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Making Polish food from supermarket ingredients
Many Polish immigrants are returning home, according to a report this week, but the big supermarkets have been stocking up on their native foods.
Will classic dishes such as beetroot soup or pillowy dumplings, find their way into British kitchens?
It may be only adventurous British cooks who pause to peruse the mysterious jars of pickles and unfamiliar sausages that now appear in the world foods aisle of their local supermarket.
With labels printed in an unfamiliar language liberal in its use of the letters z, y and ch, these ingredients are staples of the Polish kitchen. While the bulk of sales will be to homesick Poles, some Brits are trying their hand at whipping up the comfort food that typifies Polish cuisine.
The sudden influx of Poles since their country joined the EU in 2004 has seen an explosion in Polish foods and drinks available - first in specialty shops selling to migrant workers, but now demand is so great that Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco stock products such as pulpety (meatballs) and delicje (biscuits with chocolate and jam).
When Eva Michalik opened her Polish restaurant in west London 22 years ago, she had to travel home for certain ingredients. Now she can just pop to her local supermarket or cash and carry.
"For a long time it was hard for me to find the right ingredients and I had to improvise. But now I can get proper twarog cheese to make real Polish cheesecake."
Demand is such across the UK that Tesco has expanded its range in many stores nationwide from 250 products to 500.
"Our aim is to bring Poles – and other central Europeans – in the UK a true taste of home," says Kaskia Teofilak, the company's Polish food buyer manager. "Who knows, maybe Polish specialities will also become part of everybody's shopping.”
Steven Salamon, of Wally's Deli in Cardiff, says while Poles buy products they recognise from home, the sausages and other meats he stocks are best-sellers with all his customers.
But how to rustle up an authentic Polish meal - sour in taste and hearty in texture - from these exotic offerings?
"Cooking Polish food is not complicated and uses lots of fresh ingredients," says Eva Michalik. "Really traditional dishes include stews like bigos and pierogi, a filled pasta. The majority of my customers have always been English so I know people over here have a taste for the cuisine."
Source: BBC News, written by Denise Winterman and Megan Lane
01/05/2008
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