I need some help with my local Polish shop

[sonlypuppyfat]

Went in today and bought some little meat filled dumplings, very nice. And also some vegtable salad also very nice, but there were two trays in the deli counter that looked like shredded cabbage and sausage which looked yummy. But is it something that you would eat cold or warm up? I tried to ask the lady serving but her English wasn't very good

It sounds like bigos, sauerkraut and meat. It's lovely and hearty and filling. I'd say eat hot.

BigPinkOrchid thank you so much

Does anyone else know what would be tasty for us to try

Pickles
Pickled beetroot
Gingerbread
Fresh/frozen Pierogi (potato and cheese are my favourite!)
Lovely sausages esp kielbasa
Bread with caraway seeds
Dark rye bread
Soft farmers cheese

Jack Monroe wrote a little column about this :
www.theneweuropean.co.uk/culture/what-should-you-buy-in-a-polish-deli-and-what-should-you-make-with-it-1-4732318

Xiaoxiong thank you so much

Pre made polish salad is delicious, sauerkraut (sp?) Is best drained and rinsed then heated with a little bacon in. Kabanos sausages are also lovely. Oh and polish mayonnaise is my absolute favourite. Gherkins from polish shops are the best-far better than any from supermarkets here.

Lowell fruit syrups, they're better than squash if you mix them with water.

If they have any fresh cheesecake but it! Polish cheesecake is the biz. Also buns or sweet bread with poppy seeds or nuts in it is delish. The cream cheese is amazing. Paprika crisps. Polish pilsner lager.

Oh I have a question! Our local Asda has a polish section and they stock buttermilk in it. This is potentially really handy because they almost never have buttermilk in the normal chilled section and I use it a lot for baking.

I’ve never bought it though because I can’t read the Polish on the side of carton and I don’t know if it’s the same as buttermilk here or not.

*disclaimer - I live in Scotland and buttermilk here isn’t the same as it is in Ireland anyway (it’s much thicker with more of a yoghurt consistency) but I’ve got used to it over the years. I’m happy if the Polish version is also different - I guess I just want to know is it buttermilk or is it actually something different. (I’ve asked shop staff and friends but no-one has actually ever bought it (and no-one I’ve asked used buttermilk regularly anyway) so no-one really knows)

Proper sauerkraut! Check on the ingredients that it has only cabbage and salt - no vinegar. You can eat it hot or cold. A forkful stirred roughly through a portion of hot stew or mashed potato adds a heavenly tang. OTOH it's lovely with salad, too.

You can get proper full fat curd cheese in Polish shops. Makes amazing baked cheesecake. Also nice as a slightly richer but less sloppy alternative to cottage cheese.

The kefir you find in Polish shops is much nicer (and cheaper!) than kefir in regular supermarkets.

Tami if you download the google translate app it can use the camera on your phone to scan the carton and translate into English. Or post a pic on here! You may just have to buy a carton and see what the consistency is like and if it's more yoghurty than creamy you can use it for something that doesn't need to rise as much like scones or pancakes instead. (Offtopic: They use buttermilk in the USA all the time for baking and I would guess it's the same kind - the thinner kind with a consistency of double cream. I get St Ivel brand buttermilk from Ocado which is the thinner kind.)

Yes - American buttermilk is more like Irish buttermilk - the ease with which I could buy it was a real plus point of living in the US for me! I have adapted my recipes enough there to cope with Scottish buttermilk, but it’s often not available hence my interest in the Polish variety.

I did not know you could upload a photo to google translate - that def sounds like the way to go!