Food / Is carp indigenous to Israel? [39]

The discussion on this forum may have suggested to the underinformed that carp is an exclsuvely or primarily Polish speciality. In fact, apart from Oriental types, America's biggest carp eaters are Jews. Carp flesh is a tradional ingredient of ‘gefüllte Fisch’ (spelling?) -- fish forcemeat balls.

My question is: was carp indigenous to Palestine/Israel and the Middle East or was it something Jews picked up in Central Europe? Isn't much of the food widely regarded as Jewish (kreplach, blintzes, latkes, borscht and beetroot in general, horeradish, pickled herring, etc.) of East-Central European origin?

Life / Best-looking Polish post-war celebs.... [12]

They have ranged from Andrzej Lapicki, Zb. Cybulski, Pola Raska and Kalina Jędrusik to today's Doda, Deląg. Kożuchowska and the Mrocezk Twins....

Whom do you regard as the most physically attractive Polish film stars and other celebs of the post-WW2 period?

Genealogy / Hint for Polish surname seekers [3]

In many cases you can deciphre the meaning of your Polish surname even if you know no Polish. Here are a few hints:
-- Sundry names such as Motyka, Wilk, Serwatka, Koza, Sowa, Kwiatek, Wróbel, Gruszka, £opata, Pasternak, Gwoździk, etc. can be looked up in a hard-copy English-Polish dictionary or online. Usually the names of common objects, animals, foods, etc. originated as peasant nicknames.

-- names ending in -ski, -cki or -dzki are usually of toponymic origin, so try to figure out the basic root by looking through the place-names listed in a Polish atlas. Such names (also indicating estates or noble-owned villages) were the most common surnames used by Poland's szlachta.

-- patronymics usually end in -ak, -czak or -wicz, so it remains to determine what the first part of the name means; eg Stasiak (son of Staś), Antczak (Tony's boy), Kowalewicz (the blacksmith's kid).

POWODZENIA - GOOD LUCK!

BERNING: ethnicity obscure and meaning uncertain; possibly from German Bär (bear, the animal) or Yiddish name Berko?

PARMONIK: looks like a patroynmic nick from Paramon, a name used in the Eastern Orthodox Church (originally from the Greek paramonos meaning faithful).

Food / Turkey for New Year's dinner in Poland? [29]

I have repeatedly seen in various (hard-copy and internet) sources that roast turkey is a Polish New Year's favourite. Is this a relatively new custom or an age-old one?

News / Czech drug legalisation threatens Poland [111]

Polish broder guards and trained sniffer dogs are gearing up for a potential surge of drug smuggling after the Czechs legalised the possession of marijuana and even hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Any comments?

slask.naszemiasto.pl/artykul/275985,od-1-stycznia-2010-legalizacja-narkotykow-w-czechach,id,t.html
rfi.fr/actupl/articles/096/article_3273.asp

Food / Nowolatki New Year's cakes? [6]

Anyone know the custom of baking cakes in the shape of barnyard anuimals at the New Year. They are called nowolatki and were best known in the Podlasie region.

My question: are these actally eaten or simply kept as souvenirs or fertility symbols?
My iown immigrant ancestors hailed from parts of Poland where this custom was not known.

Food / Polish culinary dislikes [83]

These are some of the things I have found most Poles do not fancy when they first try them. Some eventually acquire a taste through repeaterd expoure or pretend to for reasons of snobbery.

Most Poles donot take to kindly to:
- Marmite
- licorice
- root beer
- whiskey
- maple syrup
- peanut butter
- marshmallows
- snails
- frog legs
- squid
- mutton
- mint sauce (to accompany mutton)
- instant mashed potatoes
- Mexican food in general
- apple pie & cheddar chese
- salting apples and watermelon

Would you know of any others?

Food / What's on YOUR Wigilia table? [20]

This is addressed only to those who cultivate the traditional Polish Wigilia, wherever in the world they may live. What are to typical dishes served at your home on Wigilia?

At my childhood Wiiglias at Babcia's home it was: creamed herring, clear mishroom soup & noodles, fried walleye, sauerkaut and mushrooms, dried-fruit compote, poppyseed noodles & poppysee-roll cake

My married Wigilia usually comprises: herring in oil, sometimes Polish vegetable salad (sałatka jarzynowa), clear beetroot soup with fried battered mushrooms, fried fish (pike, carp*, other), sauerkraut, peas & mushrooms, dried-fruit compote, poppyseed noodles & poppyseed-roll cake.

Carp does not seem to have a good press on PF, but years ago a black guy at a fish market on Detroit's Davison Ave (east side) told me the way to get rid of off-flavours in carp and other bottom-feeders after cleaning the fish and slicing into sgteak is to, salt it well and freeze it. After thawing it, rinsing off the salt and patting it dry with paper towels, the muddy flavor is less pronounced or non-existent.