Which ingredients/vegetables/fruits/meats are nonexistent in traditional Polish cuisine?

I like to "research" unfamiliar international cuisines beforehand...researching beforehand not only international cuisines but even worldwide or Cam-Am fast-food restaurant chains I haven't been to yet. In the region of Canada where I'm from, Polish is the 3rd largest European ancestry (British is largest, and French is 2nd largest)


Yes, I had a feeling canned soups are rare (if not nonexistent) in Poland. In Canada/USA and also UK/Australia/NZ some major grocery stores even have an entire half-aisle it's all canned/packaged soups. Most popular in Canada/USA are Campbell's soups (canned), Lipton soups (packaged), and Baxter's soups (canned, and mostly "fancier" flavours for example "Lobster Bisque")

But we have in Poland powder soups like Knorr....some of them quite tasty.

Yes Knorr packaged mixes also here in Canada, but Knorr at major grocery stores is only common Canadian/American soup flavours, and also pasta & rice mixes. If I went to an "ethnic-based" grocery retailer (examples, Afro-Caribbean, Asian, South Asian and of course Polish/Eastern European etc), I'd find the corresponding international Knorr mixes

If you're in such a shop, do try Winiary. They're made by the same company as Knorr (in the same factory) and are very subtly different.

I suppose it is interesting sociological questions. Powder soups are relatively popular in Poland but tinned not at all. Why ?

I once wondered that myself. Here's a (maybe) answer.

Tinned soups (and canned veg etc) appeared in the late Nineteenth Century in industrial cities; Poland was still at that time very rural, and there were fewer issues of logistics; physically gettting a good supply of fresh fopds to urban populations. Plus, they were very secondary to canned meats, stews etc.

Possibly families were larger too, making tinned soups less practical. When they took off in the UK shortly after the war, Poland was of course more of a command economy than the UK; both countries had food shortages and some centralised distribution, however those shortages (and food distribution chains) were different.

Packet soups started much later and are cheaper and easier to produce; plus they suit certain recipes (clear barszcz, chicken broth) better than others.

Stock cubes also go back to the end of the Nineteenth Century, and they are very popular in Poland; if you work all day and live in a city flat, it's far less convenient to make a meat stock than chop veg.

I think it is all changing very quickly in Poland. I would guess that for younger generations ( in big cities, working all days) introduction of canned soups could be very convenient solutions. I suppose powder soup is not a proper meal but nice, easy and quick snack at work,when camping on holidays...at home if we want something quick before proper meal. I quite like tomato soup with 'makaron' from Knorr. I would say it tastes quite nice especially in cold winter day.

I think so too. In Poland, it seems there's been a jump in technology and it's gone straight to tetrapaks/foil bags. There's a perception that they're better quality/fresher (in fact there's not much difference) and of course easier to store, in the warehouse get to the shops and more visually appealing.


I buy packets if it's a clear soup, and add something to them; not much difference to home made.

I just now found an American website selling grocery items imported from Poland and Europe, there's no canned soups nor canned vegetables/fruits (only canned meats in small tins). The website does sell a couple of sauces in glass jars though, one of them being pasta sauce with Polish-language labeling:

Polish Canned Foods:
Polish Soups
Polish Instant
Polish Sauces:

polishhypermarkets.com

I've not seen any for at least a decade in PL, and even then, only rarely (apart from when M&S were there, however their products aren't Polish). Tinned fruit is rare, though it does exist. Plenty of frozen, dried, and bottled. Of the packet soups on that website, only the barszcz is any good (and best avoid the instant one).

The pasztet (potted meat; they call it pie on the website) is fairly standard; worth trying, though that isn't a particularly interesting brand.

Looking at the stuff on the website, it isn't a very inspiring collecrion, however it represents pretty well much of what you'd find in a small and not very good grocer's shop.

The preserves are probably the best bit of that site. Łowicz is an ok brand, made in the town of that name (when I was a kid, we always had Krakus which is good). The first one on the list is translated there as 'plum jam'. It isn't jam, it's powidło, rather different to jam, and I recommend it. It's a more sophisticated product, darker and less sweet than plum jam and with a slightly smokey, pruney taste. Home made is the best, however the jar on the website is fine.

Here are some popular brands of Canadian/American canned soups, most of these brands having several "ethnic" varieties especially nowadays, so maybe they'll eventually produce at least one Polish soup? If they can manufacture other ethnic soups in cans, then why not manufacture Polish soups in cans too?

Campbell's: campbellsoup.ca/our-brands/soups-and-chilis/
Baxters: baxterscanada.ca/index.php/the-baxters-collection/
President's Choice (Canada):
Amy's Kitchen: amyskitchen.ca/products/product-categories/soups
Lipton (Packaged Soups): liptonkitchens.com/product-category/products/

An interesting thing missing in Polish cuisine (that I know of) are quick breads... (US) biscuits, scones that type of thing.

