It doesn't hurt tu fry these polish patties like this one, they both look tasty this way. Even though they were not meant to be fried it doesn't neccessarily mean You can't. For me it works best with some veggies to compensate for salt surplus and to have a crunch
@@Bulwus almost all foods can be fried. Its just HOW you fry it. The Krakus probably wasn't frying as well due to its less mixed texture where as spam is well grounded and has chemicals that hold it together. I recommend frying with a bit of oil for foods that don't use emulsifiers to keep it all together. He also probably left out the fat. The Krakus had plenty of fat. He left it on the cutting board. If he dumped the content out onto the fry pan right away, he would get fat that is needed to fry the Krakus properly. Also having too high temp may have prevented him from flipping it and getting a messy stuck slab of meat half fried and half raw.
The polish one was never meant to be spam's substitute.it's been on the polish market long before anyone there knew about spam. Also it is generally used in sandwiches,never fried.
I live in an area with one of the largest Polish populations in the US and I gotta say, Polish food is top notch. Wholesome, hearty, heavy, rib-sticking meals... my favorite are the locally made pierogie, golumpki, schabowy, krokiety, paczki... and all the damned sausages. Can't wait for Dyngus Day!
As a Pole 10 years offshore, I have to say, tomorrow I will go and buy some fresh pork to make me self some Krakus copy cat in a jar. 😋😋😋 Thanks OP and YT algo. I have made some great Polish oven style sausage and some fresh bread few days ago. Perhaps that's why algorithm popped your content forward. Thanks! Polish cured and smoked meats, sourdough bread, mustard and some pickles rule!
I have recently converted my partner to certain Polish products and she loves the price and quality. I definitely appreciate the quality of the items on offer and how much more tasty the Polish meat and bakery items are. Give it a try, great taste great prices 10/10.
I'm Polish. I can tell you Krakus has always been a "premium" brand. However I find their canned meats a bit salty. Bought Spam for the first time to try but still haven't yet found the courage in the last few months. LOL. Especially now when you said it's even saltier than Krakus. I've never heard of frying Krakus products. Always ate cold in a sandwich. Live now in Canada for many, many years btw. Cool video
I have always hated Spam because it is too finely minced, there is no jelly and no taste. Krakus and PEK are a league above and I regularly buy stuff from my local Polish shop.
Spam is made in low sodium. Try that. Or bacon flavored Spam. And Spam can be eaten cold but is much better on a hot sandwich or melt than cold. If you want a really good meat spread for cold sandwiches, look up some German or Polish braunschweiger. It's an inexpensive pate that's really tasty with some good mustard.
@@BaldFoodieGuy I've recently tried frying _Polish ham_ from Krakus (probably their most iconic canned meat - sold in the distinctive triangular/egg-shaped cans) exactly for that reason - I saw Ameicans fry Spam. It was good. Not better, not worse, but different. But yes, this is a very unconventional way of eating it.
I think it's a plus for the krakus that it's not frying in its own fat, shows how much fat is in spam. Also, as you said the spam was much saltier, another bad sign. 3rd: just by looking at them, the spam was a pureed mass of pink, the krakus you could actually see the different components plus the jelly. Considering the price difference aswell it's a no brainer.
There's nothing wrong with dietary fat, and it doesnt translate directly to body fat . Corporate lobbying around the 90s convinced people that low fat high sugar food is better, when it actually makes people fat.
Golonkowa is good for adding to soups. I just made split pea soup with it. It falls apart into small chunks as the soup is heated, and gives the soup a wonderful ham taste. Spam doesn't do this, but I think it is better when sliced thin for sandwiches.
Polish food shops are the best . Their cooked bacon joints , polish sausages, amazing pickled vegetables and the things they can do with beetroot are so tasty . Also rye bread is a favourite of mine .
Polish food is very, very similar to Romanian food, but I have to admit that they have the better shops. Romanian stores usually have snacks and shelf goods.
@@CristiNeagu Salut. A lot of wonderful Romanian produce I find in "polish shops". I get slanina and varza de sarmale, bors and many more. I totally agree, Romanian and Polish food is so similar.
as a hungarian, the closest what i can get to hungarian products is polish products. I'm not into any brand, just the general idea of food is really similar, I like a good smoked and spicy sausage for example. when I came to the UK, food was quite cheap, then brexit happened. I got many international shops next to me and wouldn't call it cheap, especially that I buy some more items that are not essential but good to have. But now with the recent increase in prices there are a few things to consider. Like milk and butter, butter spreads went crazy in prices, it was like 4-5 £ for a box of butter spread, when you can buy real butter in the polish shop for like 1-1.30 £. we are voting with our money. if they increase prices and can't sell, they have to reconsider, so I think it's a good thing if people know about alternatives.
Hi Laszlo. I on the other hand, born and raised in Poland, find Hungarian smoked bacon most wonderful. I got it once in one of those polish shops. It was a glorious day.
why tf would anyone but a polish 'butter' (or, more likely- butter-like substance) spread? you can buy way better locally produced (i.e. in the uk) product that's cheaper. good luck buying a real butter (i.e. not a margarine) in polish shop for the price you have mentioned. even frutti di mare imported to poland is cheaper than butter. but yeah, most hams and sausages do not really have an affordable (or even unaffordable) equivalent in the uk.
@@simongrushka983 You can buy good quality real butter in any good Polish shop. but yeah, price would be at least same or higher than British butter. As for quality, good Polish butter is way better than standard supermarket butter.
My town has had a very strong Polish presence ever since WW2, they were here before I was, so I regularly choose Polish foods and brands, even from our local Tesco and Lidl.
I usually use the Polish, East European and Ethnic shops in my town. They're usually better value than British shops. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to come across proper smoked bacon that you can tell has been hooked and hung in the smoker.
I've lived in Poland for 14 years now.....and Krakus products are always good....Having said that, as a young soldier in West Germany in the 70's I got a liking for 'sauerkraut' and Krakus was a brand you could find back in the UK in 90's.
During WWII, my father visited England with the US Coast Guard. He went to a hardware store and traded cigarettes for tools and hardware. The shop owner was very nice. American cigarettes were very valuable at that time. The next time my Dad visited, he brought a big can of powdered eggs as a gift for the owner. The owner was very excited because the poor civilians were starving. The last time my Dad visited, he brought a large can of SPAM. The owner gave Dad a very nice pocket knife that my Dadd carried until he died. SPAM is best fried or, cubed and added to baked beans. Nice video. You tell jokes like you have kids. All canned meats have doubled in price since 3 years ago in the US. You can get low salt SPAM. I like the SPAM with bacon in it. Good Luck, Rick
IBeen brought up with Polish food since a child - my dad was from Poland. Always worth looking at the Polish food in your local supermarket usually its quite a bit cheaper than the British equivalent, The ketchup is ok but there is one with cilli which is lovely. Just explore its worth a go.
I have several versions of the Krakus products in my long-term food storage - gulasz angielski, szynka, łopatka - which I also use for camping food in order to rotate it out over the years. It's perfectly edible, easy to prepare and keeps for a long time. And while I prefer Heinz ketchup, good on you for using Polish Pudliszki brand ketchup in your test. 🍅
used to be way cheaper a few years back, now it's not as cheap but still quite good. the one in iceland called PEK is also polish. I like the szynka (ham) and the other is something starting with 'wy' I'm hungarian and I really like the Gulash they make at Pudliszki, their beef tripe soup is also good. You should really try out the Pudliszki ketchup, I generally don't like ketchup, and only buy it for guests, but the Pudliszki ones have a really strong taste of tomato, and not too sweet, it was my first try and I complimented it, my sister thought I'm exaggerating but she ended up liking it too. on the Heinz, their beans are quite good, and the tomato in it is better than others beans in tomato soup, but I'm pretty sure the ketchup is worse.
