Greater Poland fried cheese: aged farmer's cheese melted slowly with butter, caraway and a pinch of soda until smooth, then poured into a dish and chilled to slice and spread on rye bread.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Ser smażony is a peasant cheese-preservation technique from Greater Poland that pre-dates refrigeration: aged cheese curd was melted with butter to extend shelf life into the cold months. The Poznań version carries Protected Geographical Indication application in the regional rural-products scheme. It is still made in farmhouses around the Wielkopolska countryside and sold at Rynek Jeżycki and the Stary Browar food hall. Eaten on rye bread with a dab of mustard.
Common allergens: Dairy, Eggs
Tip from the editors. The bicarbonate of soda is non-negotiable; it raises the pH of the cheese and lets the proteins melt smooth instead of grainy. Without it the result is curdled.
Rynek Jeżycki in Poznań is one of the city's most historic markets, founded 1891 on Dąbrowskiego and Kraszewskiego, with around 400 stalls of produce, bread.
Tip: Come before 09:00 on Saturday for the cheese-stall rotation; many small producers sell out by lunchtime.
Food Hall Stary Browar in the shopping-arts complex at Półwiejska 42, Poznań is a selected food court in the heart of the converted brewery, with several.
Tip: Whiskey in the Jar has a second outlet here; it is the easier of the two to walk into without a reservation.
Podkoziołek on Stary Rynek in Poznań is a Wielkopolska restaurant opposite the Koziołki, with handmade pierogi, plendze, czernina and golonka in a vaulted.
Signature: Plendze, Pierogi, Golonka
Order: Plendze (Greater Poland potato pancakes) with mushroom sauce.
Tip: Time your visit to 12:00 to catch the Koziołki, the mechanical goats above the town hall, butting heads.
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