Żurek (sour rye soup)
A sour soup made with fermented rye flour, with white sausage and hard-boiled egg.
Well-cooked hot dish
Ingredients
- rye sourdough starter
- white sausage
- potatoes
- garlic
- marjoram
- hard-boiled egg
- salt
How it is prepared
The sausage cooks in stock, the rye starter is added and boiled, and it is served with egg.
Food safety with low immunity
- Cook meat right through: steaming hot inside, with no pink parts or pink juices.
- Avoid dry-cured or cold-smoked sausage and ham with low immunity, or heat them in the dish until steaming.
- Eggs should be fully cooked, with firm whites and yolks.
How to prepare it during treatment
White sausage is raw sausage and must cook fully in the soup. The starter is boiled. Use hard-boiled egg; the sour taste may sting with mouth sores.
Your diet during treatment is agreed with your doctor. Sample 7-day menu for the treatment period →
Storage
Cool quickly (within 2 hours), refrigerate in shallow containers and eat within 1–2 days; with low counts many teams advise 24 hours. You can freeze portions.
Reheating
Reheat only once — bring to the boil, stirring. It should be steaming hot, not just warm.
Symptoms it may suit
- Low appetite. Gives a lot of energy and protein in a small portion — can help when appetite is low.
- Taste changes. Aromatic spices, herbs or a little sourness can help when food tastes bland or metallic (if there are no mouth sores).
These are general observations: what suits you can change from day to day.
Treatment phases
- Before treatmentmay suit
- During a coursemay suit
- Low counts (neutropenia)Freshly cooked and hotmay suit
- Between coursesmay suit
- After treatmentmay suit
Phase notes are general. During low counts, follow only your care team’s food rules.
If you have other conditions
- High blood pressure, Heart disease, Kidney disease. Often salty (stock, salty cheese, sausage, pickles). With high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, discuss salt limits with your team.
- Heart disease, High blood pressure, Kidney disease. Contains processed meat (sausage, bacon, ham). With heart disease, high blood pressure or kidney disease, discuss it with your team.
- Stomach and gut. Can be acidic from tomato, lemon or vinegar; keep this in mind with reflux, gastritis or mouth sores.
- Autoimmune disease, Stomach and gut. Contains wheat (gluten). With coeliac disease and some autoimmune conditions, discuss it with your team.
Nutrition (per 100 g)
Nutrition figures from a reliable source have not been added for this dish yet.
More from this cuisine
Related topics
Food safetyNeutropenic diet (low-microbial diet)PasteurisedCore cooking temperatureLeftoversCross-contamination
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safer Food Choices for People With Weakened Immune Systems
- FoodSafety.gov (U.S. HHS). Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Food Safety for Older Adults and People with Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Organ Transplants, and Autoimmune Diseases
- Food Standards Agency (UK). Chilling
- World Health Organization (WHO). Five keys to safer food manual
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Food Safety During Cancer Treatment
- National Cancer Institute (NCI). Eating Hints: Before, during, and after Cancer Treatment
- BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 2019. Neutropenic diets to prevent cancer infections: updated systematic review and meta-analysis
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). FoodData Central — Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS)