When travelling abroad, one of my main interests is to try the typical food of every place, to discover new flavours and textures, and be surprised by the extravagant and unknown dishes. Also to try some typical food that locals eat during parties.

When I came to Poland this was not different, and I was ready to know which was the typical Polish food for Christmas or Easter. Also I was curious to confirm if the pierogi was that delicious as the people said, but I had a lot of curiosity to know which kind of food was seen as normal for Polish people, but for the rest of the world might be considered something really extravagant.

Polish Gastronomy

Polish gastronomy is quite wide, but to be honest not all the Polish food is tasty for me, there are some dishes that are extremely delicious, and other that I cannot even look at. During Polish celebration, like Christmas or Easter, there are some Polish dishes that you will find in all the places in Poland. Some of the Polish Traditional dishes are also eaten while drinking vodka or beer, even in some bars you can buy those dishes for a really attractive price.

In Mexico we also have some dishes that are weird for most of the foreigners the visit my country, for example: worms, grasshoppers or eye’s tacos.

Extravagant Polish Dishes

After living in Poland for a couple of years, and after eating a lot of typical Polish food I concluded that the following are the 10 Typical & Extravagant Polish Dishes: (From this list I only like number 5)

1. Tatar

I will start with the famous and known Tatar (This is the one I hate the most by the way), this is a Typical Polish dish, and a lot of people eat it when are drinking vodka. The ingredients to prepare it based on the Polish recipe are: raw meat prepared with onion and some other condiments, you need to put a raw egg over the meat and that’s it! You can eat this beauty! :P

2. Smalec

It is something similar to the butter, Polish people eat it with bread. Smalec is pork fat prepared with onion and garlic. Simple and for a lot of people is delicious!

3. Czernina

It is a soup made from duck’s blood, dry fruits and vinegar. It is not common to find this dish in the restaurants, but if you are lucky you may have a chance to try it.

4. Nozki w galarecie

A simple explanation is: jello of chicken soup. It is cold and you eat it with lemon.

5. Kaszanka

It is a traditional Polish dish, it is a sausage filled with buckwheat and blood (in Mexico we have a similar dish called ‘Moronga’). This dish is also prepared in some other European countries.

6. Kiszone Ogórki

Kiszone ogórki are pickles and they are eaten as any other snack. While you are drinking vodka it is normal to see those pickles on the table as they help you to not get drunk so fast.

7. Flaki

It is a soup that lot of people love, but a lot of others hate.  It is made of the cow’s stomach, a really extravagant dish. If you go to a Polish weeding you will try this food for sure.

8. Kiszona Kapusta

It is a dish made of cabbage, bacon, onion and garlic. Sometimes is prepared also with salt, pepper, and apples. In some places it is said that the preparation process is similar to the wine – people need to step on it thousand of times.

9. Zsiadłe mleko

A short definition is soured milk, sometimes you eat it with vinegar or with boiled potatoes.

10. Wild mushrooms

A lot of people in Poland go to the forest to collect mushrooms. After some time the mushrooms do not look really tasty but a lot of people love to eat them :P

Conclusion of the Extravagant Polish Food

I can confirm that after writing this list, I have no doubt that each country has their own costumes and flavours that are unique in the world. The Polish gastronomy is really wide and most of the times you will not have any problem to find a Polish recipe which food that you will be able to prepare in your country of origin. Did you try those Polish dishes? Did you like all of them? From the previous list I only like number 5 :P One more thing: Smacznego!