The Poles have a refined sweet tooth despite having a national cuisine that mainly consists of pierogi dumplings, pickled herring and kabanos sausage. Here are a few classic sugary sensations you need to sample when you visit. Faruk Ateş took the picture, above.
Krowki – “little cows”
Krowki are a Polish classic. They’re simply individually-wrapped fudge sweets with pictures of cows on them.
There are some modern ones with flavour tweaks, but nobody’s fussed with those – krowki have been around for a long time and are an established family favourite.
Some brands up their cuteness stakes by having equally sweet messages printed inside the wrapper.
Makowiec – poppy-seed cake
Poppy-seed cake is served on almost every Polish holiday. Its ubiquity is welcomed though because it tastes great, its crumbly texture pleasingly rolling around your palate.
If you’re an athlete though, don’t eat too much before taking a drugs test – the levels of poppy seed in your system may get you into trouble.
Ptasie Mleczko – “bird’s milk”
The unappealingly-named “bird’s milk” is a stalwart of sharing for Poles – should they think to give a box of chocolates, 9 out of 10 times, it’ll be Ptasie Mleczko.
The treats themselves consist of fluffy milky innards coated in a thin layer of chocolate. They are extremely moreish – people have been known to devour large packs within minutes.
Sliwki – plums in chocolate
Sliwki are the flavour pinnacle of European confectionary. You’ll shove so many of these delicious things down your gob that you’ll come out in spots the next day. But it’ll be totally worth it.
