'Zakąski': What to Eat With Vodka?
'Zakąski' – small dishes eaten alongside shots of vodka – have had a long tradition in Slavic countries, and, as one might assume, their main purpose is to mellow the effect of strong spirits and provide a powerful, intense counterpoint. Therefore, flavourwise, two most important elements of this type of dish are acid and fat.
The simplest application of this rule is the combination of lard (smalec) spread on a slice of rye bread and dill pickles, or pickles served with some other fatty cured meats. Some other, more curious inventions were served during the times of the Polish People’s Republic, when for a certain period of time, in bars it was mandatory to sell alcohol only along with something to eat, so that clients wouldn’t get drunk so quickly. This led to some unappetizing practices such as serving the same, untouched but slightly stale slices of cheese and greyish hard boiled eggs with mayo to several customers, but also to surprising inventions such as the so-called ‘oyster’ – an egg yolk served in a shot glass with black pepper and maggi seasoning, or the slightly more elegant steak tartare with finely diced onions, gherkins, pickled mushrooms and an egg yolk on top.
One of the most famous combinations of the time was the so-called lorneta z meduzą – two shots of vodka with a serving of pig trotters in jelly. In Warsaw one could still get the now forgotten river lamprey, which used to be a great delicacy during the interwar period. Yet the king of all zakąski was herring, served in a few different ways: with a tomato and onion sauce (the ‘Kashubian’ way), with mayonnaise and peas (curiously named the ‘Japanese’ way) or simply in oil with some onions. This love of herring has lasted for decades: it was the favourite snack in the bar Przekąski Zakąski, which was opened right in the middle of Warsaw, on Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, opposite the Presidential Palace in 2006. The bar only operated until 2013, but in this short amount of time it became one of the most important spots on the capital’s culinary map, where people met 24/7. The menu was straightforward: the most popular item was herring, followed by steak tartare, ham and gzik – a rare delight for vegetarians which consisted of half a boiled potato with a spoonful of Polish cottage cheese flavoured with garlic and chives.
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Przekąski Zakąski on Krakowskie Przedmieście, 2009, photo: Kuba Atys / Agencja Gazeta
Przekąski Zakąski was so successful, that it became the founding spot of one of few – possibly one of two, along with the milk bar – truly original gastronomic concepts. Soon enough there were bars with 4zł/8zł menus all around Poland.
Traditional Polish weddings, especially in the rural areas, are some of the occasions where still today the culture of zakąski reigns supreme. While we do observe a cultural shift and in big cities people tend to drink more wine and often prefer a more Mediterranean or French approach to banquet canapes, smalec, sausages and other cured meats, meat jellies, pickles, and herring are still among the most popular items on the traditional wedding buffets which are sometimes named wiejski stół – the country table.
In the last decade ongoing efforts have been made by some Polish chefs, bartenders and spirit connoisseurs to start looking at vodka from a new point of view – not just as something to get drunk on, or dissolve in a cocktail, but an interesting product that could become as important to Poland as whiskey is to Ireland and Scotland or champaigne to France.
To do so, passionate chefs started to think about much more refined zakąski which would go well with artisan vodkas. Chef Aleksander Baron and food writer Łukasz Klesyk even wrote a book about it entitled Między wódką a zakąską (which literally means 'Between Vodka and an Appetizer', yet also refers to the idiom wcinać się między wódkę a zakąskę – to meddle or interfere). The authors claim that the most important rules in creating zakąski are following the contrasts created by pairing the sweetness of vodka with either salt or acid, while also keeping in mind, that the plates should be rich and complex enough to handle high levels of alcohol. It can be achieved by adding fat, but also by enriching the flavours by grilling, roasting, adding herbs, spices or mushrooms.
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‘Pyry z gzikiem’ (gzik with potatoes), photo: Bartosz Krupa / East News
And so Baron and Klesyk pair different Polish vodkas with Polish dried or smoked sausages, smoked trout or mackerel, but also with fermented radishes, tomatoes or even… raspberries with black pepper.
Zakąski are part and parcel of Polish culinary culture. Whether it’s at a wedding, at home, at a bar or even in a fancy restaurant – a shot of vodka needs a flavourful partner to dance with.
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