Hide Article Text (OCR)
Polish customs, recipes shared(Editor’s note The following article was written by Bernice Bartosz a Stevens Point resident with a long held interest in Poland and its eutotns )On Christmas Eve millions of families with Polish backgrounds will take part in customs they have been observing since childhood In Stevens Point people seem to thrive on tradition yet many of the most meaningful and beautiful traditional practices are remnants brought back from other nations The Polish customs especially at Christmas time are beautiful and meaningful But all too often the elder Polish immigrants think the younger generation would not be interested in what the customs symbolizePerhaps memories might be revived and interest heightened if a few of the stones of Christmas from back m Poland were retold at the tiaditional family Christmas Eve dinner For example the tradition of wigiha is when »he wafer oplatek is shared with the exchange of good wishes It is a tradition that is typically Polish and is adaptable to the American way of living The oplatek the most beautiful and revered Polish custom is sharing the Bread of Love It is a thin wafer of flour and water available at Christmas time from parish priests As the family assembles at the table for the wigiha (vigil) supper the father or the eldest member of the family reaches for the wafer breaks it in half gives one half to the mother then each of them breaks a small part of each other s piece After a warm kiss they wish each other long life good health joy and happiness for the holiday season the coming year and for future years The same ceremony is repeated between parents and their children as well as among the children then with the relatives and friends presentAfter the ceremony is over all sit to a traditional supper The individual foods are served m succession rather than all at once An extra place at the table is set in memory of some departed soul It might be nice to invite an older person who would otherwise have spent the evening alone Even if vou have never prepared the traditional Polish Christmas Eve supper the following short cut recipes should enable you to introduce \our familv llt;some of Poland s favorite holiday treatsHerring in OilDram 2 cups store bought murinaltd herring cut into bite sized pieces and combine with 1 medium onions finely chopped Dress with salad oil Serve on small pieces of dark bread( lear Ket t Soup (Barszt?)To ] quart water add 1 can vegetable bouillon 2 cans beets 1 T sugar :.j t liquid mushroom extract and 2T butter Bring to boiland Rimrrer 10 minutes Salt to taste and sour with several pinches sour salt Strain and serve m cups You can top it off with a teaspoon sour cream or over flat lasagne type egg noodles cooked or better yet PierozkiPike in Wine (Sandaez ha winie)2 lbs pikefillets 1 cup white wme saltand pepper Place in saucepan the fish and wine and allow to simmer gently until tender Season Remove from pan and keep warm until sauce is made SaucelVaT butter lbT flour l egg yolk beaten 1 cup wme including juice of fish saltand pepperMelt butter add flour to make smooth paste Add enough wme to the liquid m which fish was cooked to fill 1 cup Add to butter and flour and cook over direct flame until the mixture thickens Cool slightly and add egg yolk Season to taste Pour sauce over fillets and serve with slices of onion boiled potatoes and garnish with green dill and lemonUszka or PierozkiThis is a large recipe it will make about 80 small or 50 large pierozki It was given to me by a friend from Poland Four cups flour (lib) 2 whole eggs 2 sticks oleo 1 package dry yeast ^ t salt it sugar la cup milk Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for 2 hours or longerRoll dough as thin as you like cut m2 x2 squares or with round doughnut cutter Fill with cooked meat fish shrimps or whatever you likeMoisten edges and press together Bake in preheated oven 350 F for 20 minutes Serve hot with barszczFish with Horseradish Use fresh fish only Fillet pike walleye perch whttefish or other good fish and refrigerate covered overnight Dust with flour and salt and fry in butter until golden brown Serve with horseradish sauce combine 2 parts horseradish with one part sour cream season to taste with salt sugar and lemon juice Serve with boiled potatoesPoppyseed Noodles (kluski z makiem)Scald 1 cup raisins and let rest 20 minutes Drain and combine with 1 cup canned poppyseed filling and 1 j cup honey Combine with I paekage cooked drained flat egg noodles Add several drops of vanilla or almond extract and t grated lemon rind Serve warm for dessert
Newspaper Details
Stevens Point Daily Journal
Stevens Point, Wisconsin, US
Thu, Dec 15, 1977
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Uw -.
WI, USA 04 Dec 2020
Other Publications Near Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Stevens Point Daily Journal
Stevens Point Gazette
Stevens Point Gazette and Stevens Point Journal
Wisconsin Pinery
Stevens Point Wisconsin Pinery
