Polish cuisine () is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise, it often involves breadcrumbs fried in butter and poured over cooked vegetables.
Polish cuisine is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and game, in addition to a wide range of vegetables, spices, fungi and mushrooms, and herbs. It is also characterised by its use of various kinds of pasta, cereals, kasha and pulses. In general, Polish cuisine makes extensive use of butter, cream, eggs, and seasoning. Traditional dishes often demand lengthy preparation. Many Poles take time to serve and enjoy their festive meals, especially Christmas Eve dinner () on December 24, or Easter breakfast, both of which could take several days to prepare.
Among popular Polish national dishes are , , , (pork loin breaded cutlet), (stuffed cabbage leaves), (roulade), (sour cucumber soup), (mushroom soup), (tomato soup), (meat broth), (sour rye soup), (tripe soup), and red beetroot soup .
A traditional Polish dinner is composed of three courses, beginning with a soup like the popular broth or tomato soup. In restaurants, soups are followed by an appetizer such as herring (prepared with either cream, oil, or in aspic), or other cured meats and chopped raw vegetable salads. The main course usually includes meat, such as a roast, breaded pork cutlet, or chicken, with a coleslaw-like (), shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, cooked beetroot), sauerkraut, or salad. The side dishes are usually boiled potatoes, , or less commonly, rice. Meals often conclude with a dessert of either a fruit compote, , a poppy seed pastry, mille-feuille, or (cheesecake).
Internationally, if a Polish culinary tradition is used in other cuisines, it is referred to as à la polonaise, from the French, meaning 'Polish-style.' In French cuisine, this term is used for techniques like using butter instead of cooking oil; frying vegetables with buttered breadcrumbs; using minced parsley and boiled eggs (Polonaise garnish); and adding horseradish, lemon juice, or sour cream to sauces like velouté.
History
Middle Ages
Polish cuisine in the Middle Ages was based on dishes made of agricultural produce and cereal crops (millet, rye, wheat), meats of wild and farm animals, fruits, forest fungi, berries and game, honey, herbs, and local spices. It was known above all for abundant use of salt from Wieliczka and permanent presence of groats (). A high calorific value of dishes and drinking beer or mead as a basic drink was typical of Middle Ages Polish cuisine.
During the Middle Ages Polish cuisine was heavy and spicy. Two main ingredients were meat (both game and beef) and cereal. The latter consisted initially of proso millet, but in the Late Middle Ages other types of cereal became widely used. Most country people did not eat bread but consumed cereals in the form of or various types of flatbread. Some of these (for instance ) are considered traditional recipes even in the 21st century. Apart from cereals, a large portion of the daily diet of mediaeval Poles consisted of pulses, mostly broad beans and peas. As the territory of Poland was densely forested, usage of fungi, forest berries, nuts, and wild honey was also widespread. Among the delicacies of the Polish nobility were honey-braised bear paws served with horseradish-flavoured salad, smoked bear tongue, and bear bacon (bears are now protected in Poland).
Owing to close trade relations with Turkey and the countries in the Caucasus, the price of spices (such as black pepper and nutmeg) was much lower in Poland than the rest of Europe, hence spicy sauces became popular. The usage of two basic sauces, the and (meaning "red" and "gray blood" in Old Polish), remained widespread at least until the 18th century.