Most people snails are clearly associated with French cuisinewhere in elegant restaurants they are served fried in butter with garlic and parsley (so-called escargots). Meanwhile, few people remember that this one the ingredient was also present in ancient Polish cuisine. And not only as a curiosity from abroad, but also as a full-fledged ingredient of the menu, especially Lent. They were used to make sauces, fried dishes and even broth. Today, such a soup will be rather a culinary curiosity, especially for people who like these molluscs.
Although snails rarely appear in conversations about traditional Polish cuisine, they used to be a well-known ingredient. Their presence in the menu was not a coincidence. Snails came to Poland along with Italian food, popularized at court thanks to Queen Bona. It was then that new vegetables, spices and products that were previously considered foreign or too refined began to be introduced into the kitchen.
In the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth snails were valued primarily as a Lent dish. On days when abstinence from meat was obligatory, court kitchens had to be inventive. Instead of meat, fish, but also crayfish and snails were served. Interestingly, Old Polish cuisine never prepared them in a delicate and neutral way. The snails were accompanied by distinctive, spicy spicessuch as pepper, nutmeg, ginger or cloves.
Evidence of the popularity of snails in Old Polish cuisine can be found in the oldest Polish cookbooks. In the famous “Compendium ferculorum” by Stanisław Czerniecki from 1682considered the first collection of recipes, the author – in addition to 100 fish dishes – included as many as 3 recipes with snails. Among them were, among others: fried snails with finely chopped garlic and snails fried with pepper and nutmeg. This shows that it was not a marginal ingredient, but known and accepted by the elites of that time.
Snails also appear in the Radziwill cookbook, written in the 17th centuryi.e. around the same time as the Czerniecki collection. There, they were also treated as an element of Lent cuisine and heavily seasoned, in line with prevailing trends. In turn, in “Perfect Cook”by Wojciech Wiełądek from 1783 – one of the most important culinary works of the era – the recipes for snails were clearly based on French inspirations, which shows that the taste of this product was eagerly adapted.
It is also an interesting source “Book of stewards of the court of Jan III Sobieski” from 1695-1696. This is not a cookbook, but a detailed inventory of products issued from the pantry for the needs of the court – separately for the royal table, for the princes and guests. In the records of Christmas Eve specialties (under the date December 24), an enigmatic “legumina” appears, and its composition includes, among others: snails, olive oil, onion, two types of flour, eggs and a pot of juice. The dish was of a Lent nature – olive oil was used instead of butter or broth. Most likely, they were fried snails with onions, served with thick jam. This is further proof that snails were not exotic, but part of everyday, although courtly, cuisine.
Snails retained their position in Polish cuisine until pre-war times. In the 19th century, they were still treated as a valuable ingredient in Lent dishes, including warming soups. He was one of them snail broth – aromatic, long-cooked broth, which was served instead of traditional poultry stock. The recipe can be found in the book “Lenten cuisine, giving the most economical ways of preparing fish dishes (…)”, published in Vilnius in 1848, by Polish chef Jan Szyttler.
How to make pre-war soup? The author recommended that First clean the snails thoroughly. In the old language it sounded quite harsh, but in practice it was a simple action. The snails were simply placed in a pot, filled with water and brought to a boil. Then strain them and put them in cold water. Thanks to this, they came out of the shells easily – all you had to do was use a fork. After removal, the dark, bitter intestinal part had to be removed and the rest of the meat thoroughly rinsed.
The cleaned snails were returned to the pot. Classic Italian dishes were added to them: celery, parsley, carrot, as well as a few allspice grains, pepper and a bit of nutmeg. The whole thing was salted moderately and poured with water. The broth took a long time to boileven an hour and a half, until it acquires an intense smell and taste. During cooking, the scum was collected and a small amount of butter was added.
An interesting additionmentioned in the provision, there was semolina or rice. The groats were poured into the broth to thicken it slightly and make it more filling. If it was missing, it was replaced with rice. The soup was kept on fire for another 30 minutes. At the end of cooking a bunch of green herbs went into the pot – parsley and dill (tied with string). They were cooked together with the soup and taken out before serving, squeezing out all the flavor into the broth.
Ready broth was served with snails and groats. The table was served with a fragrant brew with a deep flavor, perfect for cold winter days. It was warming and nutritious.
Today, snail broth sounds like a culinary experiment or a dish from a French restaurant. Meanwhile, this a forgotten recipe of old Polish cuisinepresent in manors and middle-class homes even in the 19th century. It perfectly illustrates how inventive and different from modern Polish cuisine was. It is worth remembering the soup, even as a fascinating part of our culinary history.
Source: Terazgotuje.pl, wilanow-palac.pl, agnieszkakus.pl