There is a cheap brand of Ketchup called Tortex. I know that I think it has less tomatoes in it and more artificial aromas, but tastes great. You should try :)
That polish one looks better quality meat, shredded rather than minced. You should try a selection of the sausages, i know a few supermarkets do them, the smoked and dried ones are tasty, best eaten cold, they are far higher quality than british bangers with 100% cured meat, so make nice snacks.
Another food item similar to “golonkowa” is “gulasz angielski” - almost the same but more jelly and leaner meat chunks (produced by Krakus and many other polish meat factories). The funny thing is that “gulasz angielski” translates literally as “English goulash” but has nothing to do with England 😂🤷🏻♀️
Another thought provoking review, with eye for detail. Notice the price of Spam is running away when I have checked over Xmas. And at this rate it won’t sell. But this Polish variant is worth a look. Thanks again for the pointers.
Definitely the polish Krakus for me,, nowhere near as processed as the Spam,, looks almost Home Made. Those tops from Aldi are well worth the 16 quid, banging if you work outside 👍👍
I like the one we get from Asda, PEK brand. It's currently £2 a tin, but we buy lots of tins when it's on special offer for as little as £1 a tin. I've have had lots of tins and cut it in two like burgers, fry it (with a little oil in the pan) and have it on a muffin (or bap, if you like.) However, the other week I coated them in batter and my wife had one and thought it was great! It's texture is like the Krakus, but the PEK seems a little firmer and more fully packed in the tin. Spam is good for fishing, mind!
Hey BFG, personally much prefer the look of the Polish tin of ‘spam’ as its not as minced. If ever you get tins that dont want to release its product, a small dish with some boiling water in it, rest the tin in it for several seconds and itll surrender its pink lint successfully😅
I agree, the Polish version is more appealing and has more solid meat while the minced product can hide the higher fat content and perhaps 'pork' includes minced skin, much like the ingredients in chicken nuggets. Also, forget the ketchup, use mustard with ham as it better enhances the flavour. Enjoy!
Hey Big Man, good to see you trying something different, we've got lots of polish shop's so it's great to see what's on sale and if it's worth trying, definitely will go and have a look around, great video Gareth
We have loads of European shops around us and I never had any problem going in and trying some of their brands. Never had a disappointment yet. Always get a warm welcome and very friendly staff. When lockdown first happened and our supermarkets ran short of loo rolls, flour, pasta etc, my secret hack was to go in the European shops.
Thanks for bringing the Polish stuff to my attention, I sometimes have Polish sausage, Mayonnaise and probably other stuff I forgot. I think this will be good for pea and ham soup.
I prefer the Krakus as well, you may also be aware that both meats are produced by the same firm. The Krakus being made to a slightly coarser recipe. They also produce an even denser meat using pig hocks - very tasty.
This is the kind of food review I can relate to. My takeaway from that is the Polish one is at least just as good but much cheaper than my normal 'go to' brand. Plus if I'm to be honest, I quite like the look of the extra texture you get with the cheaper one. Thanks for doing this review, glad that RU-vid suggested it. Happy to like and subscribe.
3.15; the Spam is considerably higher in fat, 22g vs 9.8g / 100g. Hence why the Spam is fine without added fat in the frying pan. The Spam also has 1g less protein (16g vs 17g), so the Krakus gets my vote, especially as it's also cheaper.
The polish one is more like PEK. Great with a salad. I slice it up and put it on a plate with cling film over. And basically just keep having the odd slice. Far better chilled. Great with chips and egg too.
Love a browse in the polish section of supermarkets better still find your nearest polish supermarket if you have one realistically near you. A lot of people are afraid to go in the old polski sklep if they're british. But don't be. Oh and if you're ever in Morrisons just got some "the best" currywurst sausages £1.80 for 6 really nice. So juicy lol. Worth a try. I got them from the fridge where the butchers counter is.
