Name: Zupa “nic”
Pronunciation: ˈzupa ‘ɲiʦ̑
Translation: “nothing” soup
Energy: approx. 220 kcal per serving
Ingredients: milk, eggs, sugar, fruit, vanilla.
Zupa “nic” is a popular Polish dish made of milk and egg yolks garnished with egg white noodles and fruit. It’s served hot or cold as the first course or dessert.
Name: Ciasteczka orkiszowe
Pronunciation: ʨ̑aˈstɛʧ̑ka ɔrciˈʃɔvɛ
Translation: spelt cookies/biscuits
Energy: approx. 55 kcal per cookie
Ingredients: spelt flour, butter, eggs, almonds, dark chocolate, raisins, sugar, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla.
Ciasteczka orkiszowe have very recently started to gain in popularity, especially in eastern Poland (the Lublin region). They have nutty flavour (thanks to spelt and almonds) and smell of the spices. They’re said to have calming properties.
Name: Chrupanka krakowska
Pronunciation: ˈxrupãnka kraˈkɔfska
Translation: Cracow cruncher
Producer: Wawel Kraków
Weight: approx. 15 g/0.5 oz per candy
Price: 25 PLN/$ 7.50/€ 5.90/£ 4.70 per 1 kg/35 oz
Energy: approx. 85 kcal
Ingredients: sugar, cocoa compound coating 16.5% (sugar, hydrogenated vegetable fat, fat reduced cocoa powder 20%, emulsifiers: soya lecithin and polyglycerol polyricinoleate E476, flavour), vegetable fat, skimmed milk powder, peanuts 12%, wafers 9.5% (wheat flour, sugar, vegetable fat, salt, flavour), whey powder, lactose, candied orange peel 1.5% (orange peel, sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, acidity regulator: citric acid, preservative substance: potassium sorbate, flavour), fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifier: soya lecithin, flavours.
Although Chrupanka krakowska is a relatively new product from Wawel Kraków, it managed to catch on and is now very popular. It’s a chocolate-covered praline with vanilla-flavoured milk mass inside. Thanks to peanuts, wafers and orange peel, the praline is very crunchy (as its name suggests).
Name: Sernik
Pronunciation: ˈsɛrʲɲik
Translation: cheesecake
Energy: approx. 120 kcal per serving
Ingredients: cottage cheese, eggs, sugar, wheat flour, raisins, lemon rind, vanilla.
Sernik is a typical Polish dessert prepared on various occasions (Christmas, Easter, birthdays, name days) or without any particular occasion. It consists of a baked or cooked cottage (or curd, quark) cheese mass and dried fruit and/or nuts. Very popular variations include toppings such as peaches, cherries, blueberries, chocolate or jelly. It might have a bottom layer (sponge, shortcrust or biscuit). The so-called Cracow-style cheesecake (Polish: sernik krakowski) comprises a shortcrust bottom, cheese mass and a checked shorcrust top.
Name: Placek z owocami
Pronunciation: ˈplaʦ̑ɛk zɔvɔˈʦ̑amʲi
Translation: cake with fruit
Energy: approx. 100 kcal per serving
Ingredients: fruit (strawberries in my case), wheat flour, eggs, sugar, canola oil, baking powder, vanilla.
Placek z owocami is a very popular kind of cake in Polish, baked in summer (because of the availability of various fruit) very frequently. Apart from strawberries, we also use rhubarb (Polish: rabarbar), plums (śliwki), apples (jabłka), cherries/wild cherries (wiśnie/czereśnie), blueberries (jagody), raspberries (maliny), gooseberries (agrest), and whatnot. Some people tend to add yoghurt or sour cream to the pastry.
Name: Ciasteczka z maszynki
Pronunciation: ʨ̑aˈstɛʧ̑ka zmaˈʃɨ̃nkci
Translation: cookies from a machine
Energy: approx. 45 kcal per cookie
Ingredients: wheat flour, butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla.
Ciasteczka z maszynki are classic type of Polish cookies/biscuits. They’re made of flour, butter, and cooked egg yolks. The pastry is later processed with a manual meat mincer equipped with a special mould. The cookies are very crunchy and crispy, very ofteneaten as a snack with tea/coffee or milk.
Name: Chałka
Pronunciation: ˈxawka
Translation: challah
Energy: approx. 50 kcal per slice
Ingredients: wheat flour, milk, water, eggs, sugar, butter, yeast.
Crumble: wheat flour, butter, sugar.
Chałka is a traditional Jewish sweet yeast bread (served on Sabbath), which also became popular among Christians in Poland before WWII. It’s unique thanks to its braided shape. Poles eat it as a snack between meals or for breakfast/second breakfast, very frequently accompanied by a glass of milk.
Name: Naleśniki z serem
Pronunciation: naˈlɛɕɲiki s ‘sɛrɛm
Translation: crêpes with cheese
Energy: approx. 100 kcal per crêpe
Ingredients: Batter: wheat flour, milk, water, eggs, rapeseed oil, salt.
Filling: curd cheese, cream, sugar, vanilla, cardamom.
Naleśniki z serem are thin crêpes with sweet curd cheese filling. They are usually served as a main course for dinner or as a dessert. Among a number of various fillings, curd cheese is one of the most popular (alongside jam).
