Lesson 6 – K. Powell

Originally being from Poland, I thought it was very odd that pierogis were missing from all meals in the United States.  Pierogis are a staple in the Polish diet.  Contrary to popular belief, not all pierogis include potatoes and cheese.  Pierogis were made with whatever food was available.  Hence late summer saw a lot of blueberry pierogis on the plate and late fall had my favorite – mushroom pierogis.  Social norms dictated that whatever food was available was put into dough and boiled and provided a good amount of the food supplies.  This was very different from menu staples in the United States as I was shocked to find out when I moved to the country.  Despite having moved, I still sought out pierogis when they were available due to the fact that I grew up eating them regularly.

Pierogis were not only a social norm, but they were a nutritional requirement due to both food availability and food waste.  Under Soviet rule, food was scarce.  Hence the pierogis stuffed with seasonal foods.  Food waste was also a societal issue which is why this was an obvious food choice.  Almost any ingredient could be put into the dough.  The dough is made from flour, salt, and water, and scraps are reused to make more dough so there is no waste.  This is important because it means the food supply lasts longer and feeds more people.  In countries, such as the United States, where this problem did not exist, this social norm does not exist.  Pierogis are sometimes a nutritionally balanced meal as they usually include some sort of meat or vegetable in them.  However, the same large batch is often eaten at every meal over several days so it may cause deficiencies if not enough variation is done.  This would not be a problem with American food which is very diverse.

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One thought on “Lesson 6 – K. Powell

  1. Hi, my name is Avi and I am a student here at University Park. I found your post interesting because I did not know about the history of pierogis and Poland. I thought they were always just made with potatoes and cheese, as will almost always find them here in America. Because of this, pierogis are not usually considered a healthy food to eat. It would be great if this food were offered like you said it is back in Poland with more of a variety of ingredients, which could make them more enjoyable and even a healthy part of a diet if done correctly. I think this is a good example of how the American diet is typically less diverse than the diets of people in countries where these food originate from.

    Here is a link to my module 6 post: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/15/module-6-food-choice-and-social-norms-2/

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