Polish cuisine ( ) is a style of cooking and food preparation originating in or widely popular in Poland. Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become very eclectic due to Poland’s history. Polish cuisine shares many similarities with other Slavic countries, especially Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian cuisines. It has also been widely influenced by Central European cuisines, namely German, Austrian and Hungarian cuisines,Melvil Dewey, Richard Rogers Bowker, L. Pylodet, Library Journal, Volume 110, 1985; “Poland’s cuisine, influenced by its German, Austrian, Hungarian, Russian, and other conquerors over the centuries.” See also: Eve Zibart, The Ethnic Food Lover’s Companion, p. 114. “Polish cuisine displays its German-Austrian history in its sausages, particularly the garlicky kielbasa (or kolbasz), and its smoked meats.” (p. 108.) as well as Jewish, French and Italian culinary traditions. It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region), winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and herbs. It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of noodles the most notable of which are kluski as well as cereals such as kasha (from the Polish word kasza). Generally speaking, Polish cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. The traditional dishes are often demanding in preparation. Many Poles allow themselves a generous amount of time to serve and enjoy their festive meals, especially Christmas eve dinner (Wigilia) or Easter breakfast which could take a number of days to prepare in their entirety. The Polish national dishes are bigos ; pierogi ; kiełbasa; kotlet schabowy (type of breaded cutlet); gołąbki (type of cabbage roll); zrazy (type of roulade); roast () ; sour cucumber soup () ; mushroom soup, () (quite different from the North American cream of mushroom); tomato soup () ; rosół (variety of meat broth); żurek (sour rye soup); flaki (variety of tripe soup); and barszcz among others. The main meal might be eaten about 2 p.m. or later. It is larger than the North American lunch. It might be composed of three courses especially among the traditionalists, starting with a soup like a popular rosół and tomato soup or more festive barszcz (beet borscht) or żurek (sour rye meal mash), followed perhaps in a restaurant by an appetizer such as herring (prepared in either cream, oil, or in aspic); or other cured meats and vegetable salads. The main course usually includes a serving of meat, such as roast or kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet), or chicken. Vegetables, currently replaced by leafy green salads, were not very long ago most commonly served as surówka – shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, seared beetroot) or sauerkraut () . The side dishes are usually boiled potatoes, rice or more traditionally kasza (cereals). Meals often conclude with a dessert such as makowiec, a poppy seed pastry, or drożdżówka , a type of yeast cake. Other Polish specialities include chłodnik (a chilled beet or fruit soup for hot days), golonka (pork knuckles cooked with vegetables), kołduny (meat dumplings), zrazy (stuffed slices of beef), salceson and flaki (tripe).
