White sausage

Polish-style white sausage (biała kiełbasa) is commonly sold raw, so cook it thoroughly before eating. Some white sausages are already cooked; check which kind you have before serving.

Poach raw sausages gently in barely simmering water rather than boiling them hard. Cook until the centre reaches 70°C for 2 minutes; you can then brown them briefly in a frying pan.

Polish-style white sausage is often served in żurek, a sour rye soup, or with horseradish and mustard. It also goes well with sauerkraut or mashed potato.

Cool cooked sausage promptly, refrigerate it within 2 hours and eat it within 48 hours. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Yes. Freeze it before its use-by date, ideally in a sealed freezer bag. Defrost it in the fridge and cook it promptly; don’t refreeze it after thawing.

No. White sausage is a meat sausage, while British white pudding typically includes pork fat and cereal such as oatmeal or barley. Per 100 g, white pudding has 17.1 g fat; white sausage has 6.5 g.

No. Polish biała kiełbasa is commonly seasoned with garlic and marjoram, while Bavarian Weisswurst is a distinct, usually milder sausage traditionally served poached with sweet mustard.