Roots

This name is misleading, because most of the so-called. "Roots" is by no means roots. To the roots, popular in Polish cuisine, we include:. in. pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, szafran, lemon zest and orange, paprika, kminek, vanilla, etc.. Generally, we refer to the root name as plant aromatic spices. The roots should only discreetly enhance the natural aroma and flavor of the dish, without deafening it or changing it. Therefore, the right measure when using spices is the proverbial "pinch". Roots were used in medieval cuisine, then extremely expensive, without any moderation. A famous Jewish merchant from Arab Spain, Ibrahim ibn Jakub, having arrived in 973 r. to Mainz, he was amazed to see the enormous amounts of pepper, ginger and cloves, "Roots", which "only grow in the Farthest East, despite the fact that this city is located in the farthest west ". In the first half of the 15th century. pepper was so expensive (Lisbon had a "pepper monopoly" at the time), that "the most beautiful women, the noblest horses, the finest precious stones, the finest carpets could be purchased for pepper " (P. Hermann: “The seven o'clock has passed, eight o'clock passes ”- PIW, 1959). Old Polish cuisine also suffered from the abuse of spicy spices.

The food burned the palate, they ruined stomachs and fortunes, caused thirst, which our Sarmatian ancestors, As you know, they did not extinguish with water! The roots were so expensive at first, that Queen Jadwiga kept them locked in a special treasury. Today, the art of spicing dishes with roots is clearly failing. Many great spices have been forgotten, others are used without fantasy and not always properly.