Friday, May 20, 2011

Clash of Cultures: Desserts

I have a confession to make. All of my Polish relations who read this may be shocked. But I have to say it. It's something I've wanted to say for so long, but never had the guts.


Do you see this?

Makowiec, Poppy Seed Roll-

Poppy-seed cake known also as a poppy seed loaf is a traditional Polish dessert - a yeast cake stuffed with a minced poppy. Some raisins, almonds or walnuts are the most typical additions. Baked cake is decorated with icing and (usually) orange peel.



and this... Krowki-

Krowki (plural; Krowka singular), literally 'little cows', are Polish fudge, semi-soft milk toffee candies. It is one of the most common Polish confectioneries, sold worldwide Wikipedia




and this... Piernik, Gingerbread -In Poland, piernik is sold in a form of a big piece of a cake, or as a package of small cookies usually covered with chocolate and filled with fruit preserves, nut mass or marzipan.




this... Sernik, Cheescake (fairly different from American cheescake)
The best known is a cheesecake baked in the oven and made on a layer of a crumbly cake although there are also cheesecakes prepared without baking. In most cases raisins, fruits, a crumble topping or chocolate sauce are typical additions.


Here comes the confession...

*

*

*

*

I don't like it.

I don't like any of it. Not one bit.

And there are so many more I don't like. So many.

(hanging my head in shame)


I know.

I should be disowned by my Polish family.

I should apologize for the offensive words I have just typed.

I should be scourging my taste buds as punishment.


I'm sorry. I know they all look delicious. I am sure they are lots of people's "favorite foods in the whole world." I'm sure there are contests out there where any one of them has won for Best-tasting -thing-ever-created- by -human-hands.

I just don't like most Polish desserts. I never have. Every Christmas my sister-in-laws bake rigorously for 2-3 days making delicious cookies and cakes and pies. I don't eat them. I have never had one of Marynia's lemon bars. Never touched one of the cookies with the jam in the middle. I will eat a bit of the poppy seed cake because I don't want to be rude, and I stealthily slide the candies to Martin when no one is looking.

Marzipan makes me want to lose my lunch just thinking about it, and there is one candy, my mother-in-law's favorite (I think), that I take one bite of and generally throw the rest away (I've only done this once I swear) . (Przepraszam Mamo, please don't hate me!)

There are a couple I really do like.

Paczki, Polish doughnuts- especially the ones filled with ROSE jam. It tastes like the smell of roses. Really, really good.





and ... Polish Apple Strudel. My mother-in-law makes some excellent strudel, one for every person basically, every Christmas, and Martin and I savor each and every bite.


Now, a lot of you are thinking, "alright crazy lady, this did NOT deserve its own post." But you are so wrong. I can't even begin to tell you how wrong you are.

Polish cooking is delicious, the traditional foods are some of my favorites.

But the desserts couldn't be more different.

And there are desserts at EVERY MEAL.

Unlike America, where everyone politely passes up dessert because they are "watching their waistline" , so much so that dessert is often left out of meals here as a rule,(which incidentally, as a culture,our waistline STILL tends to be one of the biggest on the planet which leads me to the deduction that we should all just eat the dang dessert because it's not making a bit of difference to skip it!), Poles offer and serve dessert, and pretty much stand over you until you choose something, after every meal.

Is this my passive aggressive way of telling my Polish family not to be surprised(or offended) when I say "no thank you" to the dessert cart?

You're darn tootin' it is.


The last time we visited Poland I was craving an American dessert. Something simple. No nuts, no fruit, no candies, no fillings, no creme, no cheese. Just simple, chocolate cake, a brownie, a chocolate chip cookie. Something that reminded me of home. And we stumbled, quite literally, upon this place...

...and I walked in and got myself the biggest, freshest brownie they had. It was delicious.








12 comments:

  1. The image of you scourging your taste buds is hilarious!

    Did you know that real roses ARE edible? That's probably why it tastes like roses smell. Made out of roses!

    ReplyDelete
  2. rose jam doughnuts, yum!!! and I agree with you about marzipan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Funny. I don't like any of US cakes and sweets, except cheesecake. Everything is too sweet. For American recipes I always use much less sugar. ALDI saves me - German and Belgian chocolate, and sooo cheap. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're a silly-billy... And, apparently, out for blood.


    Let the record show that I LOVE all of the desserts you mentioned.

    Frankly, I love all desserts - I don't discriminate. My tummy is like a chocolate melting pot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think a lot of it just has to do with what you grew up eating. For me, a lot of the issues I have have little to do with the taste and a lot to do with the textures and mixing textures...weird huh?

    You don't count Martin. I have never seen you turn down an item of food, ever. (Except Teresa's green bean casserole.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. By the way... Cześć Iwona!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have to agree with Olivia....I have never seen you turn down anything either......

    ReplyDelete
  8. came here via, um, someone else's blog. Welcome (soon) to Poland :D

    Don't worry about the soups. Once you've sussed rosół, you have about six others at your fingertips (I have learned this for myself, cos my mother never cooked).

    A Happy Repat

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for the welcome! Please feel free to offer and advice or tips in the future...I am going to look up rosol now!

    ReplyDelete
  10. As a fellow Irrational-Fear-Having, Texas-Situated Wife of a Polish-American Who May Move to Poland Someday, I must say that I too also, do not like any of the Polish desserts you mentioned! I do like paczki, although different cooks make them differently. My mother in law makes wonderful krusciki (not sure how to spell it) or bow tie cookies. And the aunts make a great strawberry jello layered cake or pie with those cute little wild strawberries floating in the jello layer. Other than those, I will pass on the Polish desserts. Even though I love my mother in law very much.

    Please forgive the two-years late comments...I have recently found your blog and really enjoy the tone of your writing so I'm trying to catch up on your old blog posts! I will probably comment on many of the posts, but if not, please know that I will be agreeing in my head.

    ReplyDelete
  11. As a fellow Irrational-Fear-Having, Texas-Situated Wife of a Polish-American Who May Move to Poland Someday, I must say that I too also, do not like any of the Polish desserts you mentioned! I do like paczki, although different cooks make them differently. My mother in law makes wonderful krusciki (not sure how to spell it) or bow tie cookies. And the aunts make a great strawberry jello layered cake or pie with those cute little wild strawberries floating in the jello layer. Other than those, I will pass on the Polish desserts. Even though I love my mother in law very much.

    Please forgive the two-years late comments...I have recently found your blog and really enjoy the tone of your writing so I'm trying to catch up on your old blog posts! I will probably comment on many of the posts, but if not, please know that I will be agreeing in my head.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Here in Chicago, where more Poles (from Poland) live than anywhere but Warsaw, there are tons of Polish restaurants and shops, and I agree about the desserts. Most cakes seem just dry and not very flavorful. My favorite Polish buffet is excellent until you get to the dry cakes and pink puddings table. Blecch. There's a particular little babka one can buy for the Easter food basket, and it has the consistency of a tough kitchen sponge. I kid you not. I'll just have another serving of sweet-and-sour cucumber salad instead.

    ReplyDelete