PINING FOR POLISH CUISINE IN SOUTH RENO (PART 3)

Holidays inevitably spark memories of unique foods which were traditionally served by your family — and Easter is no exception.

On a recent shopping trek through South Reno, I spotted a couple of hard-to-find items that were always on my Polish grandparents’ Easter table when I was growing up in Chicago.

At Cost Plus World Market, 4987 S. Virginia St., I saw a jar of the red beet-horseradish that my Polish grandfather used to make from scratch. He called it chrzan (pronounced like “shaan”).  

Red beet-horseradish, imported from Poland, available at Cost Plus World Market in South Reno

Oh, the eye-stinging fumes from the grating of the horseradish!  No wonder he tackled this chore in the basement, with the windows wide open and a fan operating at full blast.  In any case, in Polish households, this red beet-horseradish mixture is a popular condiment atop hard-boiled Easter eggs, ham and Polish sausage.

The brand sold at World Market is Cracovia.  The jar (1 pound, 7.63 ounces) sells for $2.99.

And in the same section of World Market, there were a few other food products imported from Poland, including dill pickles and pickled cabbage and mushrooms.

At South Reno's location of WinCo Foods, 9750 S. Virginia St., I bought a loaf of Sweet Raisin Bread made by the Eurobake bakery in Portland, Ore.  The 19-ounce loaf cost $2.89.

Sweet Raisin Bread, reminiscent of a Polish bread, found at WinCo in South Reno

My mom, who was born in the U.S. but speaks fluent Polish, calls this type of bread plecionka (prounounced “ple-CHOON-ka”).  I’ve also heard it called “kukielka” (“koo-KEL-ka) or chalka (“howka”).

It is similar to challah bread, a dense egg-twist bread that is shiny and dark on the outside, light yellow and tender on the inside.  And this version contains raisins, although I would prefer a lot more of them.

I guess I could put “learn how to make plecionka” on my to-do list.  In fact, I messaged the Nothing To It Culinary Center, 225 Crummer Ln. in South Reno, to ask if they’ve ever considered offering classes about Eastern European cuisine, such as Polish.  I was told that they might conduct such classes if there’s sufficient interest.

For more information about Nothing To It, call (775) 828-2628 or visit http://www.nothingtoit.com/

For more tips on where to find Polish foods (or reasonable substitutes) in South Reno, look for my previous blog posts, PINING FOR POLISH CUISINE IN SOUTH RENO (PARTS 1 AND 2).

Also, an UPDATE!  Thanks to my mom in Chicago, I discovered a Polish cooking show called "Poland On A Plate," sponsored by Krakus Ham.  This gourmet Polish ham is not sold in Reno, but the series presents many traditional Polish recipes and Polish twists on American favorites.  The series is hosted by the lovely Basia Brown, with guest appearances from some of Chicago's prominent chefs.   

Here's a link to some (English-language) videos on Polvision, Chicago's powerful Polish-language TV channel:
http://www.polvision.com/program/poland-on-a-plate

And here's the home page for Poland On A Plate, with more information about the series and more recipes:  http://www.polandonaplate.com/Poland_on_a_Plate/Poland_on_a_Plate_Home.html