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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Zakopane
A very sour sauerkraut soup with smoked pork ribs or other smoked pork, served with boiled potato on the side or with bread. It’s the dish of the highlanders of Podhale, the Zakopane region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains.
Traditional dish from Zakopane, Pequena Polônia
Also known as: kwaśnica góralska, kwaśnica podhalańska
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Kwaśnica — Zakopane, Poland
Kwaśnica is a soup of cooked sauerkraut with meat, usually smoked ribs or other smoked pork cuts; some versions use mutton. The name comes from kwaśny, meaning sour, and the soup should be quite acidic. The highlanders’ version contains no carrot or other vegetables: with them, in the region’s traditional distinction, the soup becomes kapuśniak, another cabbage soup. Boiled potato served on the side accompanies the soup, which can also be served with bread.
Kwaśnica belongs to the cuisine of the górale, the highlanders of Podhale, the region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains centered on Zakopane. The harsh climate and mountain soil produced a cuisine of potato, oats, cabbage, sheep and pork meat, and fermented preserves, made to sustain people working in the cold. The soup is linked to this region and is part of Zakopane’s culinary tradition.
In Zakopane, kwaśnica appears in karczmy, the typical wooden taverns, in the mountain huts of the Tatra, and also in reinterpretations by the town’s cooks. Every household makes its own, with more or less meat and acidity. It’s winter food and a meal after hikes and ski runs, but it’s on menus year-round.
Zakopane , Pequena Polônia
Zakopane is the center of Podhale, where the highlanders’ kwaśnica is served in taverns and in the huts of the Tatra Mountains.
Sauerkraut and its fermentation liquid, smoked pork ribs or smoked pork (sometimes mutton), salt and pepper. Boiled potato on the side.
Very hot, in a bowl, with boiled potato on the side or with bread.
Year-round, more in winter and after hikes and skiing.
Your questions
A very sour sauerkraut soup with smoked pork, served with potato or bread. It’s the dish of the górale, the highlanders of Podhale, the Zakopane region.
Both are cabbage soups, but the highlanders’ kwaśnica contains only sauerkraut and meat, without carrot or other vegetables, and is much more acidic. With vegetables, the soup becomes kapuśniak.
In the Podhale tradition, the potato is boiled separately to accompany the soup, or kwaśnica is served with bread.
Flavors of Poland
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