Pomeranian culinary specialities

Pomerania is famous for the variety of its dishes. Naturally, Poles will first think of the Kashubia-style herring (pol śledź po kaszubsku). And rightly so, as Pomerania offers exquisite fish. Considering that the land here is not very fertile, our ancestors for centuries relied heavily on fish. They fried, smoked, and pickled them. They even used them for cakes! This part of our country is probably the origin of all our fish soups. The pride of the regional cuisine is eel. However, Pomerania has a lot more to offer. Vegetables, such as potatoes and swede, are another important element of the regional culinary tradition. Poultry, especially goose, is the most popular meat here.

Undoubtedly, as mentioned above, Pomerania is well-known for the Kashubian herring. It is served in tomato sauce after being soaked in water and vinegar. The dish’s real secret, however, is the spices. The second popular way of serving herring (called sweet herring) involves cream and apple, sometimes also raisins. Another side dish worth trying is herring accompanied by hot jacket potatoes, called pulki in Kashubian. Also, the once very popular sprat cake with egg batter (traditionally served for breakfast) is now making a comeback.

A traditional type of bread paste in Pomerania consists of ground goose meat with fat and herbs. Pomeranian forests are full of mushrooms, so they are used for many appetizers and side dishes by creative regional cooks. They like serving chanterelles, porcini mushrooms, or Scaber Stalk, most often stewed with garlic, onions, and juniper berries. Finally, we must mention the traditional potato sausage called kiszka szwedzka (Swedish sausage), made – apart from potatoes – of smoked bacon, onion, semolina, and special spices.

If you love unusual soups, Pomerania is a real paradise for you. Here, you can try turnip soup cooked with goose. A classic dish in Kociewie is parzybroda (literally: beard-burner), a white cabbage soup with bacon. You can also try a vegetable broth with little fat, called the gapsi broth. Another interesting proposition is oparzonka (literally: burning soup), made of overcooked potatoes and goat’s milk. A recipe for the soup cooked from the goose blood, czernina, was also created here. Szwindel is a very interesting option too. It’s a salty milk soup with bay leaves and allspice. It is thickened with flour and egg yolks and sprinkled with parsley.

Kashubian cuisine is most famous for the pork knuckle, cooked before baking. Thanks to this method, the meat is extremely soft and easily separates from the bone, which is how a good pork knuckle should be. In Pomerania, it is often served with sauerkraut. Of course, traditional stew or classically prepared ribs are very common in this region too. On the other hand, its cuisine also contains very simple but very filling dishes, such as barley groats with crackling. A very interesting fish served only at the turn of May and June, is a green-bone garfish.

You simply must try a special type of yeast dough crumpets, called ruchanki. In the past, they were prepared from the remains of the bread dough, but today they are made of especially prepared mixture of flour and yeast. Most often, ruchanki are served warm with sliced apple and powdered sugar. Traditionally, they were a carnival dish, but now they are available at all times. The Rote Grütze (red semolina) is another very characteristic regional dessert. It is a sweet delicacy resembling jelly prepared with potato flour, cherries, or strawberries.

Pomeranian cuisine can be surprising! It offers many unconventional dishes that cannot be found anywhere else. Get carried away in this culinary adventure and try a little bit of every dish Pomerania has to offer. Remember that the famous Kashubian herring is just an appetizer!