Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are. – Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Ask me what I like most about Polish culture, and the answer is almost always the food.  It’s good.  Even that which I fear may send me in to a heart attack-induced early grave is still appealing.

Eating is also near the top of my rather tenuous list of motivations for learning Polish.  At some point in my life, I will live in Poland.  If living in other foreign countries has taught me anything, it is that food and cooking is really quite important.  Particularly if you actually want to eat beans and rice for dinner, and not the beetroot and rice you bought because you couldn’t understand the labels.

Not wanting too many nights of beetroot and rice in my future, one of my first Polish tasks was to learn basic vocab around food and cooking.  The lists I’ve compiled are below.  I hope they assist you in not starving, and help you avoid any unpalatable surprise dinners.

Fruit & Nuts
Vegetables
Baking & Desserts
Cooking Methods & Utensils
Entrees & Main Meals
Drinks
Shopping & Eating Out
Special Requirements – Diabetic / Vegetarian / Halal / Kosher / Allergies

You may also be interested in this list of sites with Polish recipes in English