The following are sources ranging from books to videos, each giving you the additional insight into the delectable cuisine of Poland. Each source opens the door to this eccentric East European cuisine, so come on in and enjoy all that Polish cuisine has to offer.

Books:

Dembińska, Maria. Food And Drink In Medieval Poland: Rediscovering A Cuisine of the Past. Edited by William Woys Weaver, Translated by Magdalena Thomas, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.

This book will take you back to medieval Poland as well as on a culinary tour of what was considered to be Poland’s national cuisine during the Middle Ages. Dembińska takes you on a journey through the development of Polish cuisine as well as providing historical background in context. This book finishes off with some popular medieval Polish recipes to try for yourself if your palate is adventurous enough

 

 

Zurawski, Joseph W. Polish Chicago: Our History, Our Recipes. G Bradley Pub, 2007.

Much of Poland’s culture stems from areas of the world where Polish immigrants settled. Polish immigrants brought with them not only their customs, but most importantly their cuisine. This book details the life of a Polish immigrant living in Chicago and how they used food to build connections as well as share their cuisine with those in their new home.

 

 

Zatorska, Beata. Rose Petal Jam: Recipes and Stories From A Summer In Poland. Tabula Books, 2011.

Beata Zatorska graces us with a memoir from spending a summer in Poland as a child. In her memoir, she recalls her favorite handwritten recipes from her grandmother and the experience of growing up in rural Poland. Zatorski gives her readers a chance to experience those same summers by providing her readers with her favorite recipes given to her by her grandmother.

 

 

Articles and Essays:

Burrell, Kathy. “The Political and Social Life of Food in Socialist Poland.” Anthropology of East Europe Review, vol. 21, no. 1, 2003, pp. 189-195.

This scholarly article written by Kathy Burrell explores the importance of food while the Socialist regime occupied Poland. Burrell analyzes what food meant to these people who had a difficult time finding it. She not only explores how food was used to take a political advantage of Poland’s people, but she also discusses how people were able to still celebrate around their favorite dish.

 

Culture.PL. “A Foreigner’s Guide to Polish Cuisine.” Culture.PL., 8 Dec. 2014, www.culture.pl/en/article/a-foreigners-guide-to-polish-cuisine.

This colorful and informative article by Culture.PL takes the reader on a journey through Poland’s cuisine. Not only does the article give some background on Polish cuisine, it also gives tips on where one should eat if they are adventurous enough to travel and explore all Poland has to offer. Culture PL preps the inspired traveler, so that they may experience Poland as if they were a native.

 

Dumanowski, Jarosław. “225 Years of Polish Food History.” Feed.; Jerónimo Martins World’s Magazine, June 2017, https://feed.jeronimomartins.com/age/225-years-polish-food-history.

Jarosław Dumanowski takes you on a journey through 225 years of the most impertinent part of Polish history, their food. He compares to the ingredients and preparation of the past to the present of Polish cuisine. Dumanowski is a professor at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń as well as head of the Culinary Heritage Center there. He also spends extensive amounts of time researching the history and culture of food.

 

Cookbook and Blog:

Hurning, Anna. Polish Your Kitchen. Polish Your Kitchen, 2015, www.polishyourkitchen.com.

Not only is Polish Your Kitchen an organization that helps provide medical equipment to Polish hospitals, it also gives you a variety of recipes in any category imaginable. Anna Hurning grew up in Poland in the 80s and 90s and uses this food blog to give us insight not only into the food customs she brought to the United States, but her memories of these customs as well.

 

 

Zak, Zuza. Polska: New Polish Cooking. Quadrille Publishing, 2016.

 

This cookbook was compiled by none other than Zuza Zak, a Poland born writer and chef. Polska, New Polish Cooking is a cookbook that transforms Polish cooking into the modern age. Although she now lives in London, Zuza Zak wrote this cookbook to not only connect with her homeland but to demolish preconceived notions about Polish cooking. Zak’s book is the culmination of the influence Polish cuisine has left on her life.

 

Video:

Marianski, Jacek. “Polish Cooking.” YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/treecooking/featured.

This YouTube web series explores the creation of traditional Polish cuisine. The page’s creator, Jacek Marianski, is a native of Poland and spends each episode recreating one traditional Polish dish. Not only does he go through the steps of creating the specific dish, but he also spends time discussing some of the history behind the origin of ingredient use.