Polish Food: A Newcomer's Guide

Daily staples

• Pierogi — dumplings filled with meat, cheese and potato (ruskie), cabbage and mushroom, or fruit for dessert.
• Kotlet schabowy — breaded pork cutlet, the Sunday classic.
• Żurek — sour rye soup, often served in a bread bowl with sausage.
• Barszcz — beetroot soup, clear and tangy.
• Bigos — hunter's stew of cabbage, sausage, and mushrooms.

Bakery and snacks

• Chleb — dense bread, often rye; bought by weight.
• Pączki — doughnuts, eaten especially on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek).
• Zapiekanka — open-faced baguette with mushrooms and cheese, a street food classic from Kraków's Kazimierz.

Meal structure

• Śniadanie (breakfast) — bread, cheese, cold cuts, eggs.
• Obiad (lunch) — the main hot meal, early afternoon.
• Kolacja (supper) — lighter, often bread and cold cuts.

Drinks

• Kompot — sweet stewed fruit drink.
• Kefir — fermented milk, common with lunch.
• Tea with lemon is the everyday hot drink; coffee is increasingly popular.