Pierogi ( ; , ) are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a filling and cooking in boiling water. They are occasionally flavored with a savory or sweet garnish. Typical fillings include potato and tvorog cheese, sauerkraut, ground meat, mushrooms, fruits, or berries. Savory pierogi are often served with a topping of sour cream, fried onions, or both.
Dumplings under the name pierogi are a traditional Polish dish, holding considerable culinary significance in Poland. The recipe itself dates back to at least 1682, when Poland's first cookbook, Compendium ferculorum, albo Zebranie potraw, was published. Pierogi are also popular in modern-day Canadian and American cuisines.
Terminology
The Polish word is the plural form of , a generic term for one filled dumpling. It derives from Proto-Slavic , 'feast'.Food Culture in Russia and Central Asia, 2005, p 75, By Glenn Randall Mack, Asele Surina While dumplings as such are found throughout Eurasia, the specific name pierogi, with its Proto-Slavic root and its cognates in the West and East Slavic languages, including Russian (, 'pie') and (, 'small pies'), shows the name's common Slavic origins, antedating the modern nation states and their standardized languages. In most of these languages the word means 'pie'. However, a recent theory speculates that the words bierock, pierogi or pirog may be derived from Turkic bureg.
In Ukrainian cuisine, the term varenyky (, singular varenyk) refers to a related but distinct type of filled dumpling rather than a Ukrainian name for pierogi. Varenyky are traditionally boiled, but in some Ukrainian regions they may also be steamed (parenі varenyky), a preparation method not typical for pierogi. The word varenyky is the plural form of (), deriving from Ukrainian () meaning "boiling liquid", indicating boiling as the primary cooking method for this category of dumplings.
The same term and its variants are also used in the Mennonite tradition, where spellings such as varenikie or wareniki appear. In Canadian Doukhobor Russian variations are called and spelled pyrahi, pirozhki, and vareniki.
is the Slovak term for dumplings filled with sheep milk cheese.
is the Romanian term for filled dumplings. It is derived from Greek , kaltsúni, itself a borrowing from Italian calzoni. A similarly named type of dumpling related to, or considered a variety of, pierogi, is known in Belarus as , in Lithuania as , and in Poland as .
Origins
Because the exact origin of the pierogi is unknown and unverifiable, it is the subject of frequent debate. Dumplings most likely originated in China and became widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages or later periods. Some claim that pierogi were spread by Marco Polo's expeditions through the Silk Road, thus suggesting a connection to Chinese mantou. Other sources theorize that in the 13th century, pierogi were brought by Saint Hyacinth of Poland from the Far East (Asia) via what was then the Kievan Rus'. These became characteristic to Central and East European cuisines, where different varieties (preparation methods, ingredients, fillings) were invented. According to another theory, the dish was adopted in the territories of contemporary Ukraine from Turks, whose cuisine has a similar speciality known as düs-vara.
Ingredients and preparation
Fillings Pierogi may be stuffed (singly or in combinations) with mashed potatoes, fried onions, quark or farmer cheese, cabbage, sauerkraut, ground meat, mushrooms, spinach, or other ingredients depending on the cook's preferences. Dessert versions of the dumpling can be stuffed with sweetened quark or with a fresh fruit filling such as cherry, strawberry, raspberry, bilberry, blueberry, apple, or plum; stoned prunes are sometimes used, as well as jam. For more flavor, sour cream can be added to the dough mixture, and this tends to lighten the dough.
Preparation The dough, which is made by mixing flour and warm water, sometimes with an egg, is rolled flat and then cut into squares with a knife or circles using a cup or drinking glass. The dough can be made with some mashed potato, creating a smoother texture. Another variation, popular in Slovakia, uses dough made of flour and curd with eggs, salt, and water.
The filling is placed in the middle and the dough folded over to form a half circle or rectangle or triangle (if the dough is cut squarely). The seams are pressed together to seal the pierogi so that the filling will remain inside when it is cooked. The pierogi are simmered until they float, drained, and then sometimes fried or baked in butter before serving or fried as leftovers. They can be served with melted butter or sour cream, or garnished with small pieces of fried bacon, onions, and mushrooms.Bacon, cheese, onion and mushroom topping for fried pierogi from urbancookingguide.com Dessert varieties may be topped with apple sauce, jam, or varenye.
Countries
Poland
Traditionally considered peasant food, pierogi eventually gained popularity and spread throughout all social classes, including the nobility. Cookbooks from the 17th century describe how during that era, pierogi were considered a staple of the Polish diet, and each holiday had its own special kind of pierogi created. They have different shapes, fillings and cooking methods. Important events like weddings had their own special type of pierogi kurniki – baked pie filled with chicken. Also, pierogi were made especially for mournings or wakes, and some for caroling season in January. In the east baked pierogi are a common and well-liked Christmas dish. They were stuffed with potatoes, cheese, cabbage, mushrooms, buckwheat, or millet. The most famous is the Biłgoraj pierogi stuffed with buckwheat, potatoes, and cheese and then baked in the oven.
