Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine (Polish: kuchnia polska) is a mixture of Eastern European (Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, etc.) and German culinary traditions, with some Russian, Italian, and Turkish influence due to historical reasons. It is rich in meat, especially beef, chicken and pork, and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and spices, as well as different kinds of noodles the most notable of which are the kluski. It is related to other Slavic cuisines in usage of kasza and other cereals. Czernina remains a delicacy, although modern butchers cannot provide fresh duck blood for its' preparation. Generally speaking, Polish cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. The traditional cuisine generally is demanding in preparation, and Poles allow themselves a generous amount of time to prepare and enjoy their festive meals, with some meals (like Christmas eve or Easter Breakfast) taking a number of days to prepare in their entirety.
Traditionally, the main meal is eaten about 2 p.m. or later, and is usually composed of three courses, starting with a soup, such as popular bouillon or tomato or more festive barszcz (beet) or żurek (sour rye meal mash), followed perhaps in a restaurant by an appetizer of herring (prepared in either cream, oil, or vinegar). Other popular appetizers are various cured meats, vegetables or fish in aspic. The main course is usually meaty including a roast or kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet). Vegetables, currently replaced by leaf salad, were not very long ago most commonly served as 'surówka' - shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, beetroot) or fermented cabbage (kapusta kiszona). The sides are usually boiled potatoes or more traditionally kasha (cereals). Meals often conclude with a dessert such as makowiec, a poppy seed pastry, or drożdżówka, a type of yeast cake. Other Polish specialities include chłodnik (a chilled beet or fruit soup for hot days), golonka (pork knuckles cooked with vegetables), kołduny (meat dumplings), zrazy (stuffed slices of beef), salceson and flaki (tripe).
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History
Middle Ages
According to 10th century chronicle by Abraham ben Jacob, Poland was abundant with all sorts of "grains and meats and honeys and fish". 12th century chronicler Gallus Anonymus suggests that the basic foodstuffs were easily-available and that "although the country is forested, it also abounds in bread and meat and fish and honey". It is to be noted that at that time honey was used both as a sweetener and for conservation of meat.
During the Middle Ages the cuisine of Poland was very heavy and spicy. Two main ingredients were meat (both game and beef) and cereal. The latter consisted initially of proso millet, but already in the Middle Ages other types of cereal became widely used. Average commoners did not use bread and instead consumed cereals in the forms of kasza or various types of flatbread, some of which (like kołacz) are considered traditional recipes even in the 21st century. Apart from cereals, a large portion of a daily diet of mediaeval Poles consisted of beans, mostly broad beans and peas.
As the territory of Poland was densely forested, usage of mushrooms, forest fruits, nuts and honey was also widespread.
Thanks to close trade relations with the East, the price of spices (such as juniper, pepper and nutmeg) was much lower than in the rest of Europe, and spicy sauces became popular. One purpose was to neutralize the odour of imperfectly-preserved meat[1]. The usage of two basic sauces (the jucha czerwona and jucha szara, or red and white blood in contemporary Polish) remained widespread at least until 18th century[1].
The daily beverages were water, milk, whey, buttermilk and various herb infusions. Most popular alcoholic beverages were beer and mead, however in the 16th century upper classes started the import of Hungarian and Silesian wines. Beer was so widespread that in the 13th century Prince Leszek I the White explained to the Pope that Polish knights could not participate in a crusade as there was no beer in the Holy Land.[2] Also, vodka became somehow popular, especially among lower classes. There is only circumstantial evidence of vodka's originating in Poland. The development of the distillation process in France during the 13th 14th century means that the expertise would most likely have to pass through Germany to reach Poland. However, the first known recorded use of the word 'vodka' comes from a Polish document from 1405.
Renaissance
With the ascension of the Italian queen Bona Sforza, the second wife of Sigismund I of Poland, in 1518, countless cooks were brought to Poland from Italy. Although native vegetable foods were an ancient and intrinsic part of the cuisine, this began a period in which vegetables such as lettuce, leek, celeriac and cabbage were more widely used. Even today, such vegetables as leeks, carrots and celery are known in Polish as włoszczyzna, which refers to Włochy, the Polish name of Italy. The use of spices, which came to Poland from the Orient, was common among those who could afford them, and often dishes considered elegant were very spicy.
The Republic
Until the Partitions, Poland was one of the largest countries in the world, encompassing many regions with their own, distinctive culinary traditions. Among the most influential in that period were Lithuanian, Jewish, German and Hungarian cuisine. With the subsequent decline of Poland, and the grain production crisis that followed The Deluge, potatoes began to replace the traditional use of cereal. Also, because of contact with the Ottoman Empire, coffee (kawa) and Boza became popular.
Under the partitions, the cuisine of Poland became heavily influenced by cuisines of the surrounding empires. This included Russian and German cuisines, but also the culinary traditions of most nations of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The 19th century also saw the creation of the first Polish cook-book, by Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa, who based her work on the 18th century diaries of the szlachta.
After World War II
After the end of World War II, Poland fell under Communist occupation. Restaurants were at first nationalized and then mostly closed down by the authorities. Instead, the communists envisioned a net of lunch rooms for the workers at various companies, and milk bars. The very few restaurants that survived the 1940s and 1950s were state-owned and were mostly unavailable to common people due to high prices. The lunch rooms promoted mostly inexpensive meals, including soups of all kinds and staples such as pierogi. A typical second course consisted of some sort of a ground meat cutlet served with potatoes. The kotlet schabowy is similar to the Austrian Wiener schnitzel.
With time, the shortage economy led to chronic scarcity of meat, eggs, coffee, tea and other basic ingredients of daily use. Many products like chocolate, sugar and meat were rationed, with a specific limit depending on social class and health requirements. Physical workers and pregnant women were generally entitled to more food products. Imports were restricted, so much of the food supply was domestic. Thus no tropical fruits (citrus, banana, pineapple, etc.) were available and fruits and vegetables were mostly seasonal; to be had only in the summer. For most of the year the Poles had to get by with only domestic winter fruit and vegetables: apples, onions, potatoes, cabbage, root vegetables.
This situation led in turn to gradual replacement of traditional Polish cuisine with food prepared from anything available at the moment. Among the popular dishes introduced by the public restaurants was an egg cutlet, a sort of a hamburger made of minced or instant egg and flour. The traditional recipes were mostly preserved during the Wigilia feast (Christmas Eve), for which most families tried to prepare 12 traditional courses.
Modern era
With the end of communism in Poland in 1989, restaurants started to reopen and basic foodstuffs were once again easily obtainable. This led to a gradual return of traditional Polish cuisine, both in everyday life and in restaurants. In addition, restaurants and supermarkets promoted the use of ingredients typical to other cuisines of the world. Among the most notable foods that started to become common in Poland were cucurbit, zucchini and all kinds of fish. During communist times, these were available mostly in the seaside regions.
Recent years have seen the advent of a slow food movement, and a number of TV programmes devoted to traditional Polish cuisine have gained much popularity.
At the same time, fast food is growing more and more popular in Poland, Most commonly McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut. Doner kebab's are also gaining popularity throughout Poland. Although in Poland you can still get traditional Polish Fast-Food such as Zapiekanka. There are also many small-scale, quick-service restaurants which usually serve items such as zapiekanka (baguette with cheese, sometimes meat and/or button mushroom and ketchup), kebap, hamburgers, hot dogs and kielbasa.
Common dishes found on a national level
- Common soups found on a national level
- Common main courses found on a national level
- Common desserts found on a national level
- Common beverages found on a national level
- Common folk medicine dishes found on a national level
Regional cuisine
Poland has a number of unique regional cuisines with regional differences in preparations and ingredients. For an extensive list of the dishes typical to Galicia, Kresy, Podlachia, Masovia (including Warsaw, Masuria, Pomerania, Silesia, the Tatra mountains and Greater Poland see the List of Polish cuisine dishes
Ingredients
- kapusta kiszona - sauerkraut
- ogórek kiszony - salted sour cucumber, a pickle prepared in a similar way to sauerkraut
- kiełbasa - Polish sausage, comes in a wide variety of versions
- śmietana - a type of sour cream
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (Polish) Wojciech Staszewski (August 2006). "Bycze jądra z grilla". Gazeta Wyborcza. http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/df/1,34467,3558017.html. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
- ↑ http://www.beer100.com/history/meadhistory.htm
See also
- Gołąbki
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http://www.polishmeals.com Polish traditional meals with video recipes