One of the characteristic features of Polish national cuisine is a substantial, slightly sweet and sweet-sour dishes with a lot of cream. One of the Polish national dishes is bigos - a cabbage dish, which is accompanied by different types of meat (Belarusian cuisine also has a dish with the same name). Golabki - cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice - is also considered to be traditional Polish food. Borščs of different types (white and red) is the favourite of soups, as well as žureks and krupņiks. The Poles used to eat pierogi – small boiled patties filled with mushrooms and vegetables or cottage cheese, knedļi – small potato pies filled with vegetables. The popular dish of the Polish peasants is smaļec made from pork fat.
Specific features of Polish cuisine are explained by the Polish history, which has contributed to adaption of food from other nationalities. The Poles respected the fasting and feast days characteristic to the Catholics and cooked food suitable for that tradition. For example, on “pre-fasting” days the Poles used to eat special cookies žagariņi fried in oil.
Thanks to responsiveness of Kraslava district cooks, the recipes of traditional food have been collected, thus representing Polish cuisine of Kraslava district and ensuring preservation of food recipes for future generations.