I remember once a student needed to be able to translate biscuit (again US version) and all a Polish professional translator (phd in Anglistyka and many years experience) could offer was 'krakers'

I'm not sure about Czech or Slovakia but Hungary has pogacsa which seems like a quick bread.

Biscuits...?

I am just back from Poland and I realised how much I miss these bakeries ( Avitex, Buczek, lots independent ones) everywhere with fresh coffees and freshly baked varieties of cakes, 'drozdzowki' .

It reminds me of Austria, Germany....Not much UK.

Another thing I noticed most cakes, biscuits are much sweeter in UK- different recipes more sugar used. The worst are some yeast rolls- tasty in itself but tones melted iced sugar on the top.

American biscuits are very similar to British scones...

Scones are good- savoury or sweet :-) but I guess that biscuits have different meaning in UK or USA. In UK scones are scones but biscuits are more like :

cosmopolitan.com/uk/worklife/a14759391/britains-favourite-biscuit/

roughly...

UK biscuits = US cookies

UK scones = US biscuits

Many years ago some Brit told me there's a difference between biscuits and cookies in the UK but I forget what it was about...

:-) A cookie
A biscuit (copy-paste)

In Canada/USA, these are called only "biscuits" (a.k.a. "scones" in UK), and are never called "cookies":
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_(bread)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone

Likewise, in Canada/USA, things like Fudgee-Os"/"Oreos" are called only "cookies" and are never called "biscuits" (although the French word for Canadian/American "cookie" is "biscuit", Polish pronunciation equivalent "BIS-kłi", and French is 2nd-largest European language in Canada after English). "Chocolate chip cookies" and "oatmeal cookies" etc are never called "chocolate chip/oatmeal etc biscuits" unless they're scone-like

These can be called either "cookies" or "biscuits", although most in Canada/USA will call them "cookies":
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookie#/media/File:Holiday_Cookie_Tray.jpg
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookie#/media/File:R%C5%AFzn%C3%A9_druhy_cukrov%C3%AD_(2).jpg

In Poland, a popular biscuit is Delicje, a copy of Jaffa Cakes. Slightly more sugar and different flavours.

Copy???? :-) I would say Jaffa -cake is copy of Delicje.

Why?

Jaffa Cakes have been around since the 1920s.

They look delicious! I will be visiting a Polish/Eastern European grocery store one of these days, and I'll be sure to look for Delicje...and of course inquire about Polish canned soup (who knows, maybe there does exist some obscure Polish brands)

polishhypermarkets.com/index.php/en/sweet-goods/cookies

I reccommend the cherry ones!

Incidentally, both Delicje and Jaffa Cakes have had lawsuits in their own countries. The makers of Jaffa Cakes sued the government about the level of tax (different for cakes and biscuits). They actually made a giant one as a court exhibit. With Delicje it was about which factory had the right to use the name (different factories in PL had been making them since the 70s).

Jaffa Cakes are nicer though ;-)

I think Delicje started in 1970s but I think their origin ( as Jaffa cakes) are from Izrael.

I think there is quite big influence of Jewish cuisine in Poland.....these sweet breads 'chalka'.

They were certainly named after Jaffa oranges however I'm not sure there was much going on in Palestine at that time.. Jaffa is Haifa now of course, however I can still remember the oranges having stickers with Jaffa written on.

There's a lot of Jewish influence in Polish cuising, preserved fish, chalka (as you mention), Ćwikle and a few others. Kluski are a bit like matzo balls. There are probably a few other dishes that have Jewish roots (and things in Ashkenazi cuisine with Polish roots).

edit: McVities website says this: McVitie & Price introduced the Jaffa Cake in 1927. It contained a simple combination of sugar and tangerine oil to form the sealed layer of jam. The cakes were named after the Jaffa oranges which flavour the zesty centre of the cake.

Yes you started them first - I think something similar was produced in France too.

I am not sure if it is Polish or Jewish origin but also 'makowiec', 'sernik'. It was while ago I went to Paris and in Jewish district drop in local bakery and I felt like in Poland.

It's very possible. Walnut Whips (I used to bring them to PL as presents) were invented by a Frenchman in London. My favourite Polish sweets were called Mr Ron; unfortunately I haven't seen them for years. Raspberry flavour and really nice.

Bialys (bejgel) and the slightly different bagels have their roots in/around Poland. Bialys are named after Bialystok.

I'm sorry, guys, but I just can't believe you can compare home made soups to instant ones :)
The latter taste terrible of all the preservatives you add to them.
What about spices? I'd say cumin is not very popular here -unlike caraway that's added to similar dishes as marjoram.
Turmeric has gained some popularity now - but that's because of its benefits for health.

Who does? Home-made are much better. Ready-made (not necessarily instant) are getting very popular in PL though; a lot are manufactured and sold. Perhaps demographics are the reason.


Kmin Rzymskie? I was once confuse by the name. I bought kminek, expected cumin, and of course it's caraway seeds.

Wasn't it you who said there's no much difference to home made ones?
I once bought cumin in London hoping it was kminek.