How many of you have tried kaszanka: Polish blood sausage? Posted by Kasia on Apr 16, 2021 in Food, Traditions
Every time I mention kaszanka/blood sausage to my friends…everyone just makes this horrible face…Well, people here in USA are not exactly used to eating blood sausage. Unless you grew up in Poland!
Cold kaszanka. Image by gratzwolfgang from Pixabay
Even though there are different regional varieties of this famous Polish delicacy, it typically consists of pork offal (podroby wieprzowe), animal’s blood (krew zwierzęca), barley (jęczmień) or buckwheat (kasza gryczana), and a variety of fresh herbs and spices (różnorodność świeżych ziół i przypraw).
Image by RealAKP from Pixabay
It can be prepared few different ways: grilled, fried, or roasted, it is usually served alongside caramelized onions, potatoes, or sauerkraut. I have to admit that it can actually be really delicious… It’s cooked/smoked, so it is literally ready to eat even cold, like cold cuts.
My mother would usually fry it on the pan and this was my favorite way to eat it. You can serve it with a spicy dipping sauce (or any other sauce you prefer), some people eat it with ketchup as well.
Image by RitaE from Pixabay
You don’t have to make it from the scratch, you can definitely buy it in most of the deli stores. But if you decide to take on this time consuming task, make sure to check out this post! These directions will guide you through making kaszanka from the scratch, with detailed informations and great photos!
The name kaszanka is derived from kasza (groats), one of the main ingredients. It was unknown in Polish territory until the 17th century. Some people say that it must have made its way to Poland from Denmark, others think it was Germany. Wherever it first came from, it is eaten to this day!
I would love to hear what do you think about this dish? If you do like it, what is your favorite way it is prepared? Please let us know in comments below.
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About the Author: Kasia
My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them! I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.
Comments:
Veronica M Legutko:
I grew up eating kiska. I live in Flint, Michigan. It is not the same as it used to be because now artificial casings are used. Kiska used to look like a kidney when I was growing up, now it comes in ring form.
bill koob:
i love it cold or heated up
Kasia:
@bill koob Both are great, right? Thank you for your comment Bill!
Adrian Howard:
Here in the UK we have black pudding which is made from pigs blood and very similar to kaszanka so when I went to visit my wife’s family in Poland I was eager to try some kaszanka especially as they had recently slaughtered a pig and made kaszanka from it. I enjoyed it, it had buck wheat which black pudding doesn’t. It was fried with onions. I like the idea of having on a BBQ :o)
Kasia:
@Adrian Howard Adrian, thank you for reading my post!! I’m glad you were able to experience the “fresh kaszanka” in Poland!! I myself experienced the whole process of making it from the beginning numerous times ( so did my husband, who was both terrified and amazed by the whole process). I hope you will get to try it on a BBQ as well – it is delicious!
Gary:
@Adrian Howard Is kaszanka and kiszka the same?
Kasia:
@Gary Hi Gary! Yes, back in the day its common used name was kiszka.
Eleanor:
Kasia, most of us in the USA who are children of the early immigrants ( early 1900 ) call this dish kiszka. We usually bake it and eat it as a breakfast dish.
I enjoy your posts. Thank you !
Kasia:
@Eleanor Thank you so much Eleanor!I’m familiar with kiszka! Thank you for reading, I’m so glad you enjoy these posts!
Christen Fornal:
I have never tried it but it does sould delicious! Is the texture similar to Anerican Polish sausage?
Kasia:
@Christen Fornal Hi Christen! Yes, the texture is similar, although the buckwheat adds a little more of texture while eaten cold. Warm kaszanka, either grilled, fried or roasted, gets nice and much softer than cold one. So it all depends how you eat it. I hope you get to try it and you enjoy it! Thank you for taking your time to read the blog:)
Kuba:
Had it yesterday fried with an egg. Bought it but do make it as well. Blood hard to find in the US.