Kaszanka is a traditional blood sausage in the east and central

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an cuisine. It is made of a mixture of pig's

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

, pork

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

(commonly liver), and

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as ''Fagopy ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

(

kasza In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in ...

) stuffed in a pig intestine. It is usually flavored with onion, black pepper, and

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marj ...

. The dish probably comes from Germany or Denmark though the latter is unlikely because of a significant difference in ingredients. Danish version consists of blood, pork, raisins, sugar, groats and flour. Kaszanka may be eaten cold, but traditionally it is either grilled or fried with some onions and then served with potato and

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

Other names and similar dishes

* крывянка (''Kryvianka'', Belarus) * ''verivorst'' (Estonia) * ''kaszanka'' (Poland) * '' Kiszka'' (Yiddish קישקע ''kishke'', some districts of Poland) * ''Grützwurst'' (Germany and sometimes Silesia) * ''Tote Oma'' (Germany. A joking-sarcastic name for fried Grützwurst, meaning ''Dead Granny'') * ''

Knipp ''Knipp'' (in the Hanover area: ''Calenberger Pfannenschlag'') is a type of sausage made by mixing meat with grains ('' Grützwurst'') related to '' Pinkel'' which comes from the Bremen

'' (Lower Saxony, Germany) *''Göttwust, Grüttwust'' (Low Germany) * ''krupńok, krupniok'' (More of a slight name difference than variation, Silesia) * ''żymlok'' (A variation of ''Krupniok'' based on cut

bread roll 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 food ...

instead of buckwheat, Silesia) * ''

Pinkel Pinkel is a smoked Kaszanka (), which is a type of sausage. It is eaten mainly in northwest Germany, especially the region around Oldenburg, Bremen and Osnabrück as well as in East Frisia and Friesland. Etymology The word ''pinkel'' is Ea ...

'' (Northwest Germany) * ''

Stippgrütze ''Stippgrütze'', also called ''Wurstebrei'', is a German dish from Westphalia which is similar to '' Grützwurst'' or '' Knipp''. It consists of barley groats cooked in sausage juices (''Wurstbrühe''), which are enriched with pieces of meat, ...

'' (Westphalia, Germany) * ''

Westfälische Rinderwurst ''Westfälische Rinderwurst'' is a type of German sausage known as a '' Grützwurst'' and is made from beef, beef dripping, vegetables, pearl barley or groats and butter. This Westphalian speciality is served hot, heated in water or roasted, and ea ...

'' (Westphalia, Germany) *''krëpnica'' (Kashubia) * ''Maischel'' ( Carinthia, Austria): ''Grützwurst'' without blood and not cased in intestine, but worked into balls in caul fat. The name comes from the Slovenian ''majželj'' in turn derived from the Bavarian ''Maisen'' ("slices"). * ''jelito'' (Czech Republic) * '' krvavnička'' (Slovakia) * ''hurka'' (Slovakia) * ''véres hurka'' (Hungarian) * ''krovyanka'' (Ukraine) * ''krvavica'' (Serbia, Slovenia) * ''кървавица'' (Bulgaria) * '' chișcă'' (Romania)

References

External links

A photograph of kaszanka
on YumYum.com *Kaszanka or kiszka vendors in the United States
Chicopee Provision Co.
(Chicopee, MA)
Polana – A Polish Experience
(Chicago, IL)
Krupniok in Silesian cuisine
Belarusian cuisine Silesian cuisine Czech cuisine Slovak cuisine German sausages Polish sausages Blood sausages Meat and grain sausages Precooked sausages {{Slovakia-cuisine-stub

Other names and similar dishes

See also

References

External links