@Matt. Totally agree with you! I live in an area with two large Polish supermarkets and it's a great place to shop. The prices are reasonable and the food so very tasty. When I first started going, I asked for some help from the staff where I wasn't sure how something is cooked etc and they were so helpful. Although the tins, packets etc have their ingredients in English, the cooking instructions often are not. And don't get me started on the bread. Good old fashioned bread as we used to have in the 50s and 60s, tasty and filling.
I was honestly surprised that SPAM does not contain mechanicly recovered meat. Unless it doesn't have to be put on a label, but I doubt it. And no worries about frying Krakus, never tried this way, but I have certainly added it to camping soups because it has nice chunks of meat :)
First time I went to the USA in 1992 I didn’t know what to expect so took some PEK in the suitcase. Seems ridiculous really. Previous trips had been to Spain with the lads and we took food so had same mindset. Customs asked me if it was ‘commercially canned’ before allowing it through. I almost replied ‘No I have a caning plant in the garage’.
Tried spam a few times, and never liked it. I actually think I would like the polosh one better. Just the fact that you can tell that it is actual meat makes it look better IMO. Cheers from Denmark.
Good review. I have got a tin of the pek. I haven't tried it yet, but I keep a lot of tinned produce in reserve storage these days because you never know what's around the corner.
Spam fritters ! Used to eat them years ago. I'm more of a corned beef man. Here is a tip Gareth when shopping at Aldi. Use a corned beef tin KEY to unlatch your trolley. Ideal when you don't have a pound coin for the trolley.
Wow i never thought You could fry it:) in Poland we are buying them for campings or for emergency food (long lasting) and we eat them on bread with tomato or cucumber:)
Fond memories of spam, fried in batter, with mashed spuds and cabbage for lunch at school. Cooked on the premises, by formidable, but motherly dinner ladies.
SPAM came about in 1937 and was abbreviated from " spiced ham ". During WW2 it became the GI's favourite meal. SPAM is made from the shoulder and pork hams. The Polish version is mainly from pork knuckle. I actually love the meat and juices from the knuckle. The juices obviously makes the jelly in the Polish version and contains lots of good stuff from the bone marrow. For some reason SPAM is one of the most bought meats in Hawaii and they absolutely love it. As for the Polish version? I do some shopping at a Polish shop here in Brighton and they sell the Polish version even cheaper than British supermarkets. As we are getting a more multicultural country I love trying out foods from all around the world 👍 but sometimes you have to check out the ingredients first in case there is something you don't fancy eating 😝😝😝. Yet another spot on video Gareth, keep them coming.
Spam is one of those cheap meats that people turn there noses up at. But I am 55, and I was brought up on Spam. And Sandwhich Spread :) It always reminds me of holidays in the Lake district and school trips away. Love it. If you are going to butcher an animal, don't waste the cheaper cuts! It is still food! And it is perfect for a protein fix when you are camping. I must say though that the Polish ham, even though less (?) meat content, looks much more appetising. Spam always has that processed look and fat filled texture. But when times are hard and you can't afford better cuts, it does the job. And it stores really well for a long time. If you are a bit of a prepper like me you can't beat a few tins of Spam for that essential protein fix. Good work Sir :)
Speaking of sandwich spreads, I love Underwood Deviled Ham! But it is even more expensive than SPAM on a cost per ounce basis. With the holidays over, I have been buying huge hams on markdown and making my own deviled ham. Not quite the same taste, but so much cheaper.
Married to a Polish woman. I do enjoy polish shops. They were really handy during the pandemic as all other shops sold out of pasta etc.. the polish shops were fully stocked. Brits seemed to avoid them.
The best one is Pek if you can find it (usually in Tescos). It's really nice. Yes it is Polish and Krakus being pronounced as 'krak-ous' the 'ous' as in 'couscous'. Just want to add you should have added a slice of Polish pickle into the baguette. Scrumptious!
