Schmaltz.. is it still used in Poland

SCHMALTZ; Rendered chicken fat. As a kid growing up in America during the great depression, my Mom fed us schmaltz smeared on bread when we could not afford butter.We also used bacon fat the same way. It is still used by old Jewish families here.

My Mom told me that that was a staple in Poland in the early years. I had no complaint.. On occasion I still use it on bread.

My question is. Is this practise still used in rural Poland today?

Not just rural Poland..but all of Poland. Goes great after a few wodka shots!!!!!!!

Smalec. Apparently some people spell it szmalec as well.

are not the same.
Smalec is a melted pork fat, the OP is talking about the chicken fat.

They don't use it now. There's something called smalec which is either pork dripping or lard, depending how it's made, but schmaltz isn't used.

I can sleep peacefully now. I have learned something new!

Just so you all know: Lard (pork fat) has HALF the saturated fat of butter. Don't know about chicken fat, but I guess you could look it up.

szmalec on bread----- which is a spread made of bacon fat. It's yummier than it sounds.we still make here in North America so I am sure they still make it in the Homeland.I have a small pot in the fridge as I am writng.Not something one eats everyday due to it's high fat content but once in a while I get a yen to have some. ---- Great with rye bread-----

Smalec cooked with onions and bacon bits and spread on bread is a good way to keep you foreigners from falling over after the fifteenth vodka shot. Russians and Poles have known this for centuries. In fact, any fat food will do.

They make it here but remember there are two types. Smalec domowy, for spreading on bread etc and ordinary smalec which is just for frying things in.

One is nice to eat with bread, the other would not be.

schmaltz, herring in cream sauce, egg salad...healthy pile of dark bread

Generally you will find this with bits of boczek and onion in it.

Delicious!

Very good to line the stomach before drinking, though a lot of people here won't touch it due to weightwatching.

Like everything else---eat it with moderation

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Szmalec is now very popular and many restaurants, upscale ones, serve it, while you are looking at the menu, with some crusty bread. Like a tapenade or butter. It's become much more sophisticated now and it's no longer just rendered pork back with some bacon bits. There is a very contemporary recipe at ilikethis.com and it's not that unhealthy at least compared to butter.

My monthly supply of pork fat, with chunks of lard and onion scraps, for spreading on bread.

There's a pub in Wrocław where they give you free bread with smalec with your beer, tastes great.

The ploy behind that is ----so you can buy more beer.

A sad constatation of mine:

The older I get, the less smalec I consume. ):):):):)

I lived there right out of university. I loved that pub.

I never heard of chicken fat used as smalec. However, goose fat is still quite popular in rural Poland. Probably that`s what the OP meant.

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