is" kaszanka" a Polish speciality?

sorry for this silly question.i found kaszanka-like thing in uk,it is called black pudding but i have never tried that.it looks like kaszanka but i wonder if it 's made of blood like the Polish stuff. i've always considered kaszanka as typically Polish dish

Here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding
The thing which makes kaszanka Polish is that it contains 'kasza'.

Kaszanka is surely a Polish national dish! . I think they do something similar in other countries, but I doubt they use real blood like Kaszanka should have. Same with "Polish sausage" in the US - when you buy one in a Polish store, it IS a Polish sausage; if in American one - it's just "similar" to a Polish sausage .

Here is how a Polish kaszanka looks like :-)

polishkaszanka.jpg

mmmm..i need to get downstairs to eat something

Growing up on the east coast at certain times of the year my family always enjoyed Kiszka-is this basically the same type of sausage. I know that my Grandfather use to refer to it as blood sausage. If so, you can't seem to find it in California. Hope to be going home soon to Pennsylvania so I will be able to enjoy some good Polish food. Just because we are the third generation here doesn't mean we don't enjoy the foods from our culture

Yes, "kiszka" and "kaszanka" are the basically same thing -- they are just called differently in various parts of Poland. The same as "potato" - some call it "ziemniak" while other call it "kartofel" or "grula".

Or 'pyra' - that's in the Poznań region :)

Okay, Blackpudding comes from Bury - it's made from blood and fat and is soooooooooooooooooo nice, best served with mustard on it's own..........can be grilled or fryed, but best poached whole in a pan of boiling water

ok i am gonna get one from our cantine today

no they are not.

"kiszka", or rather "kiszka kaszubska" has bright color, is made of mashed potatoes, bacon, spices. and something else, I don't know what. anyway, it's awesome with some mustard.

Might be a bit dry, southerners dont appreciate the finer points of cooking Black Pudding it's a Northern dish.....find a good butchers and cook it yourself at home, dont buy the sliced rubbish, buy it whole....I live quite close to the home of the BP so hate the thought of it being misstreated in some canteen and also wouldnt want you to be put off

Sounds like a cross between haggis and a spanish sausage

Most countries have some kind of "blood sausage", though Europe probably has more than other continents:
France has Boudin Noir,
Spain has Morcilla,
Germany has Blutwurst,
and England has Black Pudding.

While I like both Black Pudding and Kaszanka, I find that Kaszanka is more similar to Haggis in taste and texture.

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, made from a sheep's heart, lungs and liver, with added oatmeal, onions and spices (regional recipes may vary).

I think it is the oatmeal in the Haggis that reminds me of Kaszanka. Something that Black Pudding does not have.

If you are a fan of Kaszanka, it is worth trying Black Pudding or Haggis (or any other blood sausage), but bear in mind none are exactly like Kaszanka.

I like kaszanka, but don't like raw meat (I assume "blood sausage" is kind of raw in texture . But - as some Poles say - you will digest all kinds of foods as long as you have some booze to wash it down .

Blood sausages are always cooked (as far as I know).
The texture depends on what else goes in them.
There are lots of different recipes for Black Puddings (OK, purists from Bury may disagree) but most that I've seen / tried have a reasonably fine texture, but are studded with lumps of fat.

Haggis has a coarser texture, very much the Kazsanka I just had

The best place to get a Black Pudding is from a good butcher or specialist shop, NOT from the super-market, which tend to sell mass-produced stuff, which is nothing like the real thing.

Yep, there is a HUGE difference in the quality of the produce when you buy "organic" food versus food from a store. "Organic" food tastes 10 times better. But is 2-3 times more expensive too...

it's coming down in price - it's like when free range eggs came out they were over priced now there apears to be more compitition prices have dropped, i see the same happening with organic produce too

Black pudding is served sliced and fried as part of a cooked breakfast in Ireland as is white pudding. Black pudding is made of blood and fat whilst white is made of sheeps organs onion and spices similar to scottish haggis. Both are much better if you can get the homemade version but the raw ingredients might not be easy to access. I used to make my own when I lived in iceland where we used sheeps stomach to boil them in. Not for the fainthearted but yummy all the same!!

This is all just nasty stuff. What would make you think of cooking blood and eating it? I understand that it's part of the culture but ..... no thanks. My first trip to PL someone fed me smalec and I gagged because I didn't know what to expect. I love most PL foods except for kaszanka and Czarnina.

It's lovely....yummmy black pudding.....

I can't see how blood can be appetizing or what would posess someone to even make it. To each his own...

It doesn't tast like blood though....but like you say, each to their own.

I guess it's the idea that urks me. Talk about getting everything out of the animal to eat. No waste here

Black Pudding is everything you wouldn't touch with a stick. But served with fried onions I can only quote Shelley 'yummmy'

I've got a little book at home from the late 1940's , when everyone was urged to grow thier own and pig breeding was encouraged. always remember the opening line which read "The Only Thing Wasted On A Pig Is The GRUNT".

Kaszanka/black pudding call it what you will, is delightful.

LOL

Okay all this talk - Im off to Bury Market to get some tomorrow, I like mine poached with mustard....liplickinggood!

Do mine in a foil parcel with butter under the grill, remove the foil and grill for the last two minutes, allong with the rest of the full english.....Only on a Sunday mind .

wozzy _ used to save my bus fair as a child and when most were spending theirs on sweets, I'd wait until I got to the butchers near my home and buy a black pudding - then get my gran to poach it.....I know.. strange child....