Recipes: the Editorial Process

Editor’s note

Recreating Polish flavours in the kitchen can be an exciting way of exploring Poland’s culinary traditions. And although I take great pleasure in experimenting with a variety of Polish recipes, the Polonist isn’t exactly a cooking site.

From the get-go, my intention is to delve into the stories behind the dishes – their past, local ingredients, regional diversity – and most importantly, the people who have enjoyed them for generations (and often, they still do).

I won’t guide you through the “best method for a truly ‘authentic’* Polish dish ever” (*what does ‘authentic’ even mean anyway? ). If you’re seeking professional cooking advice, perhaps this isn’t the right place to find it.

Rather, I strive to capture the essence of our culinary traditions, one recipe at a time.

All of the recipes & stories here are written from a perspective of a curious culinary explorer. If you feel that our minds think alike, I would be thrilled for you to join my curated monthly bulletin.

Recipe sources

Where do these recipes come from? Are they reliable?

All of the recipes published here are sourced from a variety of Polish publications – from almanacks, textbooks and cookbooks, to various culinary magazines; both historical and contemporary.

They’re authored by chefs, cooks, recipe developers, and… our community members as well. Every recipe is properly credited and its source indicated.

Related post: My Polish Cookbook Collection

The recipes are then translated into English, and the measurements are recalculated to the imperial units.

Where needed, the recipes are adapted for modern cooking techniques and equipment, as well as streamlined for the general ease of the process. All of these changes are clearly indicated in the recipe.

Potion sizes

Historical recipes were often written for large quantities. Calling for dozens of eggs or several pounds of flour was not uncommon.

However, with the changing times, our eating habits and portion sizes have evolved. Thus, the recipes are adjusted to fit modern-day serving sizes, with most designed for a party of four (unless stated otherwise).

That being said, there are some exceptions. For more labour-intensive and/or time-consuming dishes such as pierogi or bigos, the recipe will be for a much larger quantity. This can be portioned and stored for later, or served at a larger event.

Language/Naming

Details coming soon.

Recipe badges – coming soon…

In general, you’ll find two types of recipes, marked with the appropriate badge:

“Adventurer’s recipe”

Recipes recreated exactly as per the original source, adjusted ever-so-slightly, with honest observations from the recipe tester (more on that below). If you’re adventurous and want to try more diverse, regional flavours – this is one for you.

“Gourmet recipe”

Recipes for dishes that have been tried & tested multiple times; tweaked, improved and polished (pardon the pun) to a delicious (near-)perfection. If you’re looking for the fail-proof “greatest hits” of Polish cuisine, these recipes are for you.

Recipe testing

“Test Kitchen – Approved” tag – Coming soon…

You may notice this special checkmark appearing on some of the recipes. This badge signifies that a recipe tester has cooked the recipe at least twice – double-checking that the ingredients, method and timelines are sound and easy to follow.

The tester cooks each recipe precisely as written, and then offers honest feedback (you’ll find it under the section called ‘A Note From Our Recipe Tester’). After all, the recipe may work perfectly, and yet it still might not be to their personal taste.

Special Equipment

The recipes haven’t been tested using slow cookers, pressure cookers, instant pots, air fryers, Thermomix, or any other multi-cooking devices (unless specified otherwise).

Polish ingredients

I understand that some ingredients commonly used in Polish cuisine may be challenging to find outside of Poland. I empathise with this struggle, as I too have lived abroad for nearly a decade and experienced the same difficulty.

While I always do my utmost to offer suitable alternatives, the end result may differ quite significantly. Sadly, we cannot always predict the outcome, but hey – that’s the whole fun of cooking experiments after all.

The good news is that retailers want to hear from their customers and are often eager to stock items they know there is a demand for.

You can make a change by requesting the Polish products you want to see in your local grocery store. Perhaps a single request won’t make a difference, but if there are enough of them… little by little does the trick.

Polish meat cuts (nomenclature)

Butchery methods can differ depending on the country. While the primal cuts tend to be similar, the way that the rest of the meat is broken down may differ.

For example, industrialized societies such as the US tend to use a square-cutting method where a bandsaw is used to create uniform cuts.

However, countries with a longer tradition of butchery, like Poland, tend to use seam butchery, where primals are broken down into muscle groups and individual muscles.

Even in large meat-processing facilities where bandsaws are used, butchers often follow the traditional diagram that customers are familiar with. There may also be regional differences in the names given to certain cuts.

To prevent confusion, we will use the Polish name of each cut, alongside its closest equivalent from the US.

Reader’s Reviews

I value your feedback as a reader and aim to provide you with the best online experience possible.

That said, in an effort to limit unconstructive single-worded comments (“wow”, “awesome”, “ok” and the like) as well as the ever-present spam, I’ve decided to restrict review visibility on the site.

Every quarter, all of the submitted reviews are thoroughly analysed and the most insightful and relevant ones get published under a “Featured Review” section of each recipe.

As recipes are improved and updated over time, some previous reviews may no longer be relevant and will be removed.

Culinary preferences are personal, and not every dish will suit everyone’s taste. That said, any negative reviews are carefully considered and relevant changes are implemented if deemed necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

There’s a search bar at the top of the recipe index page, take it for a spin.

If you cannot find what you’re looking for, please fill out this form, and I’ll try my best to look into it.

Sure! Please fill out this form, and I’ll try to investigate.

Isn’t that exciting? As a Polish girl living in my home country, I discover new Polish recipes that I’ve never heard of before every day.

That’s because there’s an infinite wealth of:

regional dishes
recipes from the past (both near and distant; often forgotten today)
dishes adapted from foreign cuisines, and…
recipes taken around the world with millions of Polish emigrants, adapted & turned into something new.

Exploration of these recipes and stories is a wonderful culinary adventure. If you would like to follow along, consider subscribing.

I’m not surprised, there are countless interpretations of the same dish. There are also many regional varieties.

I always credit the original source of the recipe – more about it here.

I’m really sorry to hear that.

The recipes are sourced from a variety of excellent publications and they get tested at least twice before they get posted here. But there are so many variables in the kitchen:

we live in different countries and climates
our ovens and kitchen tools work dissimilarly
ingredients aren’t the same and often have vastly different qualities. Even the same type of product made by two different manufacturers can differ greatly.

That’s why the outcome is not always predictable. I hope that the dish will turn out well next time round.

Where to Now?

→ Recipes
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