How to eat like a Pole.

The staples of the Polish diet include meat, bread, and potatoes. Like most developed countries, dinner wouldn't be dinner without some form of meat. In poland, it is typically pork. Bread was revered back in the day, (e.g. if a piece of bread fell on the ground, it was picked up, kissed, and then used to make a sign of the cross. Some of you may have already noticed that some loafs of bread have a cross carved into the top of it before slicing. This is also common in Poland. The average Pole consumes about 300 lbs (136kg) of potatoes a year. Other locally grown vegetables include beets, cabbage, carrots, and legumes.

The actual sequence of meals is pretty much the same as most countries that surround Poland. The standard breakfast (between 5 - 8am) will consist of eggs, meat, bread, and cheese. Between 9 - 11am, some may have a second breakfast (equivalent of the bagged lunch in the US). Dinner in Poland is the most important meal of the day. It is served between 1 - 5pm in the afternoon. It will account for 40-45% of the daily calories. Dinner consists of a large bowl of soup, a main course + salad, and dessert. On Sundays, appetizers typically may start the meal off. The very last meal of the day is a light supper between 6 - 8pm. It may be a reiteration of breakfast with the addition of fish, aspic dishes, and or cooked vegetables.

Tea and coffee are usually served after a meal. Tea is consumed more frequently, where as coffee is considered slightly special. Don't let the Russians fool you, Vodka was first distilled in Poland somewhere in the 8th century. By the time vodka was gaining popularity in Poland it had just been introduced as a gift to the Grand Duke of Moscow in 1386.