Traditional cuisines the world over are influenced by geography and climate. Poland is no different. Forged by the terrain and natural resources of Eastern Europe, Poland has a rich and hearty food culture. The location of the country - smack in the middle of central Europe and well-connected with major cities of the world like London, Paris, and Vienna – has left indelible marks on its culture and Polish cuisine is a great example of this flavourful blend of eastern and western influences. Pablo Picasso has famously said, "The three most astonishing things of the past half-century are the Blues, Cubism, and Polish vodka."
The road to Polish cuisine
The densely forested territory that made up the Poland of the middle ages supplied almost everything that was put on the plates. From nuts to wild honey, forest berries, and mushrooms, forest resources were generously used as food. Rye, millet, and wheat were the major agricultural produces and these cereals, apart from beans and peas, formed the major part of the diet of commoners. The food, just as in the modern era, was rich in beef and game (animals hunted for meat). The nobility indulged themselves with such delicacies like smoked bear tongue and honey-braised bear paws. Written evidence suggests that Vodka originated in Poland around the middle ages.
The Italian Queen and advent of new flavours
In 1518, Poland's King Sigismund I married Bona Sforza, the queen of Italy. The Italian entourage the queen brought with her included fine cooks and she insisted on serving exclusively Italian dishes as part of the court's daily menu. The southern flavours were quick to catch on in the court and later among the common people. Queen Bona is credited with elevating the roles of vegetables like leeks, celeriac, lettuce and cabbage in Poland. The trade relations with West Asia led the wealthy to develop a taste for spices and the dishes considered most exotic were usually the spiciest. Court records show that the Queen also imported and used fruits like orange, pomegranates, figs, tomatoes, lemons etc from southern Europe, America and West Asia. Grains like rice and spices like pepper, nutmeg, saffron, ginger and cinnamon were also imported from Asia.
The next major culinary influence came from France when two consecutive Kings of Poland married the same French duchess, Marie Louise Gonzaga in the 17th century. Many aristocratic families began employing French cooks and by the mid-18th century, Polish dinners were not complete without the French champagne. Among the other major influences during this period were Jewish, Lithuanian, Hungarian and German cuisines. Coffee found its way to Poland through the country's trade relations with Armenia and the Ottaman empire while the Dutch tradesmen introduced the Poles to tea. Thanks to the potpourri of flavours that Polish cuisine had become by this time, a cook-book (‘Collection of Dishes’) was published in 1682. It is considered to be the oldest surviving cook-book in Polish. The copies of ‘Excellent Cook’, published nearly a century later in 1786, are still available and the recipes still relished.
Traditional cuisine thrives
Bread has risen to take centre stage in Polish cuisine. Chleb (bread) and bulka (bread roll) are made using rye or wheat. The traditional Polish bread, easily distinguished by its delicious aroma, has a crunchy crust and soft insides. Bread is so much more than food in the Polish country. The custom of inviting guests and newly-weds with bread and salt has been followed for centuries and countless odes have been written in praise of its noble stature among foods.
Bigos, known as ‘hunter's stew’ because of the addition of game, is a traditional Polish dish. Sauerkraut or pickled cabbage, is a main ingredient in Bigos as in several other Polish dishes. A typical Polish meal includes cold-cuts or freshly cooked meat, bread, and sausage, which comes in dozens of varieties. Pierogi is a Christmas delicacy of dumplings filled with a sweet or savoury. Unleavened noodle dough is wrapped around fillings like potato, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, mushrooms, spinach or fruits – individually or in combination. It is typically served with toppings like melted butter, sour cream or fried onions.
Soup varieties are plenty in Polish cuisine. Rosol, a clear chicken soup, is served with noodles. Red beets, sorrel, potato, duck, peas and cabbage are all used in combination with vegetables, onions, salted cucumbers, carrots etc. Duck soup often uses duck blood which gives it a distinct dark colour. Zupa owocowa is a fruit soup, served cold during summer.
Though eclectic by nature, the traditional Polish cuisine has seen a revival in the recent times. The typically rich traditional dishes are quite demanding when it comes to the elaborate preparatory steps. A festive meal can take several days to be prepared in its entirety. But then, Poles do enjoy taking their time putting together a meal and relishing it too.