Sour Tastes: Pickling & Fermentation in Polish Cuisine (Plus a Recipe)

ogorki_kiszone_forum-0431197911-s.jpg, default, Pickled cucumbers, photo: Andrzej Bogacz / Forum, center, #000000

If you think about it, fermentation is everywhere, we just don’t always think about it: bread, cheese and wine – the three miracles of Western cuisine and of Western culture – are fruits of fermentation, just as yoghurt, vinegar, beer and other alcoholic drinks. According to food historians, the first of them all was mead – and French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss believed its appearance was actually a symbol of the beginning of civilisation.

Yet for years Western tourists seemed quite hesitant when it came to our fermented specialties such as sauerkraut, dill pickles, soured milk and żur soup; many of them found Polish cuisine to be quite sour in general, which only proves these words by the legendary Polish cookbook author Hanna Szymanderska couldn’t be more true:

The secret behind the taste of Polish cuisine is the unique bacterial flora which causes gherkins, cabbage and mushrooms to pickle…

Pickling and fermentation for centuries have shaped the flavour profile of Polish cuisine in addition to being the most amazing way of preserving food and enriching it with vitamins and nutrients beneficiary to our health.

Interest in fermentation in the West spiked in recent years, mostly due to kombucha drinks and the amazing Korean kimchi, yet central European pickles – although they have their own distinct flavour profile – are equally as good, and have most of the same health benefits. During the process of fermentation bacteria transform sugar into lactic acid – a natural probiotic, which boosts digestion and immunity. Cabbage, gherkins, beetroot and other pickled veg are also an amazing source of vitamins B, C, A, E, K, as well as fiber. They are the healthiest when eaten raw, yet we also used them to make soups (kapuśniak and kwaśnica with sauerkraut, ogórkowa with dill pickles, and obviously borsht with beetroot), stews (bigos!) and fillings for pierogi, krokiety and paszteciki.

Kefir in a glass, photo: Jacek Turczyk / PAP

The same goes for fermented milk products such as kefir and zsiadłe mleko – 'curdled milk' – which are a great addition to the iconic Polish summer obiad, which consists of new potatoes with dill, a sunny-side-up egg and seasonal veg, and are also used in cold soups (chłodniki) and smoothies. And then there is sourdough bread and żurek soup – and although fermenting actual flour to make a soup might sound bonkers, you shouldn’t knock until you’ve tried it.

Modern Polish chefs prove you truly can pickle (almost) anything: not just cabbage, gherkins and beetroot which are the most popular vegetables to do so, but also tomatoes, celeriac, radishes and turnips (by the way, pickled black radish is also a Turkish delicacy, just as kefir, which is proof of yet another culinary connection), as well as… fruit, such as cherries, apples and pears.

Thumbnail — Saffron milk cap, photo: Piotr Wołodźko/IAM

So what are the rules of successful fermentation? Here’s some advice adapted from chef Aleksander Baron’s book Kiszonki i fermentacje (Pickles and Fermentations):

1. You can pickle fruit and vegetables in water, brine, salt, or even milk products such as whey.

2. You should use non-chlorinated water.

3. It’s best to use organic produce from a reliable source and avoid washing it before pickling. 4. Cabbages should be salted and well massaged, until they start releasing their juices.

5. Garlic is the best possible addition to pickled gherkins, beetroot and other vegetables – it has antibacterial properties and is a source of lots of vitamins, potassium, magnesium, flavonoids and minerals.

6. The ideal temperature for starting the fermentation process is 25°C / 77°F.

7. Fermentation is a process which occurs thanks to anaerobic organisms – you have to be careful there is no access to oxygen (i.e. that nothing protrudes above the water surface).

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