Hi all, I just was speaking to a couple of 3rd gen uk "Poles" who spoke fondly of "Grandad's Vodka" and the Polish method of drinking it - "Take a shot, sip of juice - repeat as the conversational opportunity arose."
So I know that to be reasonably true as we went to a polish wedding in Poland a few years back ! - If you get the chance - GO ! whatever the cost - Polish weddings are MAGIC !
I didn't ask and I'm not sure whether they would really know - does anyone else ? - WHy are they so attached to "Vodka" as opposed to any other spirit and what base ingredients do they make it from ?
Polish "Wodka" is made from everything from Potatos, wheat, to rye. Pretty much vodka is just made of whatever source of fermentable sugars are cheapest and available. Potatos were used because they had alot of surplus Potatos at the time. I think traditional polish vodka was triple distilled in an alembic style still. Also most polish vodka brands are owned by a large company, thi k it spurred from the communist government at one time took over the distilleries and made "Soviet state vodka.
I don't know - You also hear of the Irish making "Poteen" from potatoes, but that now seems doubtful and I've never seen a recipe for making "Vodka" from potatoes, although I do remember ne or more threads where "Potato starch was tried with little success as I remember !
It's more like a social matter to drink some Vodka in Poland.
While the U.S.A. hosts the largest vodka producers in terms of volume and sales, the "waters" in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe play a more profound role, far beyond bar and catering. Drinking vodka is primarily of social importance here and is a ritual that is celebrated on numerous occasions.
Whether as an aperitif, as a welcome or as a symbolic affirmation of a contractual relationship Vodka in Sweden, Finland, Poland and Russia has become part of the social life. And although there are many differences in terms of vodka between countries, it is possible to roughly differentiate between the Scandinavian way and the older Polish or Russian vodka tradition.
Poland and Russia's way of vodka pouring:
Due to the ancient belief that only the alcoholic vapors and less the liquid are responsible for the alcohol influence on the human body, ex-drinking ("shooting") is still widespread in Russia. By taking the vodka all at once, it was thought, one escapes the alcoholic vapors and can expand a "vodka session" as desired.
Also common in Poland is the consumption of vodka at room temperature and less ice-cooled, as is often found in other countries. And although the emergence of this drinking mode had purely practical reasons (one saved the cooling), the swallowing pleasure of room temperature, the dominant properties of a vodka, such as. Purity, clarity and gentleness, encouraged, subtle and subtle nuances decrease.
Whether the vodka is now drunk "on ex" or in several sips, is rarely discussed in Poland and Russia. This decision makes the host new to each glass by asking: do dna ("to the bottom") or ciut, ciut ("piece by piece").
There are numerous toasts with which one toast in Poland and Russia. So the most famous Polish or Russian saying is na zdrowie or na zdorovye, which translates to "on your good/ to your wellbeing", just one among many.
Another Polish proverb reads: chlusniem bo usniem, and says "let's overturn another, or we'll fall asleep".
Usually, a Russian "vodka round" pulls over several toasts and so it is common that a glass is drunk only after the completion of toast. To smash the glass on the floor after such a round should, according to the Russian belief, bring luck to those who depend on the number of broken glasses.
Scandinavian style:
Most of the time, Swedes and Finns mix vodka with all sorts of drinks and juices. While in Russia and Poland, pure vodka takes place 365 days a year, vodka is usually only enjoyed on special occasions such as Christmas, Labor Day and Midsummer Night in Sweden and Finland.
To express a toast before drinking it is common in Finland to lift the glass so that the corresponding arm between the elbow and shoulder forms a horizontal line. For Sweden, however, the traditional height of the arm is at the level of the third shirt button. Courtesy dictates that before drinking and immediately afterwards, his drink partner be seen in the eye, accompanied by a slight kinking. The common Finnish expression for "Prosit" is kippis, whereas in Sweden, skål (skoohl) is called.
Here in Denmark we also drink Vodka although Snaps (Akvavit) is more commonly used in relation with a meal. As in Sweden, we say "skål".
Ah, more than likely were the term to "skull a drink comes from DS . Many of Mums ancestors came from Eastern Prussia now in Poland and Schnapps was their main libation but Schnapps and vodka can be the same thing. My Polish friends were big on pure spirit where they would make a spiced caramel, mix it in an we would skull it warm. I am a bit of a fan of Bison grass and Polish cherry vodka even though both have injured me . Polish cherry vodka once saved me from panicking when trapped in a flash flood ( that is I was half tanked and only half gave a toss) Ordinarily waking up in darkened half underwater with lightning as ya only guide could cause a bloke to worry but the calming effects of the vodka had me laughing at the situation. Edit if anyone is interested in where that happened google where Coopers creek (Barcoo river) crosses the Birdsville track ( western shore of Lake Warrawarrinna)
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.Benjamin Franklin
'On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few,
And men of religion are scanty,
On a road never cross'd 'cept by folk that are lost,
One Michael Magee had a shanty....'
I was wondering with the "Potatoes" thingy - Starch ok they have some and usually we need enzymes to make it convert to sugar, which we can get from t'interweb in little packets, but that is fairly new.
Otherwise we use the natural enzymes in malted seeds - Now potatoes sprout as well - does that mean they have their own enzymes which produce sugar and therefore sprouted ones can be used without additional enzyme ?
Potatoes don't convert easily and are a ferment of last resort. I have tried quite a few ways to convert potatoes to sugar and get really low yields. Potatoes will not convert on their own and most use barley if they don't have enzymes. It is very hard to get at potato starch. There is some that comes out easily, but most stays locked up in little grains. One place I looked at cooked the mash for 2 days. You can boil potatoes and save the water and eat the potatoes. The starch in the water can be converted into a low alcohol yield mash.
I have a polish friend. He said they always made their vodka from rye.
Pikey wrote:I was wondering with the "Potatoes" thingy - Starch ok they have some and usually we need enzymes to make it convert to sugar, which we can get from t'interweb in little packets, but that is fairly new.
Otherwise we use the natural enzymes in malted seeds - Now potatoes sprout as well - does that mean they have their own enzymes which produce sugar and therefore sprouted ones can be used without additional enzyme ?
. Many of Mums ancestors came from Eastern Prussia now in Poland and Schnapps was their main libation but Schnapps and vodka can be the same thing. My Polish friends were big on pure spirit where they would make a spiced caramel, mix it in an we would skull it warm. I am a bit of a fan of Bison grass and Polish cherry vodka even though both have injured me