Polish Pierogi Autobiography

Polish Pierogi Autobiography

The pierogi, a food of many variations and taste preferences. For the Polish people and I, It is the food of our ancestry and the hardships and successes that our patriotic country has pushed through. It’s also a food of great memories from the past, all the holidays, reunions, dinners, and trips to the fatherland, which I try to hold onto for as long as I can. The food has been in our culture for as long as since the 13th century. The nation itself might have changed in its military strength, diversity, territory size, alliances, treaties, laws, name, and hell, its non-existence on the maps of the world from time to time, such as during WW1, but the food hasn’t changed one bit.

The pierogi itself is a diverse food, which can vary when it comes to the fillings that the central-eastern european dumpling can provide, but we’ll come back to that soon. Of course, the pierogi can’t be filled and eaten if it isn’t made in the first place. For the dumplings to be prepared, circle cuts of the flattened layer of dough have to be cut out, filling slapped in the center, circle folded in half, and the touching side of the two ends have to be pressed together, forming sort of a wavy pattern. Bam, easy as that. All that needs to be done is to throw the pierogies into boiling water, wait for the dumplings to float to the surface, where they are then ready to be prepared with a topping and ready for consumption. The fascinating aspect about this food is that one can eat pierogi both for dinner and dessert.

During lunch, dinner, and holiday hours, I personally love eating non-sweet pierogi. With that in mind, this is where the mind-blowing diversity of the food comes in. Out of the multiple possibilities, the most popular fillings can come to mind for any hungry Pole. First one being the Russian pierogi, not for its name, but rather the potato and cheese mixture that is concocted into one white paste and can easily give a full belly sensation to anyone consuming the popular pierogi prepared during a Catholic christmas eve dinner, where ‘meat shouldn’t be eaten’- which apparently it’s a Catholic Polish thing, as told by my mother. Another non-meat variant is the sauerkraut and mushroom sensation, well known for the love of mushrooms and cabbage by the Slavic people, offering a sour and salty taste to the consumers taste buds. And of course, what kind of food would pierogi be for the Polish if there wasn’t a meat option? Not only can you use whatever meat you want in there, the most popular choice is to just have a meat paste of two or more different animals: beef, pork, and chicken being the most popular. No matter what we choose to fill our dumplings with, it never hurts to top the beautiful dish with some oil and chopped fried onions.

After dinner, dessert must always come to one's mind. If dinner pierogi exists, why not give sweet fillings a try? Most popular being strawberry, blueberry, and apple fillings, the food can satisfy anyone's sweet tooth. Just take the preparing process and place the fruit of your choice on the dough circle and fold that baby up. The boiling process is exactly the same with the water still having a slight concentration of salt for enhanced taste and cooking speed. One the steaming dumplings are placed on the plate with the juices of the sweet fruit slowly seeping out of the reflective and wet dough, the dish is fully completed either with some sugar or a sweet cream spread over the tan delicacies, ready to be consumed and satisfy the day of both children and adults alike.

Personally, I greatly enjoy the food, along with the many other dishes that my country has to offer. Pierogies bring me many memories that I faintly remember, such as the early years of my life when I was a wee little boy sitting at the kitchen table, watching grandma, who was over from Poland for a few weeks, boiling strawberry filled dumplings. My 7 year old self watched with shining eyes as the most humble woman in my life steadily walked towards me with the steaming dish topped with sweet cream, which I then proceeded to indulge in less than 3 minutes and licked the remaining sauces off the plate as my grandmama watched in amusement ready with a napkin for my messy lips. Later on, that same lovable woman taught me how to prepare and cook the sweet dumplings myself, from scratch, to finish, to my belly. Of course, I get my fill of the food whenever I’ve traveled to Poland during most of my Summer vacations, eating outside of my aunts house on the terrace with the bring orange sun slowly setting over the horizon of the countryside as far as the eye can see, with a slight cool breeze and only some dogs barking in the distance.

Just like any other nation, religion, and culture, food is a very big expression for any cultural identity. For the Polish, we brought along almost all of our foods from the past, so we can show our future children how amazing the food of their ancestors and nation tastes better than ever. My Poland went through many obstacles over thousands of years, but the Polish people held on along with the knowledge of their food and culture passed down through families and written in books. The pierogi is a very diverse food that can fulfill the hungry bellies of dinners and sweet-tooths, both filling an individual easily and giving a great enjoyment to the desires of one’s taste buds. Hopefully, the food will carry on to the future and bring with it the past of its creator’s culture.

All pictures from personal and family online album