# Can I buy oscypek (smoked Polish cheese) in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 13, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013 "2019-07-13T12:38:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/41 "2019-08-06T18:59:18Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > _bump_ > > Helen’s Deli, on Irving Park Rd in Wood Dale. > > The pictures he sent are astonishing. So much stuff packed behind a modest storefront - meats, cheeses, bread, candy, and so damn much chocolate! Looking forward to visiting in person, in a couple weeks. In the meantime, om nom nom … aww! I live in San Diego now but I spent the first 3 decades of my life in the Chicagoland area and used to work just down the street from Helen’s. We’d go there for lunch periodically and it was always an experience. Great pierogi! Kinda strange just seeing it pop up in a random thread I clicked on 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/42 "2019-08-08T15:54:16Z")
True oscypek would have to be imported. I prefer serki góralskie, which is extremely similar, and can be made locally. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/43 "2019-08-08T23:24:11Z")
… and where do you buy it? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/44 "2020-08-09T00:01:02Z")
I still have not been able to secure any of this cheese (I just looked for some today, in fact) but I did find this nifty 3 minute video on how oscypek is made. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CMUF9f1veLw/maxresdefault.jpg "This Rare, Golden Cheese Is Only Made in the Polish Mountains") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMUF9f1veLw) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/45 "2020-11-25T01:38:43Z")
I came across this thread of someone looking for oscypek near London: > **[r/AskCulinary - Oscypek: smoked polish sheep's cheese. Where on earth can I...](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/k05jkq/oscypek_smoked_polish_sheeps_cheese_where_on/)** > > 230 votes and 70 comments so far on Reddit ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/46 "2020-11-25T06:16:16Z")
I’ve been out to the Polish Deli twice in the last year but zero times since the start of the pandemic; still no luck. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013/47 "2020-11-30T08:08:56Z")
I love the super helpful replies in some of the comments on that Reddit thread: _“Try asking some European or Polish shops!”_ Thanks, Captain Obvious. That said, some of the comments were kinda cool. I didn’t realize there’s such a close analogue in both Czech and Slovak cuisines, although that makes sense. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the armpits of whoever on Reddit up there suggested smoked Gouda as a similar substitute, though. That’s like ordering a Jack-and-coke and being handed an iced tea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-oscypek-smoked-polish-cheese-in-the-us/837013.md?page=2)