas or Easter, and when it comes to pierogi, we don't eat them more then once a month. I really love those dishes, but they aren’t my favorites. .

More than anything in the world I adore stuffed meat rolls + buckwheat cereal + red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or a duck with pyzy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or gołąbki (white cabbage leaves stuffed with spiced minced meat, tomato sauce and rice), or boiled potatoes with dill + pork with gravy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Or boiled potatoes with fried smoked bacon + beetroot soup.

Of course in stead of red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta" you can put boiled cauliflower/cabbage/asparagus/string beans topped with breadcrumbs and melted butter, and instead of potatoes you can put "kluski śląskie" or "szagówki" (both are potato dumplings, made of mashed potatoes, an egg and potato flour).

Ok, I will stop there, because in every minute more and more dishes are coming to my mind, and I don’t think that there is enough space for putting them all here.

Oh, and one more thing. When you talk about polish cuisine, you have to mention polish products, which have very unique taste, like polish bread, polish smoked ham, kielbasa, kiszone ogórki (salted sour cucumber, a pickle prepared in a similar way to kiszona kapusta), beer, mead, and many, many more...

You are right about heaviness of polish food though. But it has to be that way, because of the climate of eastern Europe. I can assure you, that I, as well as my family, relatives, neighbors, and friends, eat polish food every day, and we are perfectly fine with it. Ask any polish immigrant in Australia, what is he missing the most, and I bet he will tell you, that polish food. It has centuries of tradition, and I don't think that it is going to fade away because of some hot dogs, and hamburgers.

And yes, I find polish cuisine that crash hot. We may not have the best roads, nor the best national football team, but when it comes to our food, I don’t have any complexes what so ever.

Each to his own, a lot of polish food is cabbage/flour based....once you have tasted lighter foods, such as fresh fish/seafoods/lean meats and fresh variety of vegetables and fruits you may change your opinion..

In all western countries take away food is the biggest money earner... this will occur also in poland...Just recently a american donut shop opened here (there were queues a mile long and people were buying by the dozen) Now these donuts contained <u>25% fat</u>

Foods without fat and salt have no taste...

You mark my words as Poland adapts to western living take away food will be the order of the day... It will also bring about new medical issues such as sugar diabetes/ heart attacks/illnesses associated with being overweight in which the polish hospital system will not be able to cope.

You may well find that bigos and pierogi will be the food of the past or reserved for poor people.

Make sure you locate Poland on a map, before making your move.

have I missed something??

Lef, you are correct.
The last time I was in Poland is about 3 years ago. I was surprised to see fat Poles eating American junk food.

I guess that depends on who's cooking for you in PL. I had plenty of fresh fish there just last month. Every dish in PL isn't "heavy". There are so many dishes in PL beacuse they cook different things in different areas. For example on the Baltic coast. There I had fresh fish at my disposal.

Ok. I'm starting to get a little bit confused. First, you say that polish food is going to be "the food of the past' or reserved for the poor people, and one of the reasons standing behind this situation is the heaviness of cabbage/flower based dishes that occur in polish cuisine, and then you say that the food that is going to replace them is fast food, mainly because it's very cheap?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means that fast food will win with polish food because it is cheaper, and then polish food will be eaten only by poor people. :(

That doesn't make much sense does it lef? And please, don't try to tell me that hamburgers, nuggets and hot dogs are light food...


Now I fell offended by you thinking that as a polish person I have never tried fresh vegetables and fruits. For your information, we do have them in Poland!

Besides, one of my favorite dishes is duck with pyzy and red cabbage /"surówka" /"kiszona kapusta". Isn't duck meat considerate to be lean?

And when it comes to fish, Poland has always had an access to the Sea, and so fish from the Sea as well as those from the rivers and lakes do occur in our cuisine.

In the end I will like to repeat that the heaviness of our food is determinated by our climate. The colder the climate is, the heavier the food is tending to be. For example, Eskimo people eat tallow!

I understand that as you live in Australia, you may find bigos not to be among top 5 of your favorite dishes, but please accept that polish people have been eating it since centuries, and still enjoy doing it. Not everybody has to love the food that you do.

PS: One more thing. The kids don’t eat fast food because it’s remarkably tasty, but they eat it because they don’t know better. I think that Frank has raised here a very important issue. Parents are to blame that junk food is so popular in USA and Australia. If the children were fed with proper meals from their early days, fast food wouldn’t be so popular, and you wouldn’t have so big problems with sugar diabetes/ heart attacks/illnesses associated with being overweight in your society.

I’m not blind, nor stupid. I know that many Poles will take the easy path, but observing my family, and friends I’m very confident, that things aren’t going to change drastically in the next few generations.

Let me ask you a question lef. How does the situation look with your national cuisine? Does it still exist, or is it "the food of the past"?

They dont have a national cuisine! or can you count throwing chunks of meat on a BBQ as cuisine! hummmm me thinks not!

