Kiszka

Kiszka is a Polish term for a sausage or sausage-like meat product. In everyday use it designates encased preparations made by grinding pork or other meats with fat, seasoning, and sometimes cereals, then stuffing the mixture into natural casings and cooking. The word is regional and culinary practice varies: while kiszka can refer to general fresh or smoked sausages, other names such as kaszanka denote blood sausage with groats, and kiełbasa covers a broader range of smoked sausages.

An important regional variant is kiszka ziemniaczana, or potato sausage, common in Silesia and parts of Poland. It is made by combining grated raw potatoes with onions, eggs, and binding ingredients or flour, shaping the mixture into a log or sausage form, and cooking by frying, baking, or boiling. The potato-based form is sometimes prepared and served as a standalone dish or as part of meals with sauces or sides.

Preparation methods vary: fresh sausages may be boiled, fried, grilled, or smoked; cured or dried varieties exist but are less common for kiszka than for other Polish sausages. In retail, kiszka is sold fresh by butchers and sometimes in prepared foods sections; home cooks may produce it using traditional family recipes.

Historically, kiszka is part of Polish regional cuisines and has parallels in neighboring Central European sausage traditions, reflecting a long-standing practice of using edible casings and varied filling ingredients to utilize available meat and grain resources.