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Medieval Polish cuisine consists of the way of cooking food and the cooking traditions from Poland in the Middle Ages (from 5th to 15th/16th century). It was based on simple dishes made of grains, fruits, vegetables, meat from domestic and wild animals, fish, herbs, and seasonings. Dishes were very calorific and full of salt. Meals made of flour, dumplings (Pol. – pierogi) and noodles were very popular. Consumption of milk and cheese was enormous. The main beverages were mead and beer, as opposed to in Western and Southern Europe, where many kinds of wine dominate.
Food[edit]
During the Middle Ages, the main source of food was agriculture. Farmers sowed wheat, rye and millet. Legumes (peas, broad beans, lentils, vetches) and vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, turnips, onions, cabbages) were also common. Among fruits apples, pears, cherries, plums, and peaches dominated.[1]
Products from livestock, hunting, foraging and fishing were also eaten. Pigs, sheep, goats and poultry were commonly bred for meat, while hunting and fishing provided greater variety in the diet. As the territory of Poland was densely forested, people foraged for food in woods as well, particularly mushrooms, berries, raspberries and acorns.
Fish was also a very important ingredient in Medieval Poland. People ate bream, carp, cod, herring, salmons and eel.[2] They were an excellent substitute for meat during fasts.
The choice of meat was bigger than before the Middle Ages; ham and sausages were available. What is more, small sausages called “circinelae” appeared.
White bread, rolls and cakes were a kind of luxury. Only the nobility could afford them. People who were not so wealthy had to be satisfied with bread made of meal or oat. They prepared also a special kind of bread (Pol. – podpłomyki)
in the form of small flatbread made of flour, water, milk and salt. Another kind of flatbread was kołacz which is considered a traditional recipe even in the 21st century.
A wide range of birds were eaten: storks, peafowls, larks, swans and other songbirds that could be trapped in nets. People ate also almost any other wild bird that could be hunted. Swans and peafowl were only eaten by the social elite. As today, geese and ducks had been domesticated but were not as popular as chickens.
Milk was a very important source of protein for people who could not afford meat. It mostly came from cows, but milk from goats and sheep was also popular. Fresh milk was not consumed by adults except the poor or sick, and was usually reserved for the very young or elderly. It was less common than other dairy products because of the lack of technology to keep it from spoiling.
Spices[edit]
Formerly, in Poland, people used local seasonings to spice their meals because of the prices of imported products. Only rich families were able to afford to use imported seasonings. Local seasoings included parsley, dill, garlic, charlock, mint, poppy, marjoram, and oak leaves. From India people imported: ginger, pepper, saffron, and nutmeg.
To sweeten food, people mainly used honey because of the high price of sugar.[3] People also added salt to their dishes, which is still an attribute of modern Polish cuisine. Salt was used not only as a spice, but also as a preservative.
Beverages[edit]
In medieval times, people mainly drank water, milk, whey, mead and cream. Alcoholic beverages were also very popular, the most common of which was beer. Gallus Anonymus set out this fact in his work, The Chronicle. He pointing up that beer was already known in the 9th century. At first, beer was made from malt, in houses. Later, people started to add hops, when they pointed out that adding this ingredient made beer stronger. When demnd for beer rose, people started to set out to increase production, and built the first breweries. Vodka was also drunk, but it became popular among the lower classes first.
Preservation[edit]
Availability of Plants depended on the season: some vegetables and cereals were obtained in summer, fruits and other vegetables were gathered in autumn. In winter, when no plants were available, animals were killed for food. Cereals were dried and kept in granaries; cabbage was pickled and the rest of vegetables were stored in cellars, while fruits were dried. People preserved fruits as jams.
There were two different ways to preserve meat, one short-term and the other long-term. When people planned to partake of meat in a short space of time, they dried it in the sun or smoked it. On the other hand, when meat was supposed to be fresh in the long run, it was cooked and later salted.
Customs[edit]
There were typically two meals a day: dinner at mid-day and a lighter supper in the evening. For practical reasons, breakfast was still eaten by working men, and was tolerated for children, women, the elderly and the sick.
Differences between social classes[edit]
The quantity, quality and ingredients of meals varied in different social classes. Only the rich could afford to eat filling dishes and use expensive products such as venison, white bread or sweets. The poor had to content themselves with simple meals. However, importanty, poor people did not starve; food surpluses were sold at markets or fairs. They ate their fill only during holidays. It was a kind of compensation for long weeks of fasts.
Feasting[edit]
Feasts were connected with important events and family ceremonies. Sometimes at court, feasts were very sumptuous, especially if they were connected with a political event.
On ordinary days, wooden or tin dishes were used, even at court. When an important event came, the nobility’s servants prepared the most beautiful service, often made of silver or gold.[4]
Because of the lack of extant recipes, we do not know what kind of meals people ate during feasts.
Influence of fast[edit]
The introduction to Christianity to Poland had a huge impact on dit because of the practice of fasts. People were required to fast not only by a secular authority but also by the clergy. Not only meat, but also dairy products were forbidden during fasts. Till 12th century Lent lasted for nine weeks. Fasts were compulsory on Fridays, on eves of important events and once a quarter.
Bibliography[edit]
- Chwalba, A. (2008) Obyczaje w Polsce: Wieki Średnie. PWN
- Łoziński, W. (1974) Życie polskie w dawnych wiekach. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie