Here’s where you’ll find your Polish sour cherries and seriously tart pickles

KEVIN BROOKER, SWERVE
More from Kevin Brooker, Swerve

I had the good fortune of touring Poland a number of years back, when glasnost was still young. I went expecting austerity, and was shocked to find myself eating some of the best meals of my life. Poland gets called Eastern Europe, but it’s really dead-centre. Consequently, its complex food traditions (and supply lines) span the old world heartland, from Germany to Russia and from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. It’s in no way surprising that ur-foodie Martha Stewart was born Martha Kostyra, full-blooded Pole. And Calgary, it turns out, is unexpectedly rich in this food tradition, thanks to a handful of delicatessens with ties to the motherland—most of which happen to be on the city’s south side at places like Cracovia, Old Fashion Meats and Heritage Bakery.

Acadia’s Polcan is one of the more popular spots, where you can smell the smokehouse the minute you hit the strip-mall parking lot. Polcan does the Euro mini-supermarket thing well, with tiny, packed aisles next to a busy meat counter where the focus is obviously on the many varieties of sausage and cold cuts. Like everything else here, they’re the real deal. Out front, the fresh-bread racks feature a dozen species of rye and as many kinds of poppy-seed pastries. In the cold case there’s twarog, dry curd cheese which is the central ingredient in Poland’s distinct style of cheesecake, and oscypek, smoked sheep’s cheese from Zakopane, the Banff of Poland. There’s even a special cream cheese made specifically for baking—and a refrigerated case of creamy pastries to inspire you. Polcan also has a small steam table for reasonably priced takeout or eat-in, with classics like perogies, cabbage rolls and bigos, the national dish: a hunter’s stew of sauerkraut and mixed meats (but always the house kielbasa).

Don’t ignore the aisles, though, where pantry treasures abound. Most Canadians already know one Polish standard—polski ogorki—or at least, the Canadianized version of the dill pickle. These delis have scores of more authentic pickle variants worth trying, including beets, peppers, carrots and mushrooms. They’re also a condiment paradise, with more approaches to horseradish, mayonnaise and mustard than you could ever imagine. Apple horseradish? Don’t knock it until you try it. You’ll find that many of the products only have Polish labels (unless you count that poorly informative white sticker that satisfies French-English labelling laws), but almost all of them have excellent pictures. By the way, although many of Calgary’s 30,000 or so Poles are recent immigrants, you won’t have a problem dealing in English.

I would also urge you to explore the fruit side. I’ve always found packaged European juices to be somehow richer than ours, and Poland’s are among the best. The nation produces first-class pears, apricots, plums, blueberries, cranberries, currants and, my personal favourite, sour cherries (see sidebar). All of them come in numerous forms, including fruit-only, jams, compotes and syrups.

Fortunately for us left-bankers, there is a Polish treasure north of the Bow. Jan’s Meats and Deli is the dziadek (grand-daddy) on the Calgary scene, with nearly three decades of service. An easy right turn off Crowchild northbound, its convenience is only exceeded by its excellence. Jan offers bespoke charcuterie, of course, but he also provides something pretty rare around here these days: a full-service butchery with high quality and reasonable prices. Order ground beef or pork and it goes through the grinder right on the spot. It’s also my go-to place if I need a custom cut like a crown roast.

Jan sells bulk house-made sauerkraut, herring, dills, smoked mackerel and a variety of prepared foods on the perogie and cabbage-roll spectrum. Its dairy case, too, teems with goodness. Try the supremely rich MC Dairy brand sour cream—for example, in a salad with cucumber, lemon juice and fresh dill—for an instant taste of Polish summer.

Pucker Up

Sour cherries—Prunus cerasus—come in many preserved forms. The jams are tart and wonderful, while the juice makes a great soda splash. Use a jar of them in light syrup as a filling in sweet perogies, the perfect way to celebrate Poland’s independence day, November 11.