Polish

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Bigos (Sauerkraut and Meat Stew)

Poland’s national dish: sauerkraut and fresh cabbage stewed for hours with several kinds of meat. Fresh cabbage boiled for three hours has no shape left, yet the cabbage in this pot still reads as separate strands. The reason is acid. This site’s soaking guide says acid sets pectin firm, which is why tomato goes into a bean dish late — there it is a problem. Here that same property is what makes the dish possible: the lactic acid the sauerkraut made for itself is holding its own cell walls together.

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Babka (Twisted Chocolate Yeast Bread)

A heavily buttered yeast dough spread with chocolate, rolled, split lengthwise and twisted before baking. It comes from the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. Two things separate a babka from a chocolate loaf: an overnight cold rest for the dough, and syrup brushed on the second it leaves the oven, while it is still hot.

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Bagel (Boiled-Then-Baked Ring Bread)

Bread that is boiled before it is baked. Two things make the dense chew and the glossy crust: a dough with far less water than ordinary bread, and 45 seconds a side in boiling water before the oven. Skip the boil and you have a hard ring roll.

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Pierogi (Dumplings)

Poland's beloved dumplings — a wheat dough folded around fillings like potato-and-cheese, meat, or cabbage, then boiled. The most loved, 'pierogi ruskie', is filled with mashed potato and cheese and topped with plenty of fried onion. Pan-frying them in butter after boiling is a treat too.