Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine is a mixture of Slavic and foreign culinary traditions.
History
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages the cuisine of Poland was very heavy and spicy. Two main ingredients were meat (both game and beef) and cereal. As the territory of Poland was densely forrested, usage of mushrooms, forrest fruits, nuts and honey was also widespread.
Thanks to close trade relations with the East, the prices of spice (such as juniper, pepper and nutmeg) were much lower than in rest of Europe and the usage of spicy sauces became popular. Their main purpose was to neutralize the odour of non-conserved meat.
Most popular beverages were beer and mead, however in 16th century upper classes started the import of Hungarian and Silesian wines. Also, vodka became somehow popular, especially among lower classes.
Renaissance
With the ascension of queen Bona Sforza, 2nd wife of Sigismund I of Poland, in 1518, countless cooks were brought to Poland from Italy and France. This started a period which saw extensive addition of vegetables usage, most notably lettuce, leek, celery and cabbage. Until now the leeks, carrots and celeries are known in Polish as włoszczyzna, which refers to Włochy, Polish name of Italy.
The Republic
Until the Partitions, Poland was one of the biggest countries in the world, populated by many nations with their own, distinctive culinary traditions. Among the most influential in that period were Lithuanian, Turkish and Hungarian cuisine. With the decline of Poland and grain production crisis that followed the Deluge, potatoes started to replace the traditional usage of cereal. Also, because of numerous wars with the Ottoman Empire, coffee became popular.
Partitions
Under the partitions, cuisine of Poland became heavily influenced by cuisines of the surrounding empires. This included Russian and German cuisines, but also culinary traditions of most nations of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In the Russian-occupied part of the country, tea became popular and replaced the until-then popular coffee.
XIX century also saw the creation of the first Polish cook-book by Lucyna Ćwierciakiewiczowa, who based her work on XVIII century diaries of the szlachta.
Famous all-national dishes
soup
- flaki - beef or pork stomach stew with marjoram
- żur - soured rye flour soup with sliced white sausage and hard-boiled, sliced egg
- barszcz - beetroot soup, popular among eastern-slavic nations
- czernina - duck blood soup
- rosół z kury - clear chicken soup
- zupa grzybowa - mushroom soup made of various species of mushrooms
- zupa ogórkowa - soup of sour, salted cucumbers
- chłodnik - cold soup made of soured milk, young beet leaves, beets, radishes, cucumbers and chopped fresh dill
main course
- pierogi - dumplings
- bigos - stew of sauerkraut, white cabbage, spice and meat
- kotlet schabowy - pork chop, similar to Austrian wienerschnitzel
- kasza gryczna ze skwarkami - buckwheat cereal with chopped, fried lard
- kaczka z jabłkami - roast duck with apples
- sztuka mięsa - meat dish, similar to French ragout
- golonka - stewed knuckle
- gulasz - Goulash
- gołąbki - white cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice
- pyzy - potato dumplings served by themselves or stuffed with minced meat or white cheese
desserts
- kutia - traditional Christmas dish, made of poppy seeds, wheat, nuts and delicacies
- makówki
- syrop z cebuli - syrup made of onion and sugar, basically a medicament
- chałka - sweet white wheat bread of Jewish origin
- pączek - donut with rose marmelade
- krówki - milk toffee candies
ingredients
- kapusta kiszona - sauerkraut
- ogórek kiszony - salted sour cucumber, sort of a pickle prepared in a similar way to the sauerkraut
- kiełbasa - polish sausage, comes in a variety of versions
beverages
- miód pitny - mead
- podpiwek - very soft beer made of crumbled dark bread
- wino proste - a variety of alcoholic beverages made of fruit extracts and spirit, countless names are popular as well
Regional cuisine
A list of dishes popular in certain regions of Poland:
- prażonki
- strudel jabłkowy - apple cake, identical to austrian apfelstrudel
Eastern Poland
North
- szpekucha - small dumplings stuffed with lard and fried onion
- baba warszawska - yeast cake
- bułka z pieczarkami - a bun filled with a champignon stew
- flaczki z pulpetami (po warszawsku) - stomach stew with marjoram and small meat noodles
- kawior po żydowsku - "Jewish caviar" - chopped calf or poultry liver with garlic
- pączki - donuts with rose marmelade
- pyzy z mięsem -
- zrazy wołowe -
- zupa grzybowa po kurpiowsku (z gąsek) - mushroom soup made of Tricholoma equestre
- knysza
- makówki or moczka - traditional Christmas dessert
- rolada z modro kapusto - meat roll with red cabbage
- kwaśnica - meat and sauerkraut stew
- śliwowica łącka - (read: [shlee-voh-veetsa won-tskah]) strong (70% of alcohol) plum brandy
- oscypek - hard, salty cheese from nonpasteurized sheep milk
- kluchy z łacha -
- pyzy -
- marcinki - croissants filled with poppyseed, almonds, nuts and raisins, traditionally eaten around Nov 11 (St. Martin's day)
See also:
