A must eat when in Krakow: 5 traditional food from Polish cuisine

What is the best way to learn about a country? Through food. Polish cuisine is a real calories bomb but once you try it, you cannot resist it. Let's have a look on top 5 Polish food you must try when visiting Krakow.

Pierogi / Dumplings

One of the most recognizable food in Polish cuisine is their national dish - pierogi or pierożki (diminutive). They can be filled with anything, from sweet sauces and fruit to boiled potatoes, cottage cheese. The most popular filling, however, is meat with sauerkraut and mushrooms. Pierogi is Polish food always served during Christmas.

Polish ''Pierogi''Foto: Shutterstock.com

Bigos / Hunter's stew

Polish cannot imagine traditional holidays without a bowl of home made bigos. It's a true tourist's must eat. The main ingredience is sauerkraut stewed with chopped sausage, mushrooms and onion. Sometimes there is a variety when white cabbage is used instead of sauerkraut. Usually eaten with rye bread or potatoes.

Polish bigos with smoked sausage and baconFoto: Shutterstock.com

Žurek / Sour Soup

Probably the most traditional Polish soup. The distinctive feature of this food is its sour taste. But it's not like lemon, the taste is more delicate. And it is extremely delicious! The soup is really thich and lavish - it contains of hard-boiled eggs, raw sausage, potatoes and sometimes muschrooms and bacon. Traditionally it is eaten during Easter holidays. Oftentimes, when you order žurek in a restaurant, you get it served in a loaf of bread.

Traditional Polish soup ''Zurek''Foto: Shutterstock.com

Obwarzanek / Bagel

Any trip to Krakow starts with tasting of obwarzanek. The chewy bagel unevenly sprinkled with poppy or sezame seeds or salt on every corner. In fact, it is the only Polish food that is protected by Europian Union and is listed on their Traditional Foods List. They've become a unoffical symbol of Krakow. Its history dates back to the 14th century and its popularity does not go down - since then the cracovian bakers prepares over 200 thousand of these bagel every day.

The Obwarzanek - traditional Cracovian bagelFoto: Shutterstock.com

Krówka / Fudges

Save the best for last! It's impossible to resist the best Polish candy ever - traditional ''krówki.'' Basically, it is a small soft fudge, each individually wrapped in yellow paper with a picture of cow - because its literal translation is ''little cows'' The first krówki were made by Pomorkis family in 1930s. The original recipe contains of milk, sugar, butter and vanilla flavour but there are many variations. When hand-made, they are crispy on outside and fluid inside.

Krowki, traditional Polish fudgeFoto: Shutterstock.com