Narrator:
THE PEROGI IS A PILLOWY PASTRY
STUFFED WITH MASHED POTATO
OR OTHER FILLINGS.
POPULAR FOR CENTURIES
IN EASTERN EUROPE,
PEROGIES WERE
INITIALLY PEASANT FOOD.
BUT TODAY, THEIR APPEAL
CROSSES
CLASS AND CULTURAL BOUNDARIES,
AND WORLDWIDE THERE'S
A GROWING APPETITE FOR
PEROGIES.
PEROGIES ARE COMFORT FOOD,
TRADITIONALLY MADE FROM
SCRATCH
BY GENERATIONS
OF POLISH GRANDMOTHERS.
BUT TODAY, FEW PEOPLE
HAVE TIME FOR ALL THAT WORK,
AND THE JOB OF MAKING PEROGIES
HAS MOVED FROM THE KITCHEN
TO THE FACTORY.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ADD
THE SOUR CREAM AND CHIVES.
PRODUCTION STARTS WITH
THE POTATO AND CHEESE FILLING.
THEY BOIL POTATOES UNTIL
TENDER.
THEN, STILL PIPING HOT,
THEY TRANSFER THE POTATOES
TO A MIXER GRINDER.
THEY ADD A GENEROUS AMOUNT
OF SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
ALONG WITH SOME SALT AND
SPICES.
A SPIRALING BLADE MASHES
AND MIXES THE INGREDIENTS.
THE BLADE MISSES
A FEW CHUNKS OF POTATO,
SO THE MACHINE
FORCES THE INGREDIENTS
THROUGH
A PERFORATED METAL PLATE.
IT GETS RID OF THE CHUNKS
AND LEAVES THE MIX
SMOOTH AND CREAMY.
WITH THE FILLING DONE,
IT'S OVER
TO THE DOUGH DEPARTMENT.
THEY POUR MEASURED AMOUNTS
OF FLOUR INTO A MIXER.
THEY ADD OIL
FOR TEXTURE AND FLAVOR
AND SOME SALT
TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE TASTE.
THEY OPEN AN OVERHEAD TAP,
AND A MEASURED AMOUNT OF WATER
FLOWS DIRECTLY INTO THE MIXER.
THE MIXER'S ROLLER BARS
BLEND AND KNEAD THE DOUGH
TO A FAIRLY THICK CONSISTENCY.
AFTER LEAVING THE DOUGH
TO SOFTEN A BIT,
THEY FEED IT TO A SPECIAL
PEROGI-MAKING MACHINE.
THE POTATO AND CHEESE FILLING
FLOWS INTO THE SAME MACHINE.
IT FORCES BOTH THE FILLING
AND THE DOUGH
INTO A FORMING DEVICE.
IT'S ENCLOSED
FOR SAFETY REASONS,
SO YOU CAN'T SEE IT HERE.
INSIDE, THE MACHINE SHAPES
THE FILLING
INTO A CYLINDRICAL FORM
AND THE DOUGH AROUND IT
INTO A SLEEVE.
HERE, THE MACHINE PUMPS OUT
A ROLL OF POTATO FILLING,
THE DOUGH SURROUNDS IT,
CREATING SAUSAGE-LIKE FORM.
AS THE FILLED DOUGH EXITS,
A ROLLER SHAPES IT
INTO INDIVIDUAL PEROGIES.
IT ALSO CUTS
AND CRIMPS THE EDGES.
THIS PRODUCES
UNIFORMLY PLUMP PEROGIES
AT AN INCREDIBLE SPEED.
THIS MACHINERY CHURNS OUT
50,000 PEROGIES AN HOUR.
THE FRESHLY FORMED PEROGIES
RIDE BY A DIVIDER MECHANISM
THAT SEPARATES THEM,
PREVENTING CLUMPING AS THEY
TRANSFER TO ANOTHER CONVEYOR.
AN INSPECTOR REJECTS
ANY DEFECTIVE DUMPLINGS
SO THAT ONLY PERFECT PEROGIES
HEAD INTO A FREEZER.
THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE
IS AN ICY NEGATIVE-50 DEGREES.
IT'S A WINDING JOURNEY
ON SPIRALING TIERS,
WHERE THEY CHILL
FOR ABOUT 14 MINUTES.
WHEN THEY EXIT,
THEY'RE FROZEN SOLID
AND READY FOR PACKAGING.
THE DUMPLINGS
RIDE A SERIES OF CONVEYORS
TOWARDS THE PACKAGING LINE.
IT'S A QUICK JOURNEY,
GIVING THEM NO TIME TO THAW.
THE PEROGIES FUNNEL
INTO WEIGH STATIONS.
BELOW, MECHANICAL FINGERS
OPEN BAGS.
THE SCALE RELEASES 22 OUNCES
OF PEROGIES INTO EACH BAG.
THAT'S ABOUT 23 PEROGIES
PER BAG.
HOT JAWS SEAL THE PLASTIC.
THE BAGS OF PEROGIES TRAVEL
THROUGH AN X-RAY STATION
ON THEIR WAY
TO THE WAREHOUSE FREEZER.
IT SCANS THEM
FOR BITS OF METAL OR GLASS
THAT MAY HAVE CONTAMINATED
THE PEROGIES DURING
PRODUCTION.
TODAY, PEROGIES HAVE
MANY DIFFERENT FILLINGS.
THERE ARE EVEN FRUIT-FILLED
ONES
FOR DESSERT,
THE RECIPE MAY BE CENTURIES
OLD,
BUT THERE ARE A FEW NEW
TRICKS.
