Polish Pierogi History

Being born and raised in Northern Illinois it comes to little surprise that my family’s foodways derive heavily from our Polish heritage. Pierogi are one of the most well known Polish foods, so much so that they have become internationally commercialized by brands such as Mrs.T’s and Kasia. The name pierogi is plural but the singular “pieróg” is not used along with the term “pierogies” which many modern non-polish people misuse as the plural of pierogi. Pierogi are a Central European but mainly Polish dish that can be eaten as an appetizer, main course, or dessert. They are made similarly to a typical dumpling but they differ strongly in what they are filled with which is what makes them unique to Poland. A typical dumpling tends to be filled with mainly meat and minced vegetables but Polish pierogi can be filled with many diverse fillings that include ground meats, mushrooms, sauerkraut, cabbage, potatoes, and a broad variety of fruits. They are typically made of delicately pressed dough and can be packed with an almost never ending list of fillings, the most popular in my family …show more content…
This is a great food because they are easy to make and can feed a large group of people, which is important because many Polish families are huge. My immediate family alone yields eight people!
This dish means a lot to me because as a second generation Polack it keeps me close to my roots and family traditions. My grandmother on my father’s side use to make batches of pierogi around Christmas time and one year brought me in on the tradition by teaching me how to make them. It became a tradition in the family for the older women in my family to prepare pierogi while some of the men made other foods or watched the kids.
Pierogi are widely known in Polish families and communicates a kind of togetherness between different Central European