Pierogi are an important part of Polish festive seasons, particularly Christmas Eve (Wigilia) and Christmastide. They are also served during public events, markets or festivals in a variety of forms and tastes, ranging from sweet to salty and spicy. At the 2007 Pierogi Festival in Kraków, 30,000 pierogi were consumed daily.
Polish pierogi are often filled with fresh quark, boiled and mashed potatoes, and fried onions. This type is known in Polish as pierogi ruskie ("Ruthenian pierogi", often mistakenly called Russian by foreigners). Other popular pierogi in Poland are filled with ground meat, mushrooms and cabbage, or for dessert an assortment of fruits (berries, with strawberries or blueberries the most common).
Sweet pierogi are usually served with sour cream mixed with sugar, and savory pierogi with bacon fat and bacon bits. Poles traditionally serve two types of pierogi for Christmas Eve supper. One kind is filled with sauerkraut and dried mushrooms, anothersmall uszka filled only with dried wild mushroomsis served in clear barszcz. Leniwe pierogi ("lazy pierogi") are a different type of food, similar to lazy vareniki (see below), kopytka, or halušky.
Ukraine
Varenyky in Ukraine are a popular national dish, served both as a common everyday meal and as a part of some traditional celebrations, such as Christmas Eve Supper (). In some regions in or bordering modern-day Western Ukraine, particularly in Carpathian Ruthenia and Galicia, the terms varenyky and pyrohy are used to denote the same dish. However, Ukrainian varenyky are often not pan-fried.
Contrary to many other countries that share these dumplings, Ukrainians tended to use fermented milk products (soured milk or ryazhanka) to bind the dough together; however, today eggs tend to be used instead. Typical Ukrainian fillings for varenyky include curd cheese, potato, boiled beans, cabbage, mushy peas, plum, currants, sour cherries (and other fruits), meat, fish, and buckwheat. On Christmas Eve, they are traditionally prepared with meatless fillings (cabbage, mushrooms, potatoes, or poppy seeds) in keeping with the fast.
Traditionally, they are topped with sour cream () and butter, as well as with fried onions, and fried pieces of salo (). Whilst traditionally savory, varenyky can also be served as a dessert by simply substituting the filling of the dumpling to a sweet one. Dessert varenyky fillings include sour cherry, bilberries, sweet quark, and various fruits. The central regions of Ukraine are known for their more unusual varenyky, Poltava being known for its flour varenyky filling, in which the dumplings are filled with a mixture of flour, lard and fried pieces of bacon. However, unusual fillings can also be found in other regions, such as the hempseed varenyky from Polissia and Galicia.
These dumplings are notable in Ukrainian traditions and folklore. They appear frequently in folk songs, literature, and humor, where they are associated with abundance, comfort, and everyday joy. During festive occasions such as Christmas Eve, they are regarded as a symbol of prosperity and well-being. A long-standing custom involves placing a coin inside one of the dumplings, with the belief that whoever finds it will have good fortune and wealth in the coming year.
A yearly festival commemorating varenyky is held at the Ukrainian ski resort town of Bukovel in the Carpathian Mountains. In 2013, a snow monument to varenyky was made in Bukovel, and was submitted to the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest snow varenyk in the world.
In Ukrainian tradition, varenyky were equated with a young moon due to the similar shape, and were used as part of pagan and sacrificial rituals. For example, cheese varenyky would be sacrificed near water springs, and farmers would also believe that varenyky helped bring a rich harvest, so they took homemade dumplings with them to the fields.
German-speaking regions
The common term Pirogge (pl. Piroggen) describes all kinds of Eastern European filled dumplings and buns, including pierogi, pirozhkis and pirogs. Certain types of piroggen, both boiled and baked, were common fare for Germans living in Eastern Europe and the Baltic are still prepared by their descendants living there and in Germany. In particular, baked pīrādziņi are known as Kurländer Speckkuchen ("Courland bacon/speck pies") in the cuisine of Baltic Germans.
Schlutzkrapfen closely resemble pierogi; they are common in Tirol and northern Italy's German-speaking region of South Tyrol, and are occasionally found in Bavaria. Fillings may include meat or potatoes, but the most widespread filling is a combination of spinach and quark (Topfen) or ricotta. Another similar Austrian dish, known as Kärntner Nudel (Carinthian noodles), is made with a wide range of fillings, from meat, mushrooms, potato or quark to apples, pears or mint. These regional specialties differ significantly from the most common Swabian filled dumplings known as Maultaschen.
Hungary In Hungarian cuisine, the derelye is similar to the pierogi, consisting of pasta pockets filled with jam, cottage cheese, or sometimes meat.Derelye recipe from chew.hu Derelye is consumed primarily as a festive food for special occasions such as weddings; it is also eaten for regular meals, but this tradition has become rare.
Romania and Moldova In Romania and Moldova, a similar recipe is called colțunași, with regional varieties such as piroști in Transylvania and Bukovina regions and chiroște in Moldavia region. Colțunași is either a dessert filled with jam (usually plum), fresh sour cherries, or cottage cheese, or savory, filled with dill-seasoned cheese (telemea or urdă), mashed potatoes, or chopped meat. The dough is made with wheat flour and the colțunași are boiled in salted water, pan-fried in oil, or baked in the oven.