welcome back to the ancestral findings podcast pierogi aren't just a Polish tradition they
have a long history entwined with Eastern and central European culture learn all about it here
pierogies are an iconic food most usually associated with Polish culture but actually
they've historically been made in different variations all throughout Eastern and Central
Europe lots of families pass their pierogi recipes onto future Generations which means that there's
a lot to learn from this food depending on the variant you may even be able to learn a little
something about your family's roots by the way if you're wondering about the correct pronunciation
it normally goes like so pierogi this is as opposed to perogi or other pronunciations we
sometimes hear in the states another interesting tidbit before we get started pierogi is actually
the plural version of the word in Polish the singular which is seldom used is perog
what are pierogi pierogi come in many forms served either as appetizers main courses or
a dessert at their core they're a dumpling that are first boiled then fried to give them a bit
of Browning when frying them one common way to make them is with butter and onions which
adds a lovely delicate flavoring to the dough historically these were considered a peasant
food but once the Pierogi tradition was born in Europe people's taste for them grew people
of all classes including nobility quickly adopted them and without rise in popularity the number of
variations started to grow the origin of pierogi one of the most interesting things about this food
is its history pierogi history is the subject of much debate we know that pierogi dates to at least
the 13th century but how they actually arrived in Europe that's the part no one is quite sure about
one Legend says that pierogi first arrived in Italy when Marco Polo brought back the recipe
from China another Legend says that it was Saint Hyacinth of Poland who discovered the
recipe in Kiev Ukraine and brought it to Poland according to this tradition Saint Hyacinth paid
a visit to kosilek on July 13 1238 and on that day a storm destroyed all crops
Saint Hyacinth instructed everyone to pray and the crops regrew the next day in gratitude people
made pierogi from the crops of Saint hyacinth different versions of that Legend say that Saint
Hyacinth was the one who made pierogi using them to feed people during the famine that followed
the tartar invasion in 1241 and speaking of the tartars they feature in another pierogi Legend
which says that the tartars were the ones who brought them to Poland from the Russian Empire
so the truth is no one really knows where pierogi came from but they've been a staple
throughout Eastern and Central Europe for centuries variations on the Pierogi pierogi
all have a few things in common first there is the dough which is made with flour warm water
and sometimes an egg this is then rolled out cut into circles and filled forming Half Moon shapes
with the free edges of the dough pinched together to seal the filling inside the fillings are where
pierogi really differ mashed potatoes are the most common and perhaps the most traditional of
the fillings but they can also be filled with sauerkraut fried onions farmer cheese cottage
cheese cabbage mushrooms meat spinach or whatever else you can think to put inside the dough to make
dessert style pierogi most people use fresh fruit filling of various types Apple Plum raspberry
strawberry cherry and so on though it is possible to use jam instead of fresh fruit filling too
lots of different countries also have their own unique variations on the Pierogi even though the
true Origins are murky they're traditionally considered a Polish food and in Poland they're
considered a national dish one so popular that they feature at lots of festivals and other events
one variation was made quite often for weddings the Pierogi kernicky which was filled with chicken
one of the most popular polish fillings is a mixture of Quark which is similar to cottage
cheese along with potatoes and fried onions meat mushroom and cabbage pierogi recipes are also
common as are Berry pierogi in Ukraine pierogi are called vareniki and they're also a national dish
that features prominently on holidays particularly Christmas Eve in some Ukrainian regions they may
also be called pyrophy particularly in Western Ukraine traditional Ukrainian
recipes often feature fermented milk in the dough and Ukrainian fillings include meat fish cabbage
potato and cheese buckwheat boiled beans mashed potatoes cottage cheese peas sauerkraut and for
dessert plums or other fruits other National variants include the Russian varaniki which
most commonly come from Western Russia and are filled with fruits potatoes cabbage beef or quark
Slovakian perui which usually contain brines of cheese and mashed potatoes
Slovenian Edge Davi crappie which translates to Buckwheat carps these have buckwheat in the
dough rather than wheat flour and they are often filled with meat fried onions and cottage cheese
Hungarian Dariel is a pasta pocket typically filled with jam and cottage cheese or sometimes
meat Romania and Moldova have the koltenasi which is usually filled with cherries and cottage cheese
or Dill seasoned cheese mashed potatoes or meat Germany and german-speaking regions have pierogi
or perogan which is the plural version which can be either boiled or baked with the most popular
filling being a quark and Spanish mixture and what about the United States here there are all kinds
of different pierogi variants to try everything listed above and then some most of these recipes
came to the U.S via Eastern and central European immigrants they're most popular in the New
England states as well as the Upper Midwest and they're found throughout Canadian provinces too
if there's a pierogi recipe among your family recipes doubtless there's a long history behind it
depending on the fillings or on its name you may be able to trace it back to the country of origin
for instance if your grandmother called them peruhi instead of pierogi then perhaps the recipe
came from Ukraine but wherever pierogi you're from we can all agree on one thing they are delicious
oh
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