Poles

Poles are a West Slavic people, the main population of Poland in Central Europe. On this site their traditions are smoked kabanosy sticks and dry "staropolska" sausages, sheep's milk oscypek from the Tatras, honeydew honey from Podkarpacie, mead, Polish vodka and bison grass vodka. All of them carry EU protected names with official rules.

Kabanosy are long, thin sticks of dry sausage folded in two, with an indent at the curve where they were hung. The EU registered them as a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) by Regulation No 1044/2011 of 19 October 2011, and the name "Kabanosy staropolskie" by Regulation 2017/2272. Under the specification the pork is dry-cured for about 48 hours, seasoned with pepper, nutmeg and caraway, stuffed into thin 20–22 mm sheep casing, hot-smoked for about 150 minutes, baked to 70 °C at the core and then dried for 3–5 days. A finished stick is dark red with a cherry tint, and it snaps audibly when broken in two. In 19th-century Poland and Lithuania "kaban" meant a young hog fattened mainly on potatoes; kabanosy were eaten all over the country by the 1920s and 1930s.

Alongside them are other dry "staropolska" sausages, also TSGs. Krakowska sucha is thick, 50–70 mm, smoked over alder, beech or fruit wood with smoke flavourings banned, and its thin slices are almost transparent. Myśliwska was once a dry provision for hunters: paired crescents about 15 cm long, flavoured with juniper. None of them is a raw sausage: they are baked in the smokehouse to 70–72 °C at the core and only then dried.

Oscypek is a Polish smoked PDO cheese from the Tatras and Podhale, spindle-shaped and weighing 0.6–0.8 kg. At least 60% of its milk is sheep's milk; it is made only from May to September and cold-smoked for 3–7 days. The name was registered on 13 February 2008.

Podkarpacki miód spadziowy is a PDO honeydew honey made mainly from silver fir honeydew, ranging from dark brown to almost black; as early as 1464 the inhabitants of Dębowiec paid tax in honey. Into mead the Poles put a ratio: czwórniak, trójniak, dwójniak and półtorak are named after the proportion of honey to water, and since 2008 all four have been EU traditional specialities guaranteed. Trójniak has 12–15% vol and is aged for at least a year.

Polish Vodka (Polska Wódka) has been an EU protected name since 2003: only vodka from spirit made of rye, wheat, barley, oats, triticale or potatoes grown and processed in Poland. Bison grass vodka is made only in the North Podlasie Lowland: the spirit is flavoured with a macerate of Hierochloe grass, and the drink must contain at least 7 mg/l of coumarin. Poland has its own pasta too: Makarony Polskie of Rzeszów, a joint-stock company since 2004, makes extruded and rolled pasta under the Makarony Polskie, Sorenti and Abak brands.

The most important supper of the Polish year is Wigilia on 24 December. The table is laid with a white cloth over hay, an empty place is left for an unexpected guest, and the dishes, according to Poland's Ministry of Culture, include kutia, kisiel, beetroot soup, carp and herring, and mushrooms. Since 15 January 2025 Wigilia has been on Poland's national list of intangible heritage, and in March 2025 Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine jointly nominated it to UNESCO.

Why it matters to you: on kabanosy, look for "Kabanosy staropolskie", the TSG logo and the statement that they are produced following the Polish tradition, because the plain word "Kabanosy" can be used by anyone. On vodka, "Polska Wódka" guarantees Polish raw materials and production, and genuine oscypek is sold only whole.