Gołąbki is the Polish name of a dish popular in cuisines of

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

, made from boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced pork or beef, chopped onions, and rice or barley. Gołąbki are often served during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

season and on festive occasions such as weddings. They are also a featured dish for family reunions amongst

Polish Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

. An alternative to the dish are Jewish holishkes, served on

Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tis ...

and

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...

Etymology

is the plural form of , the diminutive form of ("pidgeon, dove").

Max Vasmer Max Julius Friedrich Vasmer (; russian: Максимилиан Романович Фа́смер, translit=Maksimilian Romanovič Fásmer; 28 February 1886 – 30 November 1962) was a Russo-German linguist. He studied problems of etymology in I ...

accepts this as the origin of the word, stating that the dish was so named due to similarity in shape. The Polish linguist Marek Stachowski find this theory semanticaly dubious. He instead proposes an Oriental borrowing, pointing out that a similar dish, aside from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, is known in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

. He mentions Persian "cabbage" or "cabbage roll" and

Old Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Grabar, Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at ...

"cabbage" as possible sources. The word would have later been altered by

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

to resemble the word for the bird.

Other names

''Gołąbki'' are also referred to in English as ''golombki'', ''golumpki'', ''golabki'', ''golumpkies'', ''golumpkis'', ''gluntkes'', or ''gwumpki''. Similar variations are called '' holubky'' (Czech, Slovak), '' töltött káposzta'' (Hungarian), ''holubtsi'' (Ukrainian), ''golubtsy'' (Russian), ''balandėliai'' (Lithuanian), ''Kohlrouladen'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

) or '' '' kåldolmar'' (Sweden, from the Turkish ''dolma''). In

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

, ''holipshes'', ''goleptzi'' ''golumpki'' and '' holishkes'' or ''holep'' are very similar dishes. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the terms are commonly

Anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

by second- or third-generation Americans to "stuffed cabbage", "stuffed cabbage leaves", or "cabbage casserole". They are also referred to as "pigs in a blanket".

References

External links

Gołąbki recipe from the Food NetworkStraight outta da Coal Region kitchen!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golabki European cuisine Polish cuisine Lithuanian cuisine Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine Stuffed vegetable dishes Cabbage dishes National dishes

Etymology

Other names

See also

References

External links