Yes, anything on the barbie and maybe some meat pie :) mmmmmmm meat pie.

I doubt they can make pastry! that would take some cullenary skill

I liked your response, your writing skills suggests that you are not polish, if you are, then well done. You must also belong to the higher level of polish society

For many people who work full time, unless you have babcia at home cooking for you it is cheaper to buy take away... ie time associated with buying food, cooking, cleaning up etc.

Take away food isn't just hamburgers it can be a wide rage of foods.


I never said that, having a wide variety of different fruits and vegetables which are accessible daily is important.. From my experience apart from strawberries in season, tomartoes, cabbage, potatoes are pretty cheap the more exotic fruits are expensive.

There is not much variety in winter unless you are flush with funds and prepared to pay a high price.


What a feast, very nice food, I don't think the average pole would be able to affort such a treat.


I don't like saying this but poles have not been exposed to variety of other foods....sorry


The problem is that take away food contains excess sugars,fats, and salt that makes it tasty and addictive...I might say say that I love take away but now only realising that it is bad for you.... Children listen to what is on TV and act accordingly.

A company like Mcdonalds carefully engineer there advertising to target the young, everying from the color of there stores ie Yellow, red. blue are attractive colors for children to free gifts etc

Don't forget Bill Clinton loved his takeaways.


I hope your right, but going by overseas trends, I don't think so. obesity is become a cronic problem in western countries.. USA leading followed by UK and Oz... like I mentioned before problems associated with overeating will kill our health system..


Good question, does any country have a national dish!

I suppose roast lamb/chicken and potatoes but thats what the British have.

Its probally the barbecue... lots of red meat and prawns (beer to wash it down)

Because oz land is a very multi cultural society, people enjoy variations of chinese, greek, italian etc food. the days of having steak and chips at a restuarant are well and truly gone.

so it looks that you havent got anything like "bigos".mmmm...


your thinking is a bit narrow,i can say.Poland as a country has not been created after 1945.we have been under influence of many nations and their cuisines.russia-pierogi with potatoes and cottage cheese,ukrainian betroot soup,jewish a carp stuffed with mashrooms,pasta with tomatoe sauce is well known too and many many more .you should buy a book "POLISH CUISINE" before you say something.

What I'm saying is to have a open mind, polish food is not the only food on the market.
I like polish soups, pork dishes and chickens....my ideal meal is a roast leg of lamb, roast potatoes and pumpkin and peas...withs lots of gravy....it beats any meal on earth.

if you read my previous post carefully you will have to say "i am sorry"


i prefer pork rather than lamb but it is your choice and peas? no -only the black eyed peas:)

I went to Poland last year and I couldnt believe at the variety of things that Poland has now. i havent been to my country for a long time so I was very suprised.

I cant tell you that immediatley I found a difference between the U.S food and Polish.
Everything in Poland is fresh and delicious. Theres so many variety of yogurts, cottage cheese, bread, etc.
The thing is everything is NATURAL. In America skim milk tastes like water. You have to buy the organic kind to get the same taste as the Polish skim milk for example.

Poland has real bread. In the US its nothing but flour and shit and air. Im not trying to hate American cuisinee but itsa HORRIBLE. Everyone gains weight here becuase everything has hormones and is chemicall enhanced. THe pastries dont even look appetizing. Most of the are loaded with sugar on the inside but also on the outside(frosting). They cant live without sugar.

My family eats healthy and Im health conscious too, so we usually buy Organic stuff becuase anything else just doesnt taste that good.
Even candy here tastes like crap. LOL Im sorry but its true. The thing that suprised me while I was in Poland that cornflakes even where much more tastier there than here. Eggs have a nice color to them while here its like a weird yellow color.

My mom tries to make some Polish cusine for my dad for dinner and it does not taste the same and I know that its not no matter what you do. It all comes down to the ingrediants.

My mom does Nalesniki, and their ok but not that great. She tried to do knedle, and they too tasted different. Even schabowe. Errr.

Here in America almost everyone loves to order Pizza, or go out to eat where the portions are way too big. I understand that most have no time to cook becuase trust me living here you have to work almost all day. My poor dad works at a restaurant as a manager (80 hrs a week)!! But anyway there still are healthy stuff that they can get but choose not to.

Another thing about MCD's is that its much more cheaper here. Sometimes they have days where a burger is like $1.00 and if I remember correctly and big size meal in Poland is 16z?? or something like that.

To the lady that started this topic: I hope you will try some Polish food, and even if you dont like it yes you will find American brand chains there as well.

You also live in Florida where most of the bread products suck because of the water....awesome fresh seafood though :) Where I live we have bakery's(Dutch-Polish-American) that make wonderful breads....you just have to know where to shop.

I agree that PL food is the best though

Jedzcie, pijcie i popuszczajcie pasa :)