FOOD NEWS
68% Of Pierogis In The US Are Consumed In The 'Pierogi Pocket' Region
By Arianna Endicott
The ultimate comfort food, a pierogi, is a dumpling made from dough filled with mashed potato, cheese, sauerkraut, meat, fruit, or other fillings. While pierogi are enjoyed by people all over, one region of the United States has been dubbed "the pierogi pocket" due to the amount of pierogi consumed each year.
The "Pierogi Pocket" region encompasses five midwestern states: Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and a few cities, including Chicago and Detroit. This "pocket" is responsible for a whopping 68% of the annual United States pierogi consumption.
Eastern European immigrants brought pierogi to the United States in the early 1900s, and the first pierogi sales took place in Cleveland in 1928. The food became an unofficial icon for church fundraisers after World War II, and by the 1960s, the stuffed dumplings became easily accessible in grocery stores across the United States and Canada, thanks to Mrs. T's frozen pierogi.