I’ll put my hands up, I haven’t a clue about Polish food. But there are now a huge number of Polish food stores, while most local supermarkets now have a large range of Polish food in stock. So, rather than remain ignorant, I decided to look into Polish cooking traditions and what better place to start than the amply stocked Polonez Polish Food Store in Lower Rathmines Road.
The shop offers ingredients typical of Polish cuisine such as sauerkraut, beetroot, sour cucumbers, sour cream, kohlrabi, mushrooms, dried fish, sausages and a large selection of dumplings. I discovered that Polish food is very hearty with meat playing a main role. Some of the more popular dishes are Bigos (stew made from sauerkraut and various meats and sausages), Pierogi (small white dumplings) and Golabki (cabbage parcels stuffed with meat or meat and rice). Dishes are often flavoured with herbs and spices such as marjoram, dill, caraway seeds, parsley and pepper.
This store offers a wide range of herbs and spices and a massive selection of meats which include Gypsy Ham (1200g for €12), Polish Black Pudding (450g for €3), Polish Sausage (360g for €2.18) and Silesian Sausage (391g for €8.80) which is commonly used to make Kluski slaskie (Silesian dumplings). There are some good deals on offer too with a wide range of interesting pasta available (500g for €1.79), Barley groats (1kg for €1.39) and Buckwheat (1kg for €2.15). I have yet to cook Polish food but Polonez appears to be the ideal starting place. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Price check:
- 100g dried dill – €2.59
- Loaf of Polish bread – €2.20
- 860g Sour cucumbers – €2.19
- 900ml Hot dill pickles – €2.59
- 1kg Rice – €2.99
Wednesday 27 May, 2009 at 2:53 pm
The sweet dumpling are delicious, as are the cherry jam, the fresh bread, and the horseradish sauces. Apparently the various pickled fish varieties are lovely too, if you’re into pickled fish!
Wednesday 27 May, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Try Sernik, a creamy cheesecake. You can use the sernik mix in packet or make it from scratch with the special cream cheese. The pierogi are just fantastic cooked as pasta, then pan fried in butter until golden. And if you look for condensed milk, it’s much cheaper in polish stores than in supermarkets
Sunday 13 November, 2011 at 6:45 pm
we visited your store on the 9/11/11 in Carlow on 17:30, i was shocked because the shopkeeper was behaving completely inadequate, from the beginning she completely ignored me. At all my questions she did not respond i had a terrible feeling i your store. i wanted to purchase 20 bottles of Moldovan wine but after this kind of behavior to me from your staff i will not visit your stores again.
Sunday 13 November, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Andrius, the shop in question is not “our” store. We simply reviewed the shop in Rathmines, not Carlow, based on our experiences. Whilst we are always interested in people’s opinions on various shops and restaurants, we are not responsible for the establishments in question. I suggest you contact them directly to air your grievances.
Monday 14 November, 2011 at 9:54 am
They’re great for picking up big cartons of sour cream cheaply too! Never any left at our local Tesco when you need it!
Sunday 2 December, 2012 at 3:17 pm
it is rather dated post, but just to make thing clear:
Silesian sausage is not used to make Silesian dumplings!
For Silesian dumplings you need mainly cooked, mushed potatoes and potato flour 🙂