Pierogi

Pierogi frying

A plateful of Pierogi

Pierogi (also perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, or pyrohy) are filled Slavic dumplings. Most English-speakers treat these forms as singular and form the plural by adding -s, but a few consider them plural and form the singular by removal of the -i or -y. This is correct as the word pierogi (which comes from Polish language) is plural, pieróg being singular (dashed o is not denoting stress in Polish, but changing the pronunciation to English oo (like in look). Similarly, in Swedish, the singular form is pirog and the plural form is created by adding -er at the end. Other languages follow that scheme (Ukrainian pyrizhky). The word itself comes from the Proto-Slavic "pir" (festivity). Pierogi are usually small enough to be served in numbers, so the singular form is rather rare.

Origins

Pierogi are of untraceable origin - in many countries they are claimed to be "original traditional food". Most probable truth come from Slavic nations but can be also linked to other Europeans: Poles, Ukrainians, Italians, Romanians, Russians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Slovaks. In Asia, similar food is served on Chinese tables, where they are characterized as dumplings. Other forms were spotted through Far East, which fuels speculation, well-founded or not, that the Mongols and Persians brought the recipe to the West. The word pierogi comes from Polish language.

Recipe variation

Ingredients

Pierogi are semi-circular dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with cheese, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, meat, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, dry cottage cheese (the last two are rather Mennonite-specific), or any combination thereof, or with a fruit filling like blueberry. Mashed potatoes with dry cottage cheese, onion and pepper are the most common filling.

Cooking

They are typically fried, deep-fried or boiled until they float, and then covered with butter or oil; alternatives include the Mennonite tradition of baking and serving with borscht or with farmer's sausage and a creamy gravy called Schmauntfat in Plautdietsch, and the Polish way of boiling, then frying in butter. They are typically served with plenty of sour cream, and the savoury ones are topped with fried bacon or onions. The most popular of the Polish variety are savoury pierogi ruskie, stuffed with farmer's (aka dry cottage) cheese, mashed potatoes, and onion. Varenyky or vareniki (from varyt', "to boil") are the Ukrainian version of pierogi. One variation of the pierogi are the meat-filled, boiled dumplings called pelmeni (пельмени), originating in Siberia, which are very popular throughout Russia and in other parts of the former Soviet Union.

National varieties

Canada

The Canadian Prairies in particular have a large Ukrainian population, and their perogies (Canadian English [pəˈroːgi]) are very common in restaurants and supermarkets. Home-made versions are typically filled with one of the following: mashed potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper (and frequently cheddar cheese), sauerkraut, or fruit. These are then boiled, and either served immediately, put in ovens and kept warm, or fried in oil or butter. Popular fruit varieties include strawberry, blueberry, and saskatoon berry. Potato and cheese or sauerkraut versions are usually served with some or all the following: butter or oil, sour cream (typical), fried onions, fried bacon bits, and a creamy mushroom sauce (less common). Some Chinese Cafés in the prairies have taken to billing their potstickers as “Chinese perogies”. Ukrainophones call them pyrohy, which can be misheard pedaheh by Anglophones unaccustomed to the fast rolled-r sound, or alveolar trill. Also known as varenyky in Ukraine.

Packed frozen perogies can be found everywhere Eastern-European immigrant communities exist, and are generally ubiquitous across Canada. Such perogies are made by industrial machines, often built by Italian companies such as Arienti & Cattaneo, Ima, Ostoni, Zamboni, etc. Each perogy typically weighs around 20 grams, but resemble an oversized half-moon ravioli, as the Italian machines are also used in the production of Italian pasta. The quality of these vary and some may even be quite good, but they are typically considered inferior to home-made versions such as those made by "babas" at local Ukrainian churches.

In 1993, the village of Glendon, Alberta, Canada, unveiled its roadside tribute to this culinary treat: a 25-foot (7.6 m) fiberglass perogy, complete with fork.

Hungary

In Hungarian cuisine, the pierogi (known in Hungarian as derelye) is used as primarily as a festive food for special occasions such as weddings. It was brought to Hungary by the merchant Andras Perl for his wedding with his wife Katalin in 1764. The Banki family, home to Katalin, was so moved by the pierogi that now, pierogi are common at most Hungarian weddings.

Poland

Pierogi (singular pieróg) are served in a variety of forms and tastes(ranging from sweet to salty to spicy) in Polish cuisine. Pierogi were traditionally peasants' food, but eventually spread in popularity throughout all social classes, including nobles. They are served at many festivals, playing an important role as a cultural Polish dish. At the 2007 Pierogi Festival in Krakow, 30,000 pierogi were consumed daily.

Russia

In Russian cuisine, pirozhki (also piroshki, or Ukrainian pyrizhky) are small stuffed buns made of either yeast dough or short pastry. They are filled with one of many different fillings, and either baked or fried. The singular form is pirozhok, the diminutive form of the word pirog. The stress in pirozhki is properly placed on the last syllable: [piroʒˈki].

Vareniki would be the Russian equivalent of pirogies.

United States

In the United States, the term Pierogi is commonly taken to mean Polish pierogi. The pirog (or its equivalent in the various Slavic languages) means pie, which can take the form of a stuffed dumpling, pastry, or two-crusted pie. In Russian, pirogi is the plural form of the generic pirog, which usually refers to a large double-crust pie and not a dumpling (pelmeni or vareniki) or filled bun (pirozhki).

By the 1960s, pierogi were a common supermarket item in the frozen food aisles in parts of the United States and Canada. Pierogis maintain their place in the grocery aisles to this day.

Many of these grocery brand pierogis contain non-native ingredients to appeal to general American tastes. Products include CHEEMO Potato, Bacon, & Romano Cheese Pierogi [1], Mrs. T's Potato, Cheddar, and Jalapeño pierogi [2] and Trader Joe's Potato Cheddar or Chicken Pierogi.

Pierogi enjoyed a brief popularity as a sports food when Paula Newby-Fraser adopted them as her food of choice for the biking portion of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. For approximately a decade thereafter, Mrs. T's (the largest American pierogi manufacturer) sponsored triathlons, some professional triathletes and "fun runs" around the country. For many triathletes, pierogi represented a tasty alternative to simple pasta as a way to boost their carbohydrate intakes.

The town of Whiting, Indiana celebrates the food at its annual "Pierogi Fest" every July.

Pierogies are commonly associated with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There is a pierogi race at every home Pirates baseball game.

Other areas

Pierogi are popular throughout Central Europe, and Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and Poland (national cuisine specialty), Russia and in areas of North America where immigrants brought their cuisine. Pierogi at first were a family food among immigrants, but in the post-World War II era, freshly cooked pierogi became a staple of fundraisers by ethnic churches. The Ashkenazi (Jewish) version of Pierogi is known by its Yiddish name, Kreplach. Polish immigrants in USA, UK and Ireland are often opening Pierogi restaurants, sometimes referred as "Pierogarnia" (literally the place where Pierogi are made or sold).

See also

• kluski
• Pittsburgh
• Buffalo, New York
• Cleveland
• Lithuanian cuisine
• Polish cuisine
• Russian cuisine
• Ukrainian cuisine
• deruny
• pączki
• syrniki
• vareniki
• gyoza
• bierock

External links

• Original Polish Pierogi online
• Latvian Piragi and Associated Folklore
• Glendon, AB Giant Perogy
• Recipe for making homemade pierogies
• Recipe for preparing previously made or purchased traditional pierogies
• Annual Pierogi Festival in Whiting, Indiana
• Russian pierogi - illustrated step-by-step directions (many photos)
• Pierogi Recipes
• Annual Pierogi Festival in Poland 30000 pierogi eaten daily