Polish one looks more natural to be honest, think I would prefer that as it looks more like ham! On the subject of those pull-ring can lids, I learnt the hard way to always remove the lid completely and then put it inside the empty can and crush it, before putting it in the recycling bin. A few years ago I left it still hanging on by a bit of metal and put it in pedal bin. Bit later that evening I had some more rubbish to put in the pedal bin, but it was beginning to overflow... so what did I do? Pushed it down with the back of my hand... Needless to say I will not do that again! (I'll spare the details). 😊
Both look nice , don't worry about cross contamination as they are both the same product which is cooked meat. Cross contamination occurs when uncooked and cooked meat come into contact for example you use the same chopping board or you store uncooked meat above cooked meat in a refrigerator.
And the main concern is chicken. Rare or even raw beef or lamb is usually fine. But chicken is deadly dangerous riddled with campylobacter and salmonella .
the polish ham looks more like tinned ham which also has the jelly . my nan used to make ham sandwiches with tinned ham my mum never used to buy it but watching this makes me crave for tinned ham lol
I've only just discovered your channel. I really like what you're doing. I can relate to it because it's so normal, with no silly nonsense. I've subscribed.
I've noticed in Australia we've started stocking more budget brands. With all the record inflation eating away at household budgets, it's important that we start shopping around for brands like these, hopefully it eases the burden a little.
My town has Mleczko Supermarket. It sells delicious bread, beer and sausages and fresh cakes that are so decadent and saucy you want to take them to a hotel room. My town has several Indian, Chinese (with Japanese and Korean stuff), Turkish, Caribbean and Bulgarian Supermarkets. All the real foodie nations are here. It's the only thing that makes living in Croydon still bearable.
I love Krakus canned goods and the like. Unfortunately, the Spam product is not available in Poland, but I'm sure one day I'll be able to find it and try it.
Got to hand it to you mate I’m subscribed to a few you you tubers like you on here and not one of them have posted anything for about 5 days I understand Christmas all that but your the only one that’s been posting respect keep up the good work
I haven't had SPAM in about 30 years. As a kid I used to eat a lot, and other ham spreads like Underwood Deviled Ham; that was a favorite of mine. I think I would be interested in trying the Polish canned ham. I think it would be a great ham to process into a moose for some crackers or some crunchy crusty toast, like an Italian or French Baggette. Thanks for the video, looked good and tasty. By the way, I never thought of using ketchup on span, but thinking hotdogs are often made of pork, and I do like ketchup on hotdogs, I may give this a go too. ; )
Hi Gareth. I would choose the Polish Krakas pork over the Spam even though the Pol pork isn't so pan fry friendly. It may not look appealing, but that chunky knuckle texture is what I like. Spam is good, but looks so refined and no doubt about it is made to fry. A top notch review today Gareth. Cheers mate 👍🤤😀
Something more akin to Spam would be a type of meat we call here "Tyrolska" which means - from Tirol/Tirol type meat. It's more ground up, more firm, especially the ones that are NOT in a can, but usually sold in huge chunks that can be bought per desired weight whole or cut at the store into slices (cold cuts in English). The are ones in a metal can, but they are less firm than the ones in big chunks typically sold with other cured meats as cold cuts at the stores. Tyrolska sold at the store usually costs around 16 PLN/kg, which is 3,33 GBP/kg (cans are more expensive obviously). It would be much easier to fry Tyrolska, as it doesn't fall apart (the one in a can is a bit less firm depending on the brand), and it's great for Pizza too for example. Cheers.
Nothing like some canned meat and some cold beer. And well done on the mesh splatter guard. Those things are game changers when you are frying fatty meats. I have two and love them.
Here in Ireland, in local Spar it's 4.99e for spam. Polish version is 1.39e. Huge difference in price. I noticed on receipt against Polish spam it says tourist price. Not sure what this means.
I love spam and all the supermarket own versions too but I am going to be on the look out for that Krakus. Though I've no idea where to look. I'll try Aldi and Lidl. Loved your video and your "take care". I felt like waving to you! 😊
Many of the Polish brands are owned by the multinationals. The quality of the meats is particularly high. PEK is absolutely delicious and ASDA keep rolling back the price. I have a cupboard full from the last time they rolled back to a quid. My town has about ten Eastern European shops and the staff are super friendly and the choice of things like strong and fruit beers and wine is awesome.
Yes! Exactly this. So many people are afraid to go in them. I'm not sure what they think will happen. You can find so many new and interesting products.
@@Matt19matt19 I think British people are reluctant to understand foreign languages, which is ridiculous, because mostly the ingredients are in English as well as Polish, and if not, you can just point your phone or tablet's camera app and use Google Translate. And the staff are always really pleasant.
Battered spam 'fritters' were a cheap and cheerful serving at school dinners when I was young, with mashed potatoes and peas they kept hunger at bay for a keen price. So quite a surprise to see how expensive spam has become. But I'm definitely going to have a look at that polish canned pork, it looks tasty.
It nice to hear, that You liked it. It comes out that Poland has good meat, UK has great gin, ale and pipe tobbacco ;) (In fact, the english pipe tobbacco is the best on the globe in my humble opinion) ;) Cheers
Been born and raised in Poland than moved to US in 1986, I was 25. Lived in Chicago and now in Florida. Lots and lots of Polish stores in Chicagoland. Funny thing: polish sausage is far far better there than actually in Poland. I am a truck driver and go between Chicagoland and Florida all the time. From time to time I stock up on food in polish stores there. My brother who lives in Warsaw vidited me few times. And he said I quote: ”producers of sausages in Poland should come to Chicago to learn how to make polish sausage”. Why is that you may ask? It is simple: local stores fight for customers making the effort to make quality products. Nobody would buy substandard product and place would go out of business.
In my town there are 5 or 6 polish food stores plus others like kurdish etc anyway Gareth another good wholesome video excellent see you on your next one and keep singing ..
Smacznego! :) Ten "Krakus Golonkowa" moim zdaniem, to najlepsza polska konserwa. Kolega, który był w Londynie coś opowiadał o smażeniu konserw, myślałem, że miał straszną biedę skoro tak robił, albo bujną wyobraźnię. Kto by pomyślał, że zobaczę coś takiego na YT :) Pozdrawiam Bon Appetit! :) This "Krakus Golonkowa" in my opinion is the best Polish canned food. A friend who was in London told me something about frying tinned food, I thought he was very poor if he did that, or had a vivid imagination. Who would have thought that I would see something like this on YT :) Regards
Canadian submariners who I served with called these processed products ‘hoops and loops’. The Polish one looked more ‘meaty’ than the Spam and was obviously less fatty. In the RN we used to be served with Spam fritters, we called them ‘Elephants’ footprints’, lush. Great vid. Cheers AJ
Big love for the polish supermarkets here! Amazing quality and the prices were super low - although I haven't been for a while and I'm not sure how the ongoing omnicrisis has affected them. Gareth, check out Lech beer if you get the chance - absolutely delicious stuff - I think some ASDAs carry it too.
You can't compare Krakus with Tulip, because Krakus are of the highest quality - made from meat, while Tulip is spam made from leftovers that were not marketable whole and were finely ground and heavily seasoned. Krakus produces spam under different names and with different flavors and meat content. The canned meat you tried has an unusually low meat content of 84% for Krakus. Most Krakus spam has a meat content of about 95%. You can open the canned food with an opener on the other side if you don't want to open it with a rolling pin. This canned food can sit for 20 years. To me, it tastes best on a sandwich chilled. I have a steady supply of 30 canned "Krakus Mielonka Luksusowa" at home.
@@BaldFoodieGuy i will just add that polish product u used (Krakus Golonkowa) is more similar to your canning meat in jar with long term date but its made for massive production so it got not that high meat %, got more fat than it should have but its cheap (10zł-1,86GBP). Krakus got many products, some are more similar to spam, other to meat in jar but they pack all it into "turistic can" beacuse glass jar can break when u travel and canned cant break. (if you want to try the same product, but heat it in a water bath(open it before), then drop it on mashed potatoes and add pickled cucumber+beer)
