Silesian cuisine
Encyclopedia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, a region in Central Europe.
It has been influenced by cuisines of many nations, particularly (alphabetically) Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
, German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, Hungarian, and Polish. In turn, it influenced the culinary tradition of those nations.
List of Silesian dishes
- Żymła - a well-baked bread rollBread rollA bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
, oval with a division in the middle, topped with poppy seeds, similar to Austrian Keisersemmel. - Kluski śląskie (Silesian dumplings) - round shaped dumplings served with gravy, made of mashed boiled potatoes, finely grated raw potatoes, an egg, grated onion, wheat flour and potato flour.
- RoladaRouladenRouladen are a German meat roulade usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef which is then cooked...
z modrą kapustą (rouladen with red cabbage) - best-quality beef-meat roll; stuffed with pickled vegetable, ham, and good amount of seasoning; always served with red cabbage (with fried bacon, fresh onion and allspice); traditionally eaten with kluski śląskie for Sunday dinner. - Szałot (Silesian potato salad) - a salat made of squares of boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, ham, various sausages, pickled fish, boiled eggs, bonded with olive oil or mayonnaise.
- KrupniokKaszankaKaszanka is a traditional blood sausage in Polish cuisine. It is made of a mixture of pig's blood, pig offal , and buckwheat kasza stuffed in a pig intestine...
- kind of blood sausageBlood sausageBlack pudding, blood pudding or blood sausage is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The dish exists in various cultures from Asia to Europe...
made of kashaKashaKasha is a cereal commonly eaten in Eastern Europe. In English, kasha generally refers to buckwheat groats, but in Slavic countries, kasha refers to porridge in general and can be made from any cereal, especially buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet, and rye...
and animal bloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. - Żymlok - like krupniok but instead kashaKashaKasha is a cereal commonly eaten in Eastern Europe. In English, kasha generally refers to buckwheat groats, but in Slavic countries, kasha refers to porridge in general and can be made from any cereal, especially buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, millet, and rye...
there is bread rollBread rollA bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
(żymła). - WodzionkaWodzionkaWodzionka or brołtzupa is the Silesian bread or water soup made from stale bread, fat, and water. Traditionally, wodzionka is prepared by soaking two- to three-day old stale bread in water or broth and adding garlic, bay leaves, pepper and other seasonings, fried bacon, and lard or butter...
or brołtzupa (ger. brot - bread, pol. zupa - soup) - soup with garlicGarlicAllium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
and squares of dried rye bread. - SiemieniotkaSiemieniotkaSiemieniotka is a Silesian soup made of hemp seed, often eaten at the traditional Christmas Eve meal, Wigilia.The name of the dish comes from its main component: seeds ....
- soup made of hemp seedHempHemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, one of main Christmas EveChristmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
meals. - Knysza - pita bread with meat and lots of cabbage.
- MakówkiMakówkiMakówki, in is a traditional poppy seed-based dessert, most notably in Silesia where it is served almost exclusively on Christmas Eve .-Outside Silesia:Makówki is also well known in Brandenburg and Berlin under the name Mohnpilen...
or moczka - traditional Christmas Eve dessert, its main ingredients are: gingerbread extract, nuts and dried fruit, strawberry compote and almonds. - Poppy seed pastryBejgliThe poppy seed roll is pastry consisting of a roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich, bittersweet filling of poppy seed. An alternative filling is a paste of minced walnuts....
- many elaborate recipes possible; based on finely ground poppy seeds, with raisins, almonds, candied citrus peelsPeel (fruit)Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...
, honey, sugar, pudding, and flavoured with rum. Decorated with fingers of crumbling. - HauskyjzaHauskyjzaHauskyjza - a foodstuff made of cottage cheese, carum and other ingredients, which are mixed, put aside for a few days to acquire the characteristic sharp flavor and tacky consistency, and then warmed and fried. Often baking soda is used to condition the cottage cheese. Hauskyjza is a traditional...
- strongly-flavored, home-made cheese. - Kopalnioki - hard candies (sil. bombony) made of sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, anise oil, and the essences of St John's wortSt John's wortSt John's wort is the plant species Hypericum perforatum, and is also known as Tipton's Weed, Chase-devil, or Klamath weed....
, melissaMelissaMelissa is a given name for a female child. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα , "honey bee" and from μέλι , "honey". Compare Hittite melit, "honey"....
, peppermintPeppermintPeppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
. Its black colour comes from charcoalCharcoalCharcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
food dye.