''Flaki'' or ''flaczki'' is a traditional

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

tripe

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

. It is one of the many Polish

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

s, which represent an important part of Polish cuisine. Along with bigos, żurek, and

pierogi Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving. Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, Easter ...

, it is one of the most notable specialities in Polish cuisine. Its name is derived from its main ingredient: thin, cleaned strips of pork tripe (in pl, flaki - which can also be literally translated to "guts").

Etymology

The

name , literally meaning "guts" being the plural of ("guts"), came from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

("spot"), from Middle High German Old High German , from Proto-Germanic ''*flekka-'' ("spot/mark"). , the

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

of , is also used to refer to tripe soups in Poland. Croatian is a cognate. German names for tripe soups include and ("tripe soup"), as well as and ("sour tripes"), as the words , , and can all mean "tripe".

History

Flaki has been consumed on Polish territory since at least the 14th century. It is known to have been one of the favorite dishes of King Władysław II Jagiełło.

Preparation and serving

The method of preparation may vary slightly depending on the region. Some common ingredients include beef tripe, beef,

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...

allspice Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry (botany), berry of ''Pimenta dioica'', a Canopy (forest), midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, ...

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

, beef broth, and spices to taste, including salt, black pepper, nutmeg, sweet

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...

, and marjoram. Ready-made convenience-type equivalents of the labor-intensive flaczki are available. Sometimes pork tripe can be used instead of the beef tripe especially in the ready-made versions of the dish sold in Poland. Tomato concentrate is sometimes added to flaki, and some may cook the tripe without a roux. A popular addition to improve the 'nobleness' is the addition of

meatballs A meatball is ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types ...

, which are often found in a regional variant known as 'flaki po warszawsku' ( Warsaw-style flaki). Ready-made flaki in cans or jars are widely available in grocery stores throughout Poland which also include "Flaki po Zamojsku" ( Zamość-style Flaki). A variant of flaczki, in which fowl stomach is used instead of cow's, is also known and called ‘flaki drobiowe’ (poultry flaki). The soup is traditionally served during

weddings—as one of the "hot meals". Flaki is eaten with fresh

bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

, usually with bread roll.

References

{{Reflist Beef dishes Polish soups Polish stews National dishes Offal dishes

Etymology

History

Preparation and serving

See also

References