The past of any country always reflects on the features of its national cuisine, the same can be said about Poland. This is clearly observed in the taste preferences of the Poles, who on the one hand, like the inhabitants of the Northern part of Europe, love an abundant, nourishing and slightly sweetish cuisine, and on the other hand, thanks to the Slavic roots, they developed a passion for sour-sweet and seasoned sour cream.
Polish cuisine was radically changed in 1333, when the king of the country became Kazimir, a descendant of the Czech dynasty. Moreover, the king fell in love with a girl of Jewish blood, which exerted such a strong influence on him, that after 1340 all persecuted Jews began to flock and settle in Poland. Gradually, the Poles have changed their favorite Jewish dishes in their own way, and today very few people remember their origin.
Until now, the main dishes of the festive feast are stuffed fish, the bones from which are extracted when it is still raw, and stuffed goose neck. Jewish influence affected even the choice of fats for cooking, among which the Poles prefer goose, not pork fat.
After 180 years, Polish cuisine was again subjected to significant changes when King Sigismund I took as his wife the Italian Bone from a very noble Milanese kind of Sforza. She contributed elements of her favorite Italian dishes to the kitchen of the Polish gentry.
The Czech Republic and Austria, with whom the Poles were established, as well as with Italy, had rather warm relations, did not stay aloof, which was reflected by bright southern accents in the Polish national cuisine and probably made them addictive to sweet treats.
To grow potatoes in Poland began under the influence of neighboring Prussia. And the potato casserole very quickly became its own dish of the national cuisine of the country. Relations with France, which began in the time of Bonaparte, enriched the local culinary fashion with a refined, elegant style.
Although, by and large, Polish cuisine has remained patriarchal and peasant with its abundant vegetable soups, which are often the only dish served for lunch or dinner. If the soup was cooked with meat, then it is necessarily present in it, like rye peasant bread, without which the pleasure of soup does not take place.
Hot summer for the Poles popular cold soups from a variety of fruits and berries. Autumn is dominated by fragrant soups, the main components of which are mushrooms and cucumbers. In the countryside today, traditional cereal dishes are also honored with the addition of pork, corned beef or poultry. The most beloved is the bigos, which is arbitrarily translated from Latin, as "dvoevkusie."
Eloquent name "Bigos" emphasizes the whole complexity of the sound of the palatable range of food, for the preparation of which in a whole collect a variety of products. This and different types of meat, and game, and smoked sausages, and mushrooms.
A typical dish of Polish cuisine is sausages, which, hot or cold, form the basis of everyday nutrition throughout the day. Their boiled and hard-boiled variety amazes imagination. Vodka is popular in the cold season for sharp snacks. I crave Polish for beer or milk, but they do not refuse from the mead, which has been preserved since the time of paganism, and is a drink created on the basis of honey. Medovina is so popular that it has even become an export product of the country.