Poland's Most Famous Dish: Pierogi

I used to make these often for potluck parties that I hosted myself - in Pittsburgh, where pierogi are so famous the baseball team has pierogi mascots race each other. [1] They’re a real crowd pleaser, the only hard part is that rolling and folding the dough thin enough requires the finger dexterity of an old babcia. (Polish grandma.)<p>So, unfortunately my pierogi often ended up being 2-3x thicker than the authentic ones from Poland.<p>1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;6w5MDNjg9zU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;6w5MDNjg9zU</a>

There&#x27;s something weirdly universal about pierogi ruskie. I&#x27;ve not met anyone not liking them. Actually everyone I introduced to them loved the taste. (people usually try to look up polish delis &#x2F; kitchens in the area that sell them afterwards) Given the simplicity of the ingredients, that&#x27;s really impressive.

I left Poland in 1983 and came back in 1992. Before we left, I had never had <i>pierogi ruskie</i>. If we had pierogi, they&#x27;d either be with fruit (strawberries or wild blueberries), sauerkraut and mushrooms or ground pork. That was pretty much it. We came back and <i>ruskie</i> were everywhere -- and rightly so.

The big controversy in my house is that my Polish grandmother made pierogi with rolled edges and we ate them fried (the edges were my favorite part), but when I married a Polish woman who went to cooking school in Poland she insists that she&#x27;s never heard of doing it that way and she does it the correct way. She&#x27;ll now make a few with rolled edges for me, but most without.

+1 from me, as article mention one of the small annoyances I have.<p>My family comes from Red Ruthenia, region where ruskie pierogi comes from. Because of lingual characteristic they are usually linked to Russia (as mentioned in article) and so, with all the turmoil many restaurants decided to rename them: either to pierogi with potatoes and cheese or to galicean - as from Galicia, which is commonly perceived as Krakow (due to it being center of the region).<p>Krakow doesn&#x27;t have as good pierogis (but there are other things worth seeing and eating there though) and is half-the-Poland away so it feels to me somewhat like a takeover of a legacy and stings. So if you ever have a chance - go visit Lublin or even smaller cities like Chelm or Zamosc. Food is absolutely terrific there (which I guess is thanks to charnozem soil [1] in the region).<p>[0]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Galicia_(Eastern_Europe)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Galicia_(Eastern_Europe)</a><p>[1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Chernozem" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Chernozem</a>

Whiting, Indiana has a Pierogi festival in the fall, that is pretty big. The local Ukrainian Church in my home town says:<p><pre><code> &quot;PIEROGIES, PYROHY, VARENYKY (They&#x27;re the best whatever you call them!) at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church in Munster, Indiana! You can purchase pierogies&#x2F;pyrohy&#x2F;varenyky every Friday from 12:00pm to 3:00pm in our hall at 8624 White Oak Ave, Munster, Indiana. We encourage to place your order early each week on the phone to ensure your order can be filled - extras may not be available for walk-ins.&quot; </code></pre> They also have a festival just before Orthodox Easter... and we always go and load up on them, and the various breads and sausages that vendors offer.<p>Tradition here has potato pierogis fried in butter with a little bit of onions.

We eat the same dish in Romania, too. But we are calling them &quot;colțunași&quot;.

i still remember the first time i tried pierogi at a music festival in Poland after a few beers -- they were amazing<p>but years later that experience was overshadowed when i tried their traditional zurek soup -- now that was <i>divine</i>

Pole here. For the lazy like me in the US: Kasias Pierogi from Costco are yum. Fry on a pan with Ghee till golden brown. Store frozen. Can be fried from frozen just fine. Quick and convenient.

Ever since I went to Stash Café in Montreal, I get Polish food wherever I can: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;restaurantstashcafe.ca&#x2F;en&#x2F;home-english" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;restaurantstashcafe.ca&#x2F;en&#x2F;home-english</a>. There is something about Polish food that feels like it&#x27;s universally comforting to all who try it.

I can report that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine the Pierogi ruskie is now Pierogi ukraiński. Or at least they are in my Wife&#x27;s hometown of Ustka on the North coast. According to the article this is a more accurate description anyway.

My polish mother called them &quot;pirojki&quot;, which is the french term.<p>She made 2 variations: - mashed potatoes and white cheese - rice and meat rolled in a cabbage leaf<p>One of our neighbors offered one with mashed potatoes and apricot jam (I hated that).<p>Too bad I&#x27;m gluten intolerant now.

My wife&#x27;s mother makes excellent pierogi. The potato ones are nice but the sauerkraut and mushroom are my favourite. A nice dollop of Heinz ketchup on the side. Delicious.

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;Oq99K" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;Oq99K</a> (original url requires JS)

Kimchi dumplings are delicious. I really would like to try kimchi pierogi.

The potato version is delicious, specially when they&#x27;re freshly made.

Pelmeni and gyoza is very similar albeit not the same food.

Aren&#x27;t krowki more famous?

Fried &gt; boiled :)

There&#x27;s an interesting shift in language associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine - a type of pierogi which used to be called <i>ruskie</i> (from the region of Red Rus, where they originate) are now commonly named <i>ukraińskie</i> (Ukrainian) instead.<p>The reason is that the adjective <i>ruskie</i> is typically understood as &quot;Russian&quot; in general parlance.