'Shortening' is used for baking and stuff

POLAND . The Unofficial Guide

applekarenThreads: 6 Posts: 4 Joined: Jan 25, 09 ♀	Mar 28, 11, 15:16 #1
It's used for baking and stuff... in the USA the most famous is CRISCO I recently arrived in Poland and have no idea the name of this and I need it... I know Tluszcz is fat, but I want to know this specific type of fat used in baking goods. Thanks in advance....

JonnyMThreads: 16 Posts: 4,487 Joined: Mar 9, 11 ♂	Mar 28, 11, 15:32 #2
"do pieczenia" = for baking They have something a bit like Crisco - I don't remember the brand name, but do pieczenia means it's for baking. ;-)

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Mar 28, 11, 15:46 #3
In Poland a vegetable fat known as Kasia will do the trick.

JonnyMThreads: 16 Posts: 4,487 Joined: Mar 9, 11 ♂	Mar 28, 11, 15:50 #4
Polonius3: In Poland a vegetable fat known as Kasia will do the trick. I use Kasia - it's harder than Crisco but quite good and very cheap - the more expensive brands are often a bit lighter though.

CalabrienThreads: - Posts: 26 Joined: Feb 5, 11 ♀	Mar 28, 11, 16:01 #5
I use Kasia - it's harder than Crisco but quite good and very cheap - the more expensive brands are often a bit lighter though. Kasia is good but I think Palma is better :)

applekarenThreads: 6 Posts: 4 Joined: Jan 25, 09 ♀	Mar 28, 11, 20:02 #6
Thank you for the answers!? Do you know if those brands are white or yellow? It's for cake decorating so I need to know the color, as they can interfere on the white color decoration. Anyways, I'm gonna check in the supermarket today :)

mafketisThreads: 17 Posts: 1,880 Joined: Mar 31, 08 ♂	Edited by: mafketis Mar 28, 11, 20:15 #7
IIRC Kasia is yellowish and Planta is white. Planta is supposed to be for frying but it reminds me of Crisco a lot more than Kasia does.

CalabrienThreads: - Posts: 26 Joined: Feb 5, 11 ♀	Mar 28, 11, 20:19 #8
Planta is supposed to be for frying It's good for baking too :) I always use it and I think it's really good :) I like it more than Kasia

AndrzejP.	Mar 30, 11, 07:21 #9
You may use "margaryna" or "maslo roslinne" for baking and cooking. Of course you can also stick with plain old butter -"maslo" or use lard -"smalec" in some recipes.

Lost Baker	Mar 31, 11, 19:13 #10
Is there really no way to get shortening in Poland? I have tried several different pie crust recipes that call for shortening, using Kasia or Planta instead. Neither attempt turned out well as the consistency was all wrong.

♂

Apr 4, 11, 09:29 #11

Lost Baker:

Is there really no way to get shortening in Poland? I have tried several different pie crust recipes that call for shortening, using Kasia or Planta instead. Neither attempt turned out well as the consistency was all wrong.

It's not just the shortening but .... everything. I've found it mostly impossible to make American style baked goods using local products*. My big problem was that the flour behaves differently (even if it's called self-rising - it's not). I assume it's something in the grinding and/or aging process. And there must be a trick to using baking powder and soda because I can never get the consistency of American cake, it's always too thick and soggy or too dry and crumbly. That doesn't matter much for carrot cake but I've never gotten a good white cake here even though that was pretty simple for me in the US.

One of the reasons for the enduring myth that szarlotka = apple pie is that it's very hard to describe the consistency of good pie crust in Poland because no Polish product has that consistency because you can't get that consistency with Polish flour. After a failed experiment or three I gave up and when I do want to use a pie crust I go the crushed cookie route which is generally acceptable for pies with no top crust, petit beurre works pretty well.

*note to defensive types - that's not criticism of Polish baked goods many of which are very delicious, just an observation by someone who occasionally misses the light, oversweet cakes of his homeland.

strzygaThreads: 4 Posts: 985 Joined: Apr 30, 08 ♀	Apr 4, 11, 10:41 #12
mafketis: even if it's called self-rising - it's not where did you find self-rising flour in Poland? I thought we just don't have it (not that I miss it ;)

mafketisThreads: 17 Posts: 1,880 Joined: Mar 31, 08 ♂	Apr 4, 11, 11:34 #13
Maybe it's not marketed anymore, but a few years ago I bought it a few times (mąka samorosnąca) but it never really worked. I assumed maybe it was there as a misplaced marketing idea and had no meaning (like in the early 90's when Polish stores put credit card stickers on their windows but couldn't deal with credit cards)

♀

Apr 4, 11, 12:36 #14

yeah, it probably worked differently, just as it is the case with baking powder and other kinds of flour.

I used to bake bread and I like reading baking blogs but there are always problems with transferring recipes to/from the UK and US, and it works (or rather doesn't work) both ways - just try to get mąka krupczatka out of Poland... Proper pie crust is just one of those things, takes a lot of experimenting.

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