Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Krowki: Polish Cream Fudge

Polish Luxury Cream Fudge (Krowki)Dulce de Leche is a wonderful mix of milk and sugar, simmered down to the consistency of a smooth caramel or crumbly fudge. While it’s known mostly in the new world with regional variations in Central and South America, other countries have their own versions. The Polish Cream Fudge or Krowki (which means little cow) is made from milk, sugar, butter, glucose syrup (usually corn syrup here in North America), vanilla and cream. The preparation varies a little bit from Dulce de Leche but the result is the same: a tender and melt-in-your-mouth distillation of dairy and sugar.

I found these versions of Krowki at a wonderful market called Caputo’s in Illinois. The market has an amazing array of candies from all sorts of countries, though Poland was especially well represented. I was hesitant to travel with chocolate, so when I spotted the Krowki I knew I had to pick some up. They had three varieties: Luxury Cream Fudge, Sesame Cream Fudge and Chocolate Cream Fudge. I opted for the first two.

The bag was pretty simple, just a sticker with the essential information slapped onto a clear cellophane bag by the importer (Eagle Distributors Inc.). Inside the candies were in their more traditional wax paper wrappers (though still in Polish & English).

Supreme Cream Fudge

The Supreme Cream Fudge is so charming in the yellow, brown and white wrapper. Each piece is well protected, there’s also an inner glassine wrapper around the pieces and crisp folds to make the shape.

The pieces are little rectangular rods. They smell sweet, toasty and a little milky. They’re glossy and look like they could be caramels. Instead the bite is more intriguing than that. It’s a little bit layered. The edges are like a lightly grainy fudge and the center is like a dulce de leche, a little dollop of creamy caramel. The flavor is overall sweet but the texture provides a great mouthfeel. The grainy sugar crystals dissolve quickly and the milk notes keep it from being too sweet or sticky. It’s a bit lower in fat than some fudges, as it uses mostly milk instead of butter.

If you’re a fan of penuche or non-chocolate fudge, you might like this. I enjoy the variations in texture, the transition from the grainy to the creamy. The toasted flavors that toffee or caramel has aren’t quite there though.

Sesame Cream Fudge

I’d never seen sesame fudge before, so the Sesame Cream Fudge was just too much of a curiosity for me to pass it up. The little wrappers are similar, just a darker shade of peach instead of yellow.

It smells a little odd, very grassy - a little like tahini. I expected it to be like halvah, as I wasn’t sure if it was sesame seeds or sesame paste.

Instead it’s simply different. The texture is a little firmer, a little crumblier and drier than the Luxury Cream version. The flavor of the sesame seeds also make it less sweet. The seeds are light, not dark toasted. They give a little chewy note to it along with the green tea notes. The grainy milk fudge was good and satisfying.

I don’t know if I’d buy either of these again for myself, but the fact that they’re individually packaged little bites of milk fudge in such cute wrappers certainly warrants a look for sweets enthusiasts.

About three years ago I found a version of these being sold in the United States called Caramoos, which also came in an interesting variety of flavors (including Honey). This direct import version is quite a bit less expensive, even when purchased in small 6 ounce portions like this instead of the 2.5 pounds on Amazon.

Related Candies

  1. Buchanan’s Clotted Cream Fudge
  2. Universal CityWalk for Candy Lovers
  3. Rosa’s Fudge
  4. Nips: Caramel & Dulce de Leche
  5. Crown Nuggets Borrachitos
  6. Caramel Previews: Mitchell Sweets & Caramoos


Name: Krowki: Polish Cream Fudge
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Milanowek
Place Purchased: Caputo's Market (St. Charles, Il)
Price: $2.09
Size: 6 ounces
Calories per ounce: 108
Categories: Candy, Caramel, 6-Tempting, 7-Worth It, Poland

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:25 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyReviewCaramel6-Tempting7-Worth ItPoland

Comments
  1. Hey, it sounds like butter tablet!  Except from Poland instead of Scotland.  It’s one of my favourite treats—I’ll have to look around to see if I can find any of these myself.  (And if you’ve never had tablet, totally keep an eye out, it’s delicious.  :D)

    Comment by Tintin LaChance on 8/04/10 at 6:19 pm #
  2. I had a friend from Russia whose mom once sent him a bunch of candy.  It was wrapped in this same manner-with two little triangles sticking out on each end.  I guess that’s something particular to eastern Europe.

    Comment by Dave on 8/05/10 at 5:30 pm #
  3. I love Caputos!  I am from Indiana and when in Chicago try to make a stop here!  Great ethnic foods.  Did you know that Chicago has the second highest Polish population—the 1st is Warsaw Poland !!

    Comment by Mary on 8/20/10 at 8:01 am #
  4. Oh, I love these! As a Ukrainian, I can say with a lot of certainty that every old Eastern European lady is guaranteed to have at least 6 of these in her purse at any given time. There’s a chocolate variety in a brown wrapper, as well. The sesame ones are my favourite, though. I’ve actually got a bag of each flavor in my living room.

    Comment by Nina on 9/17/10 at 7:59 pm #
  5. Krowki are superb! My favorite candy of all time. If I could eat them without gaining weight, I would live on them.

    Comment by Leo on 1/08/11 at 10:27 pm #
  6. Love the one that’s in yellow wrap. Please provide nutritional values per 100gr or 1 ounce.
    (Calories, fat, fibre). Thx

    Comment by Ida on 12/04/11 at 2:49 pm #
  7. I am looking for the Milanowek cream fudge to buy in Sydney, Australia

    Comment by Debbie on 2/25/12 at 8:30 pm #
  8. Try hand made cream fudge from Pomorski %Son from Milanowek also
    http://krowki.waw.pl/

    They are the best and original and the oldest and best recipe. They are better than cream fudges in yellow wrapper.

    Comment by I love cream fudges from Pomorski on 8/13/12 at 10:05 am #
  9. I’m so crazy about this candy. It is my favorit all the time especially in our festival days Eid Alfiter day and Eid Aladha day in Saudi Arabia. Have fun guys

    Comment by khalid on 9/06/12 at 7:13 pm #
  10. My mother is from Scotland and use to make a wonderful, awesome sweet candy she called “Tablet”. It’s allot of work, but worth it. She hasn’t made it in along time. Many years have past, but a friend of mine is English and just got back from visiting her Polish mom in England. She brought me back some of the Cream Fudge which in so many ways reminded me of the Tablet. There is also a Mexican candy that is also very similar. I had a bag full of which only lasted maybe, 5 days. Oh My!!! I am going to order the Cream Fudge in the little yellow wrapper and share with friends and family.
    The “Tablet” is the best treat along with the Crunchie and Flake from Scotland. What can I say, I have a very sweet tooth!!

    Comment by Carol Spruce on 12/11/12 at 3:41 pm #
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