Heidi wrote:
> My grandmother made a reportedly Polish dish called K'fas (or a close
> phonetic approximation) which was a stew that consisted of pork,
> raisins, sauerkraut and apples (at least from what I can recall
> making it 20 years ago). It was served in a bowl with homemade
> noodles (Kluski).
>
> I have Googled, etc. and the closest thing I can find is a dish called
> Bigos but its not that close. So I was wondering if anyone here had
> heard of it. My grandmother lived in Oil City which is in the
> Northwestern part of Pennsylvania in case it's a regional recipe.
>
> Thanks,
> Heidi

Kwas (kvas) is a Polish word for a fermented drink (can be made from
beets or bread and yeast) and not for a sauerkraut dish. Kwas made with
bread sometimes uses small amount of raisins as flavoring.
Polish term for sauerkraut is 'kapusta kiszona' but
as far as I know there no tradition of combining meat with sauerkraut
AND raisins in Polish cuisine. Up until about 10 years ago raisins were
not cheap and therefore used mostly in baked goods.
My guess is either this was a dish invented by Polish immigrants in
Pennsylvania so it could be anything or it was a simplified version of
bigos (which is more of a concept than a specific recipe) to which your
grandmother decided to add raisins. Bigos usually have a small amount of
tart apples or dried prunes included. Pork loin baked with apples is one
of the traditional Polish dishes.

Monika



Monika