Traditional food from Podlasie: the official list and recipes from around Klejniki

In Podlasie a recipe rarely lives in a book. More often it lives in the hands of a grandmother who knows how much flour a dough will “take”, and in a barrel that has pickled cucumbers the same way for years. Some of these flavours have made it onto the official list of traditional products. We have gathered the ones from our area and given each its own page: a bit of history, a recipe for your home kitchen and a tip on where to find it.

What is the List of Traditional Products

The list is kept by the minister responsible for agricultural markets, on the basis of the Act of 17 December 2004 on the registration and protection of names and designations of agricultural products and foodstuffs and on traditional products. It includes products whose quality or special characteristics come from traditional methods of production. Methods count as traditional if they have been in use for at least 25 years.

The application is submitted by the producer: an individual, a company, a village women's circle or an association. It goes to the voivodeship marshal, who checks the documents and asks the chamber of producers for an opinion. If the product meets the conditions, the documents go to the minister, who makes the entry.

An entry on the list is above all promotion and a record of culinary heritage. It does not reserve the name. That kind of protection comes only with EU designations: Protected Designation of Origin, Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed.

Podlasie on the list

The Podlaskie voivodeship has 91 products on the list (as of 1 November 2026). Most of them are baked goods and cakes, ready meals and dairy products. Many come from the Sejny and Suwałki regions, where Lithuanian influences mingle, and from the Narew and Bug valleys.

On separate pages we describe 18 products linked to the Hajnówka, Bielsk, Siemiatycze and Białystok counties, the area easiest to visit from Klejniki. More, from across Podlasie, such as babka ziemniaczana, kartacze or pierekaczewnik, will follow in later posts.

Ready meals and dishes	18
Bakery and confectionery	19
Dairy products	11
Meat products	13
Vegetables and fruit	7
Fishery products	4
Oils and fats	3
Honeys	3
Drinks	10
Other products	3

All products from the area

Click a product to read its history and recipe.

1 · Ready meals and dishesZagubyaround Drohiczyn, the Bug valley 2 · Bakery and confectioneryHajnowski marcinekHajnówka and the edge of the Białowieża Forest 3 · Bakery and confectioneryMielnicki korowaj weselnyMielnik, the Mielnik Land 4 · Bakery and confectioneryBusłowe łapyaround Bielsk Podlaski, northern Podlasie 5 · Bakery and confectioneryBialysBiałystok 6 · Bakery and confectioneryChleb staropolski – chleb żytniBiałystok (recipe from the Knyszyn area)7 · Dairy productsKlinek z ŁapŁapy, the Narew valley 8 · Dairy productsTwaróg hajnowskiHajnówka, the edge of the Białowieża Forest 9 · Dairy productsSer narwiańskivillages along the Narew, including Kruszewo 10 · Oils and fatsMasło z HajnówkiHajnówka 11 · HoneysLipiec białowieskiBiałowieża Forest 12 · Vegetables and fruitKruszewska kapusta kiszonaKruszewo and the villages along the Narew 13 · Vegetables and fruitKruszewski Ogórek HerbowyKruszewo on the Narew 14 · Vegetables and fruitOgórki kwaszone „Narwiańskie”the Narew valley: the communes of Choroszcz, Łapy, Suraż, Turośń Kościelna, Tykocin and neighbouring ones15 · Other productsNadbużańskie grzyby marynowanearound Siemiatycze, the Mielnik and Białowieża Forests 16 · Other productsNadbużańskie grzyby suszonearound Siemiatycze, the Mielnik and Białowieża Forests 17 · DrinksPodlaski kwas chlebowyPodlasie, including the commune of Czyże 18 · DrinksBuza (boza)Białystok

Stay in Klejniki

Most of these flavours are within an hour's drive of our house. A kitchen with a wood-fired range is waiting, in case you feel like baking something.

Check available dates

Full list of Podlasie products

All Podlasie entries on the list, with links to the sheets on the Ministry of Agriculture's website. The ones in bold have a page of their own here.

Traditional products of Podlasie. The official list and recipes from our corner of the region

What is the List of Traditional Products

Podlasie on the list

All products from the area

Stay in Klejniki

Full list of Podlasie products

Ready meals and dishes (18)

Bakery and confectionery (19)

Dairy products (11)

Meat products (13)

Vegetables and fruit (7)

Fishery products (4)

Oils and fats (3)

Honeys (3)

Drinks (10)

Other products (3)