As someone who just moved to Northwest Indiana about six months ago, the one thing I have grown to love about the area is that every town seems to have its own unique identity to it. You can drive a mile in one direction and suddenly be transformed to a whole new world.
But with new worlds comes new experiences; things that are alien to someone who didn’t grow up here; someone who was raised in the suburbs of Indianapolis, hopping from one chain restaurant to another and never venturing far from the ordinary and comfortable.
But I have always longed to seek new experiences, to be uncomfortable and learn new things; which is why the term “pierogi” always intrigued me. It seemed different to me, it seemed unique, and it seemed like something deeply woven into the fabric of The Region.
The only problem was I had never heard the term “pierogi” before. Ever.
Pierogi sounded more like a casino game than a delectable to me when I first heard it. “Hey man, Billy hit a heater at the pierogi tables,” I would imagine it was used. But soon I started picking up the vibe of the pierogi. I knew pierogi was a food, and I knew it resembled a dumpling of sorts, but that’s about it.
I wanted to know more about it. What, really, is a pierogi and why is it so revered up here that a whole town like Whiting would essentially shut down for a weekend to celebrate it at Pierogi Fest?
Seeking answers, I reached out to the definitive source: Mr. Pierogi himself.
“The pierogi is a dumpling filled with meat, potatoes, sauerkraut or fruit, traditionally,” Mr. Pierogi said. “Every culture has them. In Italy, it’s ravioli; in China, it’s a potsticker.”
It made more sense to me now. Throughout history, people from different cultures who first came to America with nothing more than a dollar and a dream had to be creative when it came to meals. And Eastern European families whose homes were the battlefields of WWII had to do what they could to make ends meet. The pierogi was the answer. It’s simple and filling and can be made with anything around.
But to Mr. Pierogi, the doughy dumpling was more than just that; it represented family.
“The pierogi was always a mainstay,” added Pierogi. “It was something our buscias (grandmothers) did, and their mothers before them. They’d spend Sundays in their housecoats making them. It’s something buscias handed down to their daughters, who handed it down to theirs. And different families make them differently.”
It started to sink in. The pierogi is more than a food; it’s a symbol of tradition, of heritage, and of family and togetherness. And Pierogi Fest, as Mr. Pierogi puts it, is a celebration of just that.
So in the end, what really is a pierogi? It’s a dumpling made with anything, really, as long as it’s made with love.
And as long as it comes with sour cream, Mr. Pierogi insists.
“Sour cream is